Dynamic quiz bank: a portable tool set for authoring and managing distributed, Web-based educational programs in radiology.
OBJECTIVE
The authors performed this study to evaluate a portable, platform-independent software program that enables users from remote sites to transform raw materials (eg, text, images, video) into Web-ready, interactive tutorials and examinations.


METHODS
The software program evaluated consists of three modules: a network-based interface developed in the Java programming language, an Oracle 8i relational database with liaison software, and shell scripts developed in the Perl programming language to automate the authoring, maintenance, and updating of content in a dynamic quiz bank (DBQ). Four faculty members, one radiology resident, and two undergraduates majoring in computer science volunteered to create questions for the DQB and to evaluate ease of authoring.


RESULTS
Faculty members with various levels of computer proficiency were able to establish a comprehensive DQB of more than 1,000 interactive questions. These radiologists reported the scripts reliable and easy to use. The DQB, offered in a pathology course for 2nd-year medical students, was used by 151 students and may have played a role in improving standardized test scores. Eighty-seven percent (n = 131) of the students believed that the DQB was extremely useful as an educational tool.


CONCLUSIONS
The DQB software program facilitated access to, and authoring and maintenance of, Web-based educational materials developed in the departments of radiology and pathology.
Foran
David J
DJ
Department of Radiology, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, PO Box 19, New Brunswick, NJ 08903-0019, USA.
Nosher
John L
JL
Siegel
Randall
R
Schmidling
Michael
M
Raskova
Jana
J
D003194:Computer-Assisted Instruction; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D011871:Radiology / Q000193:education*; D012984:Software; D014584:User-Computer Interface