Upgrade: iOBE v5.0

The iOBE software has undergone another major upgrades from v4.0 to v5.0. These upgrades were done primarily to meet the needs of the iCGPA Initiative in the Malaysia Education Blueprint (2015-2025) for Higher Education.

The full version of the software, its compiler and related documentations can be downloaded for free below:

1. iOBE v5.0 (updated 20/4/2017). This zip file contains the software and sample input files to guide users to build their own input files.
2. iOBE Software Manual v5.0 (updated 20/4/2017)
3. The Matlab Compiler Runtime must be installed prior to running the software.
4. Other documentations related to the software.

The major upgrades are:

1. iCGPA Spiderweb plots for individual students, produced automatically.
2. Improved mapping approach for more flexibility.
3. Improved presentation of the outcomes data.
4. Improved "Course Data" input file. As such, iOBE v5.0 cannot run the previous version of this input file (i.e., v4.0 and below).

For further information about this software, please contact the developer here.


SOFTWARE GUI PANEL & OUTPUT:
Users only need to interact with the software through its simple GUI panel, shown below. Each operation, either for a single course or to aggregate data from multiple courses, only requires a one button-click as shown in the panel.

Shown below are samples of iCGPA Spiderweb plots, each for a different student, aggregated from multiple courses. Other sample outputs from the software can be referred to in the previous post.

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Upgrade: iOBE v4.0

The iOBE Software has undergone major upgrades from v3.2 to v4.0. The key upgrades are:

1. Improved computational algorithm to expedite the calculations significantly.
2. The two software modules (Calculator and Aggregator) merged into one.
3. Students' iCGPA and PO attainment computed for single and multiple courses.
4. Improved presentation of the graphs to show collective outcomes.
5. Improved presentation of the outcomes data and iCGPA of individual students.

The new version of the software and its instruction manual can be downloaded at:

1. iOBE v4.0 (updated 14/12/2016)
2. iOBE Software Manual v4.0 (updated 14/12/2016)
3. Users also need to install the Matlab Compiler Runtime prior to running the iOBE software.

Included in the iOBE v4.0 zip file above are the software's executable file, the research papers accompanying this work, its solution manual, and sample input files.

The software's new GUI panel are now much simpler than before, requiring only one button to run the data for a single course and another button to aggregate data from multiple courses.

Further upgrades on iOBE in the near future will include:

1. The spiderweb graphs to show the iCGPA for individual students.
2. Flexible labelling of the axis to reflect actual items being computed.

The GUI panel of the software is shown below:

These are some samples of the outputs produced:

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Contact

Please contact me (the software developer) for further details on the software or to arrange a seminar or workshop on the iOBE software:

Dr. Zulfaa Mohamed-Kassim,
School of Aerospace Engineering,
Universiti Sains Malaysia,
Penang, Malaysia.
Email: zulfaa@usm.my

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An Article on the iOBE Software

The work on the development and implementation of the iOBE software has been presented and published in the Regional Conference on Engineering Education (RCEE 2016) on 9 August 2016 in Kuala Lumpur. A digital copy of the article, "Outcomes Assessment and Analysis using iOBE", can be downloaded from here. Other related papers can be downloaded from here.

The abstract of the article reads:

One challenging aspect of the outcome-based accreditation process for engineering programs in Malaysia is in its demand for detailed program assessment to measure the attainments of students’ learning outcomes from multiple perspectives. The main issues are: integrating assessment data across multiple levels and communicating outcomes data effectively. This contribution presents iOBE, a software-based solution to address this need. The package consists of two software modules: iOBE Calculator and iOBE Aggregator, for use at the course and program level, respectively. It is designed for robustness in its computational framework, flexibility in managing data, and simplicity at the users’ end. A case study of actual courses offered at the authors’ institution were done to illustrate the use of the software to assess multiple courses. Two matrices were defined for each course to map how assessment components in the courses addressed the course-level and program-level learning outcomes. Key outputs of the software are: emphases and attainments of outcomes for selected groups of students, populations of students attaining specific outcomes levels, and gaps in students’ performance. The software offers a number of advantages. First, its multi-parameter results offer analysis from various perspectives to asses performance at multiple levels. Second, aggregated data on the attainment of outcomes can assist course instructors and program administrators in recommending directions for improvements. In the case study, the disparity found in the results for a similar cohort of students highlights the need to review the teaching, learning, and assessment practices among these courses. Third, the ease and flexibility in operating the software improves the efficiency of assessing outcomes at the course and program levels, thus reducing unnecessary loads for engineering educators in implementing OBE.

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Upgrade: iOBE SOftware v3.3

Download the software modules and their associated input files:

1. iOBE Calculator v3.3 (updated 28/7/2016)
2. iOBE Aggregator v3.3 (updated 29/7/2016)

Upgrades in v3.3:

1. In both modules, additional symbols are added in the labels of the horizontal axis in the plots to reflect their variables (e.g., AT, LO, PO, and LD) .

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