BPS2011: Open Computer Exam


We held an Open Computer Exam at the University of Canberra today for the Business, Politics and Sport 2011 unit.
We emailed the exam paper below to the group at 11.30 am and I posted it here as an extra reference resource.
(Note that Question 7 is not a question! I am grateful to Stephen Downes for drawing this to my attention.)
The instructions were:

Welcome to this Open Computer Exam.
You will find TEN questions in this document and you have 40 minutes to answer them. Insert your answer after each question.
The focus of this exam is your ability to discover and share information. You have the Web available to you to answer these questions and you have on-line communication tools to support you. Use hyperlinks to indicate any sources you use. You might consider acknowledging any colleagues who have worked with you. Transparent collaboration is welcomed.
Exam guidelines can be found at http://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Business,_politics_and_sport/Assignmemts

We hope you enjoy the experience!
  1. Your boss wants to learn about Stephen Hodge’s work. Your brief is to say who Stephen Hodge is and how your boss could contact him.  (You met Stephen in August http://bps.ucniss.net/2011/08/chain-reactions-cycling-in-australia.html)
  2. You are preparing for an interview and have been told in advance that one of the questions you will be asked is about the ‘commodification’ of Australian sport.  Make four bullet points to help prepare for the question.  (A friend suggests you look at Wikipedia and check out this Google Scholar search if you have time.)
  3. In the same interview you will be asked about the articulation of sport and politics. Make four bullet points about your response (having checked out slides 10,11 and 12 in this presentation and contemplated an example from the Olympics in this presentation if you have time.)
  4. A friend calls you to ask you to compose a tweet (for Twitter). You have a maximum of 140 characters (including spaces between words) to promote orienteering in Australia (your friend knows you were at this talk). Your friend’s best shot at a tweet in 130 characters is: You do not know you are lost until you find yourself. Take up the orienteering challenge today, discover the real you #wayfinding.
  5. A colleague who is researching service-oriented businesses in Canberra has heard that you attended Alannah Magee’s talk in BPS2011. Can you provide your colleague with some information about the Sportsman’s Warehouse?
  6. Your old school hears that you have been following BPS2011 and wonders if you could give a talk about the role of sport in uniting communities. You say ‘yes’ and then think about what you will say! You decide to draft a short abstract (whatever you can write in 2 minutes) to help you clarify your thoughts. You include at least one hyperlink to add depth to the points you will make.
  7. An employer has heard about e-portfolios and wants to check with you about your on-line presence. You decide to tell the employer about Wikiversity and your page on it.
  8. Tony Naar came to talk with us in BPS2011. Who is he? What is his job? (A friend wondered if this link might help.)
  9. A friend has asked you to help with a sport photograph to illustrate an assignment.  Now that you are an expert in Creative Commons licensing you recommend a photograph from The Commons and you paste it here.
  10. You are at home for Christmas and your favourite aunty asks you ‘How did that exam go where you had to answer 10 questions in 40 minutes?’ Your answer (minus the expletives) …

Students emailed their answers at the end of the exam. I thought it was a wonderfully intense and exciting 40 minutes.
95 students in the room coped really well with the slow wifi and submitted their answers in a very timely manner. We had some computer issues but came through relatively unscathed.
Leigh and I think this was a remarkable group of students and the exam a great way to end the unit. Leigh has posted about his experience of the course on his blog.

4 COMMENTS

    • Oops! Thank you, Stephen.
      The students seemed to deal with this. It was a fascinating experience today. Leigh and I will be writing about the exam and our experiences of co-teaching.

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