Some local computer scientists have developed a new digital assessment tool that is causing a stir among educators.

The graduates from Murdoch University worked with veterinary professors on softwareto record the achievement of clinical competencies by undergraduate students.

The suite can be used on desktops, tablet and smartphones, and its inventors say it as the potential to be used across disciplines.

The program has won rave reviews from the small numbers of educators who have so far used it.

“The software has made assessments easier and more time efficient for members of staff,” said Dr Secombe.

“For the vet students, it is much easier for them to see what assessments they’ve received and the areas they need to work on.

“The tool will also contribute to curriculum design and revision as educators will be able to identify areas that are not being captured or students as a group are deficient in and institute change.

“As the project was developed while the group were still undergraduates, their expertise was provided to us free of charge, saving our school a significant amount of money.”

The team’s supervisors Shri Rai, Dr Pyara Dhillon and Dr Kevin Wong from Murdoch’s School of Engineering and Information Technology said the project was an excellent real world learning opportunity, earning the graduates invaluable communication, design and development skills.

“Some of the team had part time jobs where they might have to do software development work, but it is not usual to build a complete system starting from requirements determination. The project exposed them to the entire process from beginning to end,” said Mr Rai.

“The current version of the software is customisable by the end user, so it can be used in any setting where there is task assessment to be carried out.

“After the pilot project is completed I’d also like to use it in my assessments of students and there is more work planned to improve the system.”

Mr Jardim, Mr Pindur and Mr MacPherson are currently developing the Comp2Go system as a business start-up and are continuing to collaborate with staff to tweak their designs as the pilot project is rolled out.