(For those new to the column, Forward Migration is our term for companies moving from Wintel machines to Macs — or at least adding or increasing the number of Macs they use. A Forward Migration Kit is an overview of Mac OS products for a particular occupation, such as photography, optometry, etc.)
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This week we’re looking at Macintosh software to help people prepare for the GED (General Education Development) test.
AGS
The American Guidance Service Web site offers products for the Mac platform. AGS’ software is for pre-GED instruction with animation and plenty of practice.
Pre-GED Advantage interactive instructional software is a test preparation program. The Pre-GED level helps learners develop the critical thinking skills necessary for success on the GED tests. Once learners master the Pre-GED level, they can move on to the GED level, and then to the tests themselves. Pre-GED Advantage software can be used separately or as part of a complete program of GED test preparation materials from AGS that cover Writing Skills, Social Studies, Science, Interpreting Literature and the Arts, and Mathematics.
It includes 157 skill lessons, 215 content lessons, 117 unit reviews, and 15 practice tests. The software features: graphics and animation; notepad, complete glossary, and pop-up calculator; and e-mail for student-instructor communication
Pre-GED Advantage isn’t Mac OS X native. It requires: a Mac II, SE, SE30, Classic, LC, Performa, Centris, Quadra; System 6.0.7 or higher; and 4 MB of RAM. (Thanks to MacCentral reader Mike Zimmerli for alerting us to this site.)
TestPilot
While not specifically for the GED, ClearLearning’s Test Pilot can issue sample tests for study and practice, Malcolm Duncan, the company’s CTO/COO, told MacCentral.
“If a company that produces GED questions and software were to put their questions into Test Pilot, they would immediately have a platform independent and scalable solution for Macs, PCs, and Linux/UNIX for one to 100,000 users.”
Test Pilot is a software package designed for the automated creation of assessments for delivery and response collection using a Web server. Optionally, it can automatically score responses. Test Pilot consists of a question authoring database and a Web server extension to both administer the assessments and record, score and retrieve user responses — all without requiring any knowledge of HTML, programming or the more complex issues of Web development.
Educators can use Test Pilot to create and administer surveys, tests and assessments over the Web or an intranet. Duncan says the service has been designed to provide for the easy creation and deployment on online assessment using the latest Internet technologies. Test Pilot uses platform independent Internet technology to allow it to fit into any educational or corporate computing environment, he adds. ClearLearning says that the service can save up to 40 percent of a teacher’s time by automatically grading assessments, as well as increasing student performance through instant feedback.
Test Pilot requires nothing but a Web browser to participate in an assessment and delivers assessments from nearly any Web server on any OS platform. And it supports run-time, mathematical formula-based questions. For more info go to the ClearLearning Web site.