WASSAIL is an open-source software platform for educational assessment, designed primarily for academic libraries. It is used to “systematically track, store and analyze assessment data to measure and improve student learning.” Since its inception in 2003 the software has been adopted by dozens of academic libraries, including those at the Miami University, the University of Kansas, Red Deer College, and Northern Alberta Institute of Technology. The name is an acronym for “Web-based Augustana Student Survey Assessment of Information Literacy,” reflecting its origins and ongoing development at the Augustana Faculty

Augustana University College

Augustana University College was a Lutheran college in Camrose, Alberta, Canada, from 1910 until its 2004 merger with the University of Alberta. Now known as the Augustana Faculty of the University of Alberta, it began its operations in 1910 under the name Camrose Lutheran College...

 of the University of Alberta

University of Alberta

The University of Alberta is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta and Henry Marshall Tory, its first president, it is widely recognized as one of the best universities in Canada...

.

WASSAIL 3.0 is a database-driven, web-based application employing PHP

PHP

PHP is a general-purpose server-side scripting language originally designed for web development to produce dynamic web pages. For this purpose, PHP code is embedded into the HTML source document and interpreted by a web server with a PHP processor module, which generates the web page document...

, MySQL

MySQL

MySQL officially, but also commonly "My Sequel") is a relational database management system that runs as a server providing multi-user access to a number of databases. It is named after developer Michael Widenius' daughter, My...

, JavaScript

JavaScript

JavaScript is a prototype-based scripting language that is dynamic, weakly typed and has first-class functions. It is a multi-paradigm language, supporting object-oriented, imperative, and functional programming styles....

 and AJAX

Ajax

- Mythology :* Ajax , son of Telamon, ruler of Salamis and a hero in the Trojan War, also known as "Ajax the Great"* Ajax the Lesser, son of Oileus, ruler of Locris and the leader of the Locrian contingent during the Trojan War.- People :...

. WASSAIL facilitates the development and storage of question banks; the generation of online (or paper) surveys and tests from those question banks; and the accumulation and storage of question responses. Its most powerful feature is the ability to create and generate reports. These reports typically measure the impact of information literacy

Information literacy

The National Forum on Information Literacy defines information literacy as “...the ability to know when there is a need for information, to be able to identify, locate, evaluate, and effectively use that information for the issue or problem at hand.” This is the most common definition; however,...

 instruction on student learning and on specific demographics

Demographics

Demographics are the most recent statistical characteristics of a population. These types of data are used widely in sociology , public policy, and marketing. Commonly examined demographics include gender, race, age, disabilities, mobility, home ownership, employment status, and even location...

 (discipline, year, gender, etc.).

Recognition

WASSAIL’s developers were awarded the 2010 Instruction Section Innovation Award from the Association of College and Research Libraries

Association of College and Research Libraries

The Association of College and Research Libraries , a division of the American Library Association , is a professional association of academic librarians and other interested individuals...

.

External links

WASSAIL 3.0. Augustana Faculty Library, University of Alberta. Retrieved July 25, 2011.

Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. Association of College & Research Libraries. Retrieved August 16, 2011.

Instruction Section Innovation Award. Association of College & Research Libraries. Retrieved August 16, 2011.