"Open Book Assessment, its advantagesand limitationsOpen book and notes is not a method of assessment, but a format of assessment in whichstudents are allowed to refer their books, notes or any other resource at the time of writingexams. This sort of exams is basically conducted to test the higher order thinking of the studentswhen they have already mastered the basic concepts and other related topics. I would like to put up an example where theopen book and notes assessment exams can beplanned keeping in mind institutes constraints. I teach a course onComputer Network which is avery crucial course for any engineering student. In order to involve students for life-long learningin this course, they need to master the concept deeply. For testing the knowledge of students for this course I think open book assessment can be used appropriately. Now considering thespecific example of this course below are some key points mentioning why, how and whentheopen book and notes assessment can be used. Why conduct open book assessment exams for computer network course? Computer network course is more of practicing the network designing which require deepknowledge of theory concepts to be used in implementing the design. So most of the conceptsare for memorizing and remembering but do not make any sense if those concepts are not appliedin solving problems. So information is always available to the students and they need to apply itin a deep and thoughtful manner. Hence, thestudentis expected to interpret the availableinformation like- IP addressing classes and ranges, Sub-netting formulas, IP headers, RoutingProtocols, Configuration commands for Router and Switches, required components and applythis information in solving specific question and scenario.It is useful where assessment focuses on application/higher level outcomes. So it will definitelyincrease the thinking level of students which is required to agreater extent in designing thenetwork topology.Sub-netting and IP addressing concepts are a bit confusing for the students to apply rather thanmemorizing it. So solving such scenarios will definitely lead students for life-long learning onthose concepts. When to design open book and notes assessment item for computer network course? Keeping in mind various constraints at theinstitutional level, I would plan to design open bookassessment exams in the In-semester examination. The concepts of Subnetting, Routing, IPaddressing are covered in theinitial syllabus of the course. So after 2-3 weeks from thecommencement of the course is the appropriate time for conducting the open book assessmentexam. Before designing the open book assessment, enough lecturing should be given to the students tounderstand the important concepts of subnetting and IP addressing. Some small test and quizzescan be taken test the knowledge of students on those concepts. Then when students getcomfortable with these concepts call them for the open book assessment exam to apply theconcepts in solving some scenario based problem.How to design the open book and notes assessment item? Steps involved in designing the open book and notes assessment item are as follows:1. Deciding exactly what resources students can access during the exam. For the computernetwork course, students can carry information related to IP address range for class A, B,and C. Chart for Calculation of Subnet mask, Network Address, Broadcast Address andHost Address.The instruction given to the students should contain below criteria:Items allowed:Printed books, Handwritten notes, CalculatorsItem not allowed:Loose sheets of paper, Computers, ebooks, Mobile Phones.2. Time allotted for the exam is 3 Hours in which students shall solve 5 questions.3. Similar questions should be practiced with students during the formative assessment,Class lecturing, and assignments.4. Students should be clearly told well in advance about what they are expected to do in theexam there should not be any surprise in the exam.5. Students must be informed that the resources provided will not contain the direct answersto the questions and sufficient practice must be given to them to solve such type ofquestions. Once all the above preparation is done the environment for open book assessment iscomplete, now the next task is to identifying the type of test items. For my example course, I would basically go for below-mentioned items-1. Producing a design to specifications types of test items.2. Making inferences and interpretations from given scenarios.Administration:As it is going to be the In-semester exam, all the rules and regulations of instituteexamination board will be followed, with an exception of specified resources and can beaccessed. The course teacher shall be available for the entire duration of the exam to solve student’squeries.The examination can be conducted in the classroom with enough space for students to usetheir resources. The examination is not going to be take-home questions pattern, students have to solve all thequestions in class in limited time period.Grading: The grading for the examination will be based on:1. Standard close exam types of assessment can be followed because the exam isadministered in the similar type of arrangments.2. Student thinking ability and innovation in solving the question should be considered.3. There should not be any assessment of the type of resources used. Anything that isallowed to access should be ok.4. Higher blooms taxonomy levels should be assessed.Feedback to Students can be given once the assessment is done. For giving feedback sometechnological tool can be used like Moodle, Edmodo etc. The feedback should beconstructive so that students get motivated and perform much better in the coming exams andtests. "