Spring 2001

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An invention that started "just for fun" could become an aid to teachers.

Paul Kiedrowski, a 1982 electrical engineering alumnus, recently received a national award for inventing "The QuizWiz." The honor was featured in Circuit Cellar, a national magazine dedicated to computer applications.

The QuizWiz makes a teacher's ability to score multiple-choice quizzes fast and easy. It reduces scoring time, and it is capable of scoring tests printed on standard paper without preprinted forms. To use the device, teachers place the QuizWiz on the paper and slide it along check boxes used for multiple-choice selection. The device scans the selections and compares the results to the correct answer previously scanned from a master sheet.

Currently, many schools use a commercially available system that is expensive and is centralized. Therefore, it is used only for critical testing, and it takes longer to get the answers. QuizWiz would make such scoring more accessible to teachers who could use the device in their classrooms.

"I entered for fun but ended up inventing something rather serious," Kiedrowski said. "My wife, Shellie, a high school teacher, worked with me to create a really useful device to help other teachers."

Kiedrowski wants to take the QuizWiz to the next level. "I am in the process of applying for a patent on the concept, and I am hoping to put it into production sometime soon, with even better features than my prototype."