WebALT Helsink André Heck

7. 2. Maple T.A. A web-based system for - generating exercises and automatically assessing students’ responses - delivering tests and assessments - administering students’ results and giving them feedback Main software ingredients: - Maple - Brownstone’s EDU Campus - (if required) Blackboard Building Block

8. Components of Maple T.A.

21. aple*{ expr := $RESPONSE; var:= remove(type, indets(expr,name), realcons); if nops(vars)<>1 then check := false; else var := op(var); check := evalb( simplify(expr - eval(expr, var=-var))=0 ); end if; evalb(check); }

22. lot*{ expr := $RESPONSE; plot(expr,x=-1..1); } omment{ If your answer is marked as wrong, this is because the vertical axis is not a symmetry axis for the graph of your function. } nd{question} Because of the lot statement a student can see the graph of his/her response and verify the property

24. ode{ $answer = maple(&quot;diff(sin(x^2),x)&quot;); $answerdisplay = maple( &quot;printf(MathML:-ExportPresentation($answer))&quot;); } omment{ Use the chain rule to differentiate this formula. The correct answer is ar{answerdisplay}. } int{ Use the chain rule: $$(f(g(x)))'=f'(g(x))g'(x),$$ for differentiable functions $f$ and $g$. }

25. olution{ The chain rule is: $$(f(g(x)))'=f '(g(x)) g'(x),$$ for differentiable functions $f$ and $g$. In this exercise $f(x)=in x$ and $g(x)=x^2$. So, $f '(x)=os x$ and $g'(x)=2x$. Therefore $$(in(x^2))'=os(x^2)2x = 2xos(x^2).$$ } nd{question}

26. 3. Strengths & Weaknesses Strong points of Maple T.A. - variety of question types - large amount of exercise material can be created effectively - algorithmic variables can also be used in hints, solutions, feedback - rather good display, input, and creation of formulas; HTML can also be used - easy authoring knowing Latex and Maple - smoothly working together with Blackboard

27. Weaknesses of Maple T.A. - no good question chaining and combining of response fields - limited partial credit - limited feedback to student’s response - no good standalone authoring at present - ruling out Maple syntax is clumsy - no good facilities to test Maple code first - user interface is more rooted in software engineering than in educational design - no easily adaptable user interface - no language adaptation possible

30. The End Questions? Remarks?