Got a course filled with maths? No problem. We've got a range of tools to support learning, teaching and course creation:
A range of math-related tasks
A range of sophisticated automarking options
An easy to use math editor in tasks (for authors, facilitators and learners)
Text elements that support latex code for authors
We'll look at each of these in more detail below.
A range of math-related tasks
We've got five great math task types across two categories.
Maths
Math cloze (basic) - Learners can fill in the blank with any math symbol or equation and be manually marked by a facilitator (see more about how learners enter formulae below).
Math cloze (advanced) - As with the type above, learners can fill in the blank with any math symbol or equation, but this type has advanced automarking methods available (see more about marking below).
Math essay - Learners can type long-form answers which can include formulae or equations throughout.
Charts and graphs
Number line - Learners can drag and drop items to plot them on a line graph.
Bar chart - Leaners can drag bars on a chart to plot figures and show trends.
A range of sophisticated automarking options
As an author, you can choose how your math cloze (advanced) task will mark. For instance you can set a task so that if the answer is 100, learners will be marked correct if they put 10 ร 10, 50 + 50, 100.00 and so on. Or, if you need equations to be simplified, factorised, expanded or in any other specific form, you can specify that too.
The image below shows a range of options for specifying particular marking.
See more detail for each marking method in an Overview of marking methods for math fill in the blanks (cloze).
An easy to use math editor in tasks
Learners, facilitators and authors can simply select a button on a tool bar where they're typing and it brings up a math editor.
The math editor has some of the common notations needed. Simply add the parts you need by selecting the notation.
And the dropdown lets you choose from other less common notations.
Once you've entered your math, select OK and it displays with a dotted line.
If you need to re-edit, simply double-click the math element to open the editor again. Make your edits and save.
Tip: You can also save time by using the keyboard tips like * for times, / for fraction, and ^ for "to the power of".
For more detail on the math editor for authors, see Using the tasks math editor as an author for learners see Using the tasks math editor.
Text elements that support latex code for authors
Lastly as an author, you can use LaTex markup in text elements to include formulae in your content, not just in your tasks.
The mark up used to highlight certain parts of the equation can be especially useful when your course has loads of worked examples.
For more detail, check out Creating formulae in text elements using LaTeX.
Summary
In iQualify we've got LaTeX, a math editor in tasks (for learners, facilitators and authors) and math tasks that can be automarked by our system, saving you time!
Another great thing about all of these is that putting in equations this way is much more flexible and accessible than trying to use images. Our formulae are accessible to screen-readers and read out the math formulae in a human-readable way. For example a screen reader would say "x squared, divided by two to the power of three, plus fifteen equals nine hundred".