[New Quizzes] Math Equation question type

Problem statement:

Question types are not robust enough for math teachers. Cannot use formulas inside math editor/latex and ask the students to enter a math answer. For example, a math teacher cannot currently ask Simplify \frac{`a`}{`b`}x^2 + \frac{`c`}{`b`}x^2 the formula for the math editor solution would be \frac{ [[`a`+`c`]] }{`b`}x^2 (note: the [[ ]] could signal the need to actually add a+c for the final answer)

Proposed solution:

For me, the perfect type of question would involve a FORMULA, and I could define variables WITHIN for latex math expressions (see above). I want my questions to have randomized values, but to be formatted properly -- not just plain text. For student submissions, I could ask them to submit a properly math expression (answer is formulated based on defined variables and auto-graded.) The question type could be a subset of the "Formula" type, and just have a checkbox on whether the student should be forced into the math equation editor for their response or not.

User role(s):

instructor

3 Comments
BWhite3114
Community Explorer
Author

This is the reason I don't use the Canvas "Quiz" or "New Quizzes" tools at all.    3rd party apps like BookWidgets are far superior when working with math questions and answers, but unfortunately they don't have a calculated-math-formula version either.

nathanatkinson
Community Team
Community Team
Status changed to: Open
 
BWhite3114
Community Explorer
Author

I just played with "New Quizzes" two years after this suggestion, and I don't see any changes in question types that might support randomized algebraic responses.  I want each student to get a randomized question and be able to type in the math (using WYSIWYG LATEX editor).  Currently, the "Formula" question type only supports numerical answers.

I'm using myOpenMath for all of my assignments, but would like to be able to do something similar for Canvas native questions for quizzes.   

Using the "essay" type (which would NOT be randomized) and manually grading every question sounds awful and wouldn't work for me.