HELP: Fill In the Blank: Multiple Correct Answers with Levenshtein Distance

[LukeB]

Hello, I was wondering if there is a way to create a fill in the blank with multiple correct answers that are also checked by Levenshtein distance.

For Example. 

Question: Name one phylum of protists with a photosynthetic organism.

Possible Answers:  

euglenozoa           I want this one to be Levenshtein Distance Checked

viridiplantae             I want this one to be Levenshtein Distance Checked

dinoflagellate            I want this one to be Levenshtein Distance Checked

The student would only enter one answer and it would check for all three and if it finds a match it would count it correct while using the Levenshtein distance. I think this is a simple feature why is this not an option, or am I missing something? Please Help @Stefanie, @ctitmus  @kmeeusen @bcrook @James @gnoack @ysmalls  or How do I create a Fill in the Blank question in New Quizzes?  anyone.

[kmeeusen · Accepted solution]

Hi @LukeB 

While this may be a "simple" feature, I personally have never even heard of it, and I have used five LMSs over a very long history. Still, there is lots I do not know, and every day I discover more. In fact, I had to look up Leroy's Ruler or whatever it is called to find out what in the heck it is, and how it might be used in teaching/learning. I found out what it is, but I am really curious how it can be applied to teaching and learning and especially to grading student submissions. And, of course, why it would be used for grading?

But to answer your question; nope, Canvas ain't got none of that stuff!

However, fI you would like you could propose this as an enhancement in Idea Conversations in this community.

• How do idea conversations work in the Canvas Community?
• How do I create a new idea conversation in the Canvas Community?

Good luck,

Kelley

[JoshuaHarper]

You could do a workaround in the meantime. I can think of a couple options. You could just forego the Levenshtein distance and check yourself for near misses by the students. Alternatively, you could try to guess the least likely to be misspelled portions of the names and use regular expressions, perhaps something like: eugl.*zoa|virid.*plant.*|dinoflag.*