Testing Technology
Sharifa Smith
Product Specialist
Maple T.A. is already helping to massage out the knotted muscles
of tired teachers across the country - stressed out and overloaded at
exam time. Make
sure you’re not the last to know about this time-saving technical
testing system.
Many UK institutions already
leverage Maple T.A. to automate
the assessment of maths-based
subjects. They recognise that it
automatically generates unlimited variants
of the same question. They understand
that it grades tests and correctly marks
free-form algebraic answers. And they
know that its range of assignment types
help students learn at their own pace,
either in the classroom or at home.
If you’re at an institution that
has yet to
discover Maple T.A., you may be surprised
to learn that it’s completely web-based,
with no client-side software to install.
After it’s installed on a
server, a webbased
wizard helps lecturers author
questions. A full range of range of
questions includes those that accept
multiple choice and selection responses,
and free-form algebraic answers. All can
contain intelligently randomised
variables, ensuring that students receive
different versions of the
same questions. This
means that students
collaborate on the
method, and not
the answer.
Maple T.A. uses
Maple to generate
questions across the whole spectrum of
maths, including linear algebra, calculus,
probability and statistics, with a complete
range of 2D and 3D plots.
Questions are bundled into tests with
an assignment editor that allows authors
to specify whether tests can be retaken,
or that an invigilator verifies the student’s
identify before they take a high-stake
exam. If needed, students can also
take unlimited practice tests,
with different versions of the
same question.
After Maple T.A. grades
tests, lectures view and
analyse results with an online
gradebook. Results are easily archived by
exporting them to a spreadsheet.
A raft of enhancements in new version 4
makes Maple T.A. an even better solution
for institutions that want to liberate
academics from bottlenecks at exam time.
It’s now easier to implement with a
dedicated system administration guide,
better LDAP authentication and support for
Blackboard Learning System versions 6.3 to
8. Integration with MapleNet mean Maple
T.A. scales across multiple servers for faster
response times and better scalability.
Our existing customers have found
that
exam time isn’t as testing with Maple TA.
If you’d rather write research proposals
than mark exams, then contact us to find
out more. |