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Programme of talks released for international EAMS 2018 Conference 

The programme for the E-Assessment in Mathematical Sciences (EAMS) conference has been released, with speakers from across the globe presenting the latest developments in the field of maths e-assessment and offering a unique opportunity to get hands-on with software, whether you are a user, a developer, or just a bit interested!

The conference takes place over 3 days here at Newcastle University, between 28th and 30th August, and is being hosted by the e-learning unit in the School of Mathematics, Statistics & Physics.

Mohamad Jebara, CEO of the award-winning Australian platform MathSpace, will open the conference, focussing on the innovative ways that MathSpace adapts to learners. Other highlights of day one include longer talks by senior figures from Vretta and DigitalEd, both with origins in Canada, and updates from EAMS 2016 keynote speakers, our own Christian Lawson-Perfect and Chris Sangwin, the lead developers of Numbas and STACK, respectively.

Opening proceedings on day two, Paul Milner, development manager at National Numeracy, will discuss the technology behind the charity’s online platform, which aims to improve the everyday maths of the UK’s adult population. The day will continue with a series of lightning talks covering topics including blended learning, online exams, and applications to subjects including statistics, engineering, physics and chemistry.

Day three will follow a new format, with the opportunity to take part in a ‘sprint’ to collaborate on new developments, to document best practice or exchange ideas. The format and content will be responsive to the topics and discussions arising from the proceedings in the first two days.

The conference takes place in the Boiler House, which will also host the conference dinner on the Wednesday night. Registration is free for Newcastle University staff and you are welcome to drop in and out of the conference sessions, however please do register on the EAMS website.

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E-Assessment in Mathematical Sciences (EAMS) 2018 Conference

The Numbas team is organising and hosting the international conference on E-Assessment in Mathematical Sciences (EAMS) here at Newcastle on 28th – 30th August 2018.
The conference aims to bring together researchers and practitioners with an interest in e-assessment for mathematics and the sciences, with an emphasis on enabling attendees to have a go at creating material, and getting an opportunity to share expertise directly. It will consist of a mix of presentations of new techniques, and pedagogic research, as well as live demos and workshops where you can get hands-on with leading e-assessment software.
The conference will feature keynote talks from Mohamad Jebara, founder and CEO of MathSpace and Paul Milner, development manager at National Numeracy.
The conference is free to Newcastle delegates (£75 external delegates) and includes a conference dinner. You can find out more about EAMS, and the forms to register for the conference and propose a talk, at the conference website.
We hope that EAMS 2018 will be an inclusive conference environment that invites participation from people of all races, ethnicities, genders, ages, abilities, religions, and sexual orientations. We’re actively seeking to increase the diversity of our attendees and speakers through our call for talk proposals and other conference communication. Please consider helping us in our goal in creating a more diverse conference through any of the following actions:
  • Recommend appropriate speakers to us by contacting any of the session organisers, or at eams@ncl.ac.uk
  • Forward our call for proposals to colleagues or potential speakers, with the message that we are looking for a diverse programme of speakers.
  • Suggest ways that the conference experience can be more welcoming and inclusive.
  • Share your ideas and best practices with us.
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Numbas material to aid the transition to university

Many subjects across the University are challenged by students who struggle with an unexpectedly high level of assumed mathematical proficiency in their courses. As part of an ULTSEC strategic project  this summer, we have aimed to tackle this problem by building a significant bank of formative mathematical tests which can be used both as a diagnostic tool and for student-led learning.

The material is largely drawn from the GCSE syllabus in mathematics, and is engaging and accessible for students, even outside of numerate disciplines.

Each question is randomised, making it perfect for practice, and has full solutions.

 

The material covers topics including: data collection and presentation, probability, statistics, units of measurement, area and volume, algebraic manipulation, sequences and many more. Each topic makes up a mini test with several questions.

A full list of topics can be found on the ASK website, one of the places where we are making the material available to students.

How do I give students access to the material?

Directing students to the ASK website is one possibility. Another is adding the material directly to Blackboard. Numbas embeds seamlessly into Blackboard and can also store student attempts. Adding a test is straightforward, simply select the Numbas – LTI option from the assessment menu, give the Blackboard item a name and then launch the Numbas tool. We have handily provided a menu of the tests on the right hand side of the tool, under “Select a ready-made exam”. The following video demonstrates the process of adding a test:

The settings for all of the tests are optimised for use as practice material. The students can regenerate questions to get new versions, change their answers as many times as they like and get full solutions. If you would like to customise the tests in any way then it is possible by using the Numbas editor. We can also help you to adapt material for your needs; don’t hesitate to get in touch if you require any assistance.

Thank you to our team of students and staff who have helped to develop the material, including undergraduate students Hannah Aldous, Bradley Bush, Stanislav Duris, Elliott Fletcher, Aiden McCall Lauren Richards and Maths Aid tutor Vicky Hall.

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Adding a Numbas Test to Blackboard

To add a Numbas test to Blackboard, first create a test in the Numbas Editor (see this post). Next, download your test: from the sidebar of the test, choose the Download -> SCORM package option.

In your Blackboard course, go to the Assessments drop-down menu and select Numbas – LTI.

lti1

You will be presented with some options, including a name and optional description. This is the information used to display the item in the Blackboard folder. Further down you will find some of the other standard Blackboard options such as display dates. There is no need to change any of the LTI configuration.

lti2

After clicking on Submit and Launch you will be presented with the New Numbas activity page.

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Using Choose file, browse to your Numbas test, then click Submit. You will be taken to the dashboard of the test, which will display student attempts, once the test is up and running.

lti4

Click the Test run button to preview your test. The dashboard will show attempts once students have accessed the material, and has options to do things like download scores. Clicking on the Blackboard link to the test will take instructors to this dashboard; students will be taken straight into the test itself, which you can preview using Blackboard’s standard Enter Student Preview button.

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Numbas is developed by the e-learning unit in the School of Mathematics & Statistics. If you have any questions or are interested in using Numbas in your course please Chris Graham at christopher.graham@ncl.ac.uk

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Creating a Numbas Test

Tests are created in the Numbas Editor, which you can log in to with your University credentials.

Creating a New Test:

To create a test you do not necessarily need to write new questions. The Numbas Editor is also accessible to the wider community, and there are several thousand questions which have been licensed for re-use. The simplest way to create a test is to browse the Numbas Editor and  fill up a basket of existing questions. Refer to the Numbas documentation  for details, which will walk you through the process of finding and collating questions into a test.

An excellent place to start is the Content created by Newcastle University project on the editor, which contains material developed by the e-learning unit in the School of Mathematics & Statistics.

Creating New Questions:

You may well wish to add your own questions to your test. Here is a short video which describes how to create your first (very simple) question:

Of course Numbas is capable of creating very sophisticated questions and we recommend consulting the Numbas documentation for more information.

Once you have a test, you can find out how to add your Numbas test to Blackboard

 

numbas-logo-large

Numbas is developed by the e-learning unit in the School of Mathematics & Statistics. If you have any questions or are interested in using Numbas in your course please Chris Graham at christopher.graham@ncl.ac.uk

 

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About Numbas

Numbas is a web-based assessment system with an emphasis on mathematics. It helps users to build sophisticated online tests suitable for numerate disciplines, including support for interactive graphs, statistical functions and the assessment of algebraic expressions.

Suitable for both practice and in-course assessment, Numbas tests integrate seamlessly with Blackboard, returning marks to Grade Center and offering the opportunity to download scores and reports directly from the tool.

Numbas is used in a wide range of subject areas here at Newcastle University, including accounting, biomedical sciences, engineering, physics and psychology. It is also used to deliver online support material in the ASK Academic Skills Kit.

 

Developed here at Newcastle University by the  School of Mathematics & Statistics e-learning unit, Numbas is an open source project with users and partners around the world. More information can be found on the Numbas public website.

The Numbas section of the LTDS blog is in its infancy, however the team is very happy to answer any queries: numbas@ncl.ac.uk.