What is Wiris Quizzes?

As a teacher, interpreting the student’s answer mathematically is natural or almost involuntary when we grade exams by hand, but a typical problem for computers is that they can only understand text literally. In this example, the correct answer set by the teacher is . Another equivalent way of writing this will also be correct, for example, by distributing the product: .

Sometimes it's not just the value of the answer that's important, but also its form. This usually happens when you are teaching basic algebraic manipulation, and you want the answer in a very specific form. For example, if you’re teaching how to reduce a fraction, you probably want to accept only the reduced fraction as the correct answer.

In this example, we can require the answer to be factorized and we won't accept the distributed answer . Apart from adding this assertion to the previous question, we can also define partially graded answers.

Another notable feature of Wiris Quizzes is its ability to generate random questions. This means we can write a general question with different data each time the question is opened. Considering the previous example, in the animation below we'll make part of the question random.

In Wiris Quizzes, you can define and manage random variables. We do this in the Wiris Quizzes Studio Interface. In fact, this is where most of the work is done in Wiris Quizzes. It's here we define a random length and the other side of the triangle correspondingly. Then we modify the correct answer using the new variable as part of the formula.

Finally, we insert these variables into the question statement. Now if two different students view the question, we can confirm the values have changed. Since the values change, naturally the solution is also different for each case.

Wiris Quizzes is great for creating mathematical questions, but because it understands units of measurement, it's also appropriate for physics, chemistry, biology, economics, and more.

Thus you can create a question which answer includes units, and the system will grade correctly any answer with equivalent units. In the following example, the correct answer is , but any equivalent answer as or will also be accepted.

It is common for teachers to ask their students to explain how they have computed the answer of a Math or Science question. Even in automatically graded questions, teachers may want to ask the students to write their reasons just in case they want to later check them for manually adjusting the grade or just to answer the student request regarding this question. It is also valuable from a formative assessment perspective, beyond grading.

For example, we can add a text editor to the previous question asking the students to reason their answers.

Another interesting feature of Wiris Quizzes is using the student's answer in the question feedback. This way it's possible to show the student why he has answered wrong or which steps he should have followed. We can add feedback, for instance, to a question asking for a particular function to show the difference between the plotters of the answered function and the correct one.

When you edit a question, Wiris Quizzes provides a wide range of options for comparing the student's answer to the correct answer. These involve decimal digits, units, simplification, etc. However, sometimes, we will find that it's necessary to create our own rule for determining when an answer is correct. This can be done via grading functions.

We can add a grading function to the previous question to accept more polynomials than . To do so, you need to select Custom grading function in Validation options > Comparison with student answer and define the rule.

Thus, any polynomial with roots and will be accepted. You can also provide particular feedback explaining it.

It's also possible to add Graphics to the question's statement and feedback. You have to generate the plotter in CalcMe and understand it as a standard variable to include it wherever you want. In this example, beyond giving a list of values, we can provide the students with a bar chart to make them interpret it.

Embedded answers, or cloze, allow inserting different question types in one question. Thus, it's possible to ask for several results in various formats inside one question. We can add different types of subquestions in the previous exercise.

It may seem like creating a question with Wiris Quizzes isn't easy, and that may seem worse if you consider you won't be used to its user interface. To help ease the transition, we are offering free Wiris Quizzes Training. This course consists of three parts, which cover theoretical contents, examples, and exercises.

If you are interested in enrolling in this training, email us at training@wiris.com and we will provide you with access information and login credentials.