Constructing and Deploying a Simple Assignment in Maple T.A.
This page illustrates the creation (from scratch) of a new assignment in Maple T.A.. To keep the demonstration simple we will use all of the available questions drawn from a single question bank, and we will assume that your course has been registered. If not, see Getting Started
Constructing a Question Bank
Log into one of your courses in MyUni and go to
CONTROL PANEL => MAPLE T.A. INSTRUCTOR MAIN MENU => QUESTION BANK EDITORwhere the arrow means “follow the link”. You should see
Select
Start New => Add Topiccall the topic something like “Addition”, and then select “Add Question” from the left hand column. The question description may be left blank. Select True/false from the question type pull-down menu, then “Next”. Enter the text shown in the screenshot (“The postcode of the University of Adelaide is 5005.”)
Click “Finish” and check that the question behaves as expected by filling in the answer and clicking grade.
Add another question from the menu on the left. This time select “Fill in the blanks” as the Question Type, click “Next” and enter “Canberra is the capital of Australia” in the text area. Click “Next” and then select the dots either side of Canberra. Choose “Add Choices” and enter “Adelaide” and “Darwin”.The word Canberra should then be highlighted as shown.
Select the dots around Australia so that it too is highlighted. Click “Finish”.
Installing the Question Bank
Our Question Bank now contains one topic “Addition” with two questions. Question Banks may contain multiple topics, but we’ll install the Question Bank into MyUni without adding further topics.
Click “OK”, then “Main Menu” and “Save/Install”. Call the question bank “trial”, or something similarly imaginative(!) and then select “MAPLE T.A. INSTRUCTOR MAIN MENU” from the breadcrumb trail at the top of the window.
Constructing an Assignment
Select “Assignment Editor” then “New” and call your assignment “assign 1”. Click on the “Select Questions” tab, choose “trial” from the list of Question Banks, select the tick box to choose “All Questions”, then “Add as Items”.
Click “Set Policies” and scan the list of options available there. We will leave default settings set up, except to assign a passing score of 2 out of 2 (enter “2” in the relevant box) and a maximum of 1 attempt at the quiz (select 1 from the pull down menu). Click “Review and Finish” and finally “Finish” to complete the Assignment.
Deploying an Assignment
We now have an Assignment within Maple T.A., but must make it available via MyUni. Click “CONTROL PANEL” from the breadcrumb trail, and choose any of the available Content Areas. You might like to add a new Content Area for Maple T.A. Assignments. From the pull-down list at the top right of the window select “Maple T.A. Assignment” then “Go”. Select “assign 1”, then “Submit”.
The assignment is now visible in the content area and you can check that the constraints we included are obeyed. In particular, the pass mark of 2/2 and the fact that you can only take the Assignment once.
Note that moving question to question is usually performed via the “Next” button at the top of the screen. Half answered Assignments can be suspended using the “Quit and Save” button. Finally, the “View Details” button shows a student the correct answers next to their attempts.
Experimenting
Try changing the availability so that there are start and end dates on the Assignment. Change the “Set Policies” so that there is a time limit on the assignment and note how a student taking the test is given a timer at the top of the browser screen.