The main purpose of the mathematical extensions is to allow mathematics teachers to create powerful, reusable testing material fast and easily.
The 2nd group of mathematical extensions comprises 4 super-categories with 10 different operations and 19 combinations of units amounting to a total of 190 different subtypes of task which can be defined.
Super-categories- Money
- Time units
- The metric system
- The US/British system of weights and measures
| Operations- Conversion from lower to higher units
- Conversion from higher to lower units
- Conversion from expressions using a single unit to expressions using two units
- Conversion from expressions using two units to expressions using a single unit
- Addition
- Subtraction
- Multiplication by an integer
- Division
- Addition with missing operand
- Subtraction with missing operand
| Units- Dollars and cents
- Euros and cents
- Pounds and pence
- Metres, centimetres, millimetres, kilometres
- Litres, millilitres
- Grammes, kilogrammes
- Ounces, pounds, stone
- Inches, feet, yards, miles
- Pints, gallons
- Seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years
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If you want to create maths testing material using the above units and operations, the traditional problems for other quiz makers has been (i) formatting, (ii) conversion ratios, (iii) reusability. The formats used for money, time, measures and weights are detailed, complex and variable. The conversion ratios are mostly different - even with the metric system, the ratios are not in fact 10x, but 10x, 100x and 1000x. A single mathematical question has an unusually low reusability value which means that while taking a long time to create, they are used up fast.
The solution.- Formatting: all this is programmatically automated, with the exception of requiring prompts from the user. Learners still need to pay attention to formatting, but the programme ensures the details are correct and that the maths stays at the forefront.
- Conversion ratios: questions and answers are automatically generated within general parameters specified by the teacher. The student may need to work out the answers - but you don't!
- Reusability: the random generator creates tasks within the general parameters you specify; a single set of parameters can be used to generate dozens, hundreds or even thousands of questions targetted at a specific difficulty level and task type.
Custom keypads.
All mathematical tasks use special customised keypads with just the characters and functions required for the task in question. The screenshot above shows a custom keypad for money tasks using dollars and cents. Most other custom keypads are similar to this. The programme generates over dozens of different keypads depending on the task subtype. Keypads are purely mouse-driven - typing is never required for mathematical tasks.
Demonstrations.
Sample modules showing the mathematical capabilities can be downloaded from the online learning library.
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