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rr-exams

R/exams: Open-ended text question in exams2blackboard

Using string questions in exams2blackboard() from R/exams, is there a way to set the size of the box where students type in their answer in an open-ended question? Using string generates just a single row. The idea would be to have a text editor with a larger box for an open-ended text question.

Solution

  • Overview

    Starting from R/exams version 2.4-0 (the current CRAN release at the time of writing), different types of string exercises can be easily distinguished:

    • string: The default is a "closed" string questions where the participants typically enter a short string (e.g., a name of a function or method etc.). The answer entered then needs to match exactly the specified correct solution in order to obtain the point(s) associated with the exercise.
    • essay: Alternatively, an open-ended text question can be used where participants enter an "essay" in a text editor in the browser. The presentation depends to a certain degree on the specific learning management system. Instructors need to assign points manually.
    • file: Rather than providing the answer to an open-ended question in a text editor, participants can use a file upload (e.g., a PDF, HTML, Docx, etc.). Again, instructors need to assign points manually.

    Some exams2xyz() interfaces (notably exams2moodle() and exams2qti21() and hence exams2openolat()) also allow the combination of several types, typically essay|file so that student have the text editor and file upload. This is illustrated by the essayreg exercise template provided on the R/exams web page.

    Solution

    In order to use an open-ended essay question in exams2blackboard() you need to specify the following meta-information (here shown in R/Markdown style):

    Meta-information
================
exname: [...]
extype: string
exstringtype: essay
exsolution: nil

    where [...] should be a short description for your exercise.

    Example

    To try this out, please download the essayreg exercise template and save it as myessay.Rmd. Then, edit the line specifying the stringtype to exstringtype: essay and run

    exams2blackboard("myessay.Rmd", ...)