Before you start
The Learn-Maple T.A. integration tool allows instructors to make links
in Learn to their MapleTA assignments. Students can log into their
LEARN course to do their MapleTA assignments without entering through
the MapleTA home page. In addition, MapleTA assignment grades
are passed back into the LEARN course gradebook automatically. Instructors
can also push MapleTA marks for a whole course directly into LEARN through
an action in the MapleTA gradebook called "Export by CMS".
The Learn-Maple T.A. integration tool connects one LEARN course with one
MapleTA course.
The LEARN roster is shared with the MapleTA system. And, while MapleTA
cannot duplicate LEARN groups, like lecture or lab sections,
i.e. there is no roster group structure available in MapleTA,
the instructor can attach LEARN group and date access conditions to MapleTA quiz
links and so restrict access to MapleTA quizzes by group and by date
(the usual LEARN Start, End and Due dates (see FAQ below)).
To achieve this kind of access restriction to MapleTA quizzes from LEARN,
and not allow students to take the quiz directly through the
MapleTA home page (which has no group access control), the quizzes on the
MapleTA system should be made hidden from general student access.
Thus, access control will reside solely on the LEARN system.
Instructors, also retain the option of not using the LEARN-MapleTA
integration tool.
Then the traditional manual MapleTA tools to add a roster to a MapleTA course
and to export MapleTA marks to a CSV file for import into LEARN will be used.
And, students will enter through the MapleTA home page to take their
MapleTA assignments.
Another possibility, is to create an individual LEARN course for each of
the lecture sections in order to preserve the one-to-one
relationship between MapleTA and LEARN courses required by the integration
tool. This is the most amount of work, as multiple LEARN and MapleTA
courses will be maintained.
To discuss your needs, please contact either mapleta@uwaterloo.ca or
the Mathematics Faculty CTE Liaison Paul Kates (pkates@uwaterloo.ca).
Getting Started
- Request a Maple T.A. course from mapleta@uwaterloo.ca or Paul Kates
(pkates@uwaterloo.ca).
Provide the course name and your name and user login name (from LEARN).
Your user login name will become the instructor of the MapleTA course,
unless you request otherwise.
MapleTA courses have only a single instructor (this will change in Fall
2014), unlike LEARN courses.
Access to the MapleTA course for assignment creation and gradebook
operations will be through this single instructor login name.
Your MapleTA account will have a different password than your LEARN
account. The two systems do not share passwords.
Once your MapleTA course is created, a link to MapleTA will be added
on your LEARN course home page in a box (i.e. LEARN widget) titled MapleTA.
You can add this link yourself if you are familiar with LEARN
System widgets available from the Edit Course > Widgets page.
Otherwise, we will add the MapleTA widget to your home page.
If you wish a MapleTA course but not the LEARN-MapleTA
integration tool, just mention this in your request.
The rest of this page is about using the LEARN-MapleTA integration tool.
- Map your Learn course to a Maple T.A. course. In the MapleTA box
now on your LEARN course home page is a link titled "Course mapping".
Click this link to open a new page with a list of all the MapleTA courses
created in your name as MapleTA instructor. This list appears under
the "Select ..." line.
Select the appropriate course title and click the button titled
"Map to Existing Class" to establish a connection between your MapleTA
course and your LEARN course. Ignore the other two buttons.
If you see a message appear and disappear before you have a chance to
read it, all it says is
"Mapping successfully created/updated for current org unit."
Returning to the course home page in LEARN, the MapleTA widget box now
includes an additional link "Go to MapleTA", which will open a new
browser page to your MapleTA course, automatically logging you or your
students into MapleTA using your/their LEARN user id.
MapleTA assignments that are not hidden in MapleTA are available to your
students through this link.
In the next section, links to individual MapleTA assignments
can be placed in your LEARN course.
Setting an Assignment Link in LEARN
- Assignments must first be made in Maple T.A.
- Once some MapleTA assignments are created go to the LEARN
Content page (under Course Materials) and create or enter the
module (i.e. heading or folder) area e.g. MapleTA assignments, where
you wish to place links to your MapleTA assignments.
- Open the Add Activities dropdown menu, and select Maple T.A. Assignment.
- On the subsequent popup screen use the Select a Maple T.A. Assignment
dropdown menu to choose your assignment (one at a time). Note: you
will see and be able to select any MapleTA assignment, even the ones
hidden from students in MapleTA.
Your selection creates a link to the assignment in the current LEARN
module. By default, the title of the link is the title of the MapleTA
assignment. You can change this title and add access restrictions to
the link by LEARN group and by date, as for any LEARN content item.
LEARN Bug
Access restrictions using time, date, and role can be added to normal LEARN links in the usual way - the pull-down menu next to the link title, but a bug prevents this for links to MapleTA assignments. There are two workarounds.
-
Click the MapleTA link to see a page appear with a Begin button, and then scroll down what first appears to be a blank page until you see the date restriction fields. You can add the access restrictions there.
-
Place each MapleTA assignment link into its own submodule (i.e. a subfolder that appears as a smaller box on the page) and attach restrictions for the submodule box.
To achieve this kind of access restriction to MapleTA quizzes from LEARN,
and not allow students to take the quiz directly through the
MapleTA home page (which has no group access control), the quizzes on the
MapleTA system should be made hidden from general student access.
Thus, access control will reside solely on the LEARN system.
The MapleTA assignment link in LEARN takes you to a page framed
inside the LEARN page
with a short description of the MapleTA assignment (point value,
type of assignment) and a "Begin" button to start the MapleTA assignment.
To start the assignment a student will click "Begin", complete as much of
the assignment as they wish, click the Grade link to have the assignment
automatically marked, and then click Save & Quit to close the MapleTA
page and return to the LEARN page showing the "Begin" button. You can
navigate away from this LEARN page at any time. Student grades are
placed in the LEARN gradebook, but not instructor grades. An instructor
can impersonate the LEARN course Test Student account. This account
can complete MapleTA assignments and the MapleTA grade does appear in
the LEARN gradebook under Test Student.
When the first student or instructor clicks on a LEARN link to a
a MapleTA assignment and takes the assignment, a new item in the
LEARN gradebook is made using the MapleTA assignment name.
The new item in the LEARN gradebook has the same point value as
the MapleTA assignment. It is also given a default weight value of 10,
a value which can be adjusted in the LEARN gradebook. The new gradebook
item is not in any gradebook category, but can be moved into one.
The LEARN gradebook item title can be changed, but changing the gradebook
item point value will not change the MapleTA gradebook mark value
sent to and recorded in the LEARN gradebook item.
Using the Integrated Product (Student)
- When a student clicks on the MapleTA assignment link a Learn
"summary" page appears with the assignment's point value and type.
The "Begin" button on the page will take the student to the assignment
in MapleTA.
- If the student wishes to complete the MapleTA assignment later, they
can click Save & Quit and then return to their LEARN page.
Clicking the "Begin" button again will take the student back into
MapleTA to complete more of their assignment.
- If the student wishes to finish the MapleTA assignment, they
can click "Grade" and the assignment will be automatically marked.
Their grade will be copied to the student's MapleTA and LEARN Gradebooks
immediately.
FAQ
- Why is my student missing a MapleTA mark in the LEARN gradebook?
The student didn't grade their MapleTA assignment. Let the class know
that they have to use the "Grade" button in the MapleTA assignment
to have their MapleTA grades appear in the LEARN gradebook.
- Why is my student not seeing the "Best" (i.e. highest) mark
show up in the LEARN gradebook from their several attempts at a MapleTA
assignment?
Each mark from a completed MapleTA assignment flows into the LEARN
gradebook overwriting the previous assignment mark. To have the "Best"
mark (i.e. the highest mark of several assignment completions) moved
into the LEARN gradebook, on the MapleTA course Gradebook page choose
the "Best" setting for the "Show Results:" field, and then use the
"Export CMS" button on the MapleTA Gradebook page to push every student's
"Best" mark into the LEARN gradebook. There is a similar "Average" setting
for moving the average mark of several assignment completions.
- By hand, I changed a MapleTA assignment mark in the LEARN gradebook,
but the mark has changed back to its original value. Why?
MapleTA marks moved into the LEARN gradebook from a student completing
a MapleTA assignment or through an instructor using the MapleTA
"Export CMS" button on the MapleTA gradebook page will overwrite
existing MapleTA assignment marks in the LEARN gradebook. To make permanent
changes by hand to MapleTA assignment marks, make changes in the MapleTA
gradebook. This gradebook keeps all MapleTA assignment marks.
- I have MapleTA assignments for student practice, but not for any grade.
Can these MapleTA assignments not appear in the LEARN gradebook?
No. Every MapleTA assignment that students take appears in the
LEARN gradebook. But, in the LEARN gradebook, you can change the weight
of each of the assignments to 0, or place all the practice assignments
in their own LEARN gradebook category (i.e. section) and give the whole
category a weight of 0.
- What are LEARN Start, End and Due dates?
The dates when students can access the LEARN item.
Start date is when an item is first visible to access.
End date is when an item is last visible to access.
Due date is when an item is still visible to access but will be recorded
as accessed late, assuming it is before the End date.
All three dates are optional and can be mixed together.
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