Motivating principles¶
Page status: Outline
This is a rough outline of an article. It might not use full sentences everywhere and probably won’t make much sense at the moment.
These are the motivating principles behind Numbas.
Design¶
Find common patterns in question authoring, and come up with the right level of abstraction to accommodate them.
Where possible, provide the author with choices rather than requiring scripting.
Allow rapid iteration - show the consequences of an editing action immediately.
Allow extension.
Low barrier to entry.
Use¶
Initially summative, replacing handwritten homework, then formative (in maths)
Persistent demand for e-assessment in service courses. They’re seen as easier to assess, because there’s less demand on deep understanding.
In maths, trying to move to exploration - not really assessment at all.
Is the printed worksheet theme under-used?
In labs, for recording measurements and assessing calculations.