EDU
An Online Assignment Administrator

EDU is a system for creating, administering, and grading exams over the Internet.

EDU is a product of Brownstone Software, was originally called "EGrade", and was developed by John Orr, originally at the University of Nebraska.

In order to use EDU, an instructor must access or create a databank of questions, which can be created as either LaTex files or MathML. The questions can be broken up into files, sometimes corresponding to chapters of the text, or topics in the course. Within a file, the questions may be further grouped into named subtopics, which will make it easier for later access when defining assignments.

Then the instructor uses the software to set up a class and create assignments, which involve selecting certain questions or groups of questions from the files in the databank. The software allows the instructor to specify how a particular "slot" in the assigment is to be filled - that is, it might always be a particular question from the databank, or it might be selected at random from a group of questions. This random choice is made at the time a particular student chooses to begin work on the assignment, and thus allows the instructor to control chances for cheating, and to permit the student to work on the assignment again, without having the same questions show up each time.

EDU Overview for Students

EDU is accessed from a web browser, such as Netscape or Explorer. To use EDU for a particular course, you must register, setting up a username and password. Every time you take a test, you sign in with this information. While quizzes and sample tests may be taken anywhere, you normally must come to the Math Computer Lab to take proctored exams.

EDU Class Locator Page: If you are in the Math Computer Lab, find the Launcher program, select the Math Courses window, and then select EDU (Explorer) or EDU (Netscape). This will take you to the EDU Class Locator page. Otherwise, from any computer, point your browser to http://vega.math.iastate.edu:8080/classes.

Registering: The first time you use the online testing system, you need to register. This means you pick a username and password that will identify you from now on, for this course. (If you're taking several courses through EDU, you need to register separately for each one.) Go to the EDU Class Locator Page, and pick the class you're taking. This will take you to the EDU Class Page for you class. Now choose the option

        * Register for this Class

Now select Register. The username and password that you choose now will be required for every test that you take.

Signing In: Whenever you want to take a proctored exam, you must come to the Computer Lab. You will need to sign in to the log book at the front desk, and show an ISU ID. Once the proctor has entered this information, you can sit down and begin your exam. When you are done and ready to have the exam graded, you must notify the proctor again. Usually, you need only to raise your hand and get the proctor's attention.

Starting an Exam: Go to the EDU Class Locator Page. Select your class. On the class page, there will be a box with a list of all the assignments. Highlight the one you are interested in, and then click on Go. If you choose a proctored exam, you will then be asked to enter your login name and password.

Taking an Exam: You will see one question at a time. To move from question to question, use the arrow keys inside the window; do not use the BACK key on the Browser!

Grading an Exam: When you are finished the exam, select the Grade button, and notify the proctor that you are done.

Exam Rules: You can take a proctored exam once a day, until the deadline specified by your instructor. The highest grade you make on a particular exam is the one that counts.

During the exam, you will be supervised by the proctor. The proctor is authorized to observe your computer screen at any time. The proctor can terminate your exam if you are found to be behaving improperly. Such behavior includes using reference notes, sending or receiving messages, running other programs, or referring to your old results.

Remote Access: You don't have to come to the Math lab to take a quiz, sample exam or review your graded work. Just go to the web site http://vega.math.iastate.edu:8080/classes/ and you can do everything except take a proctored exam.

Printing: You can print sample exams the way you'd expect, by selecting the Print button on your browser. But you can't print proctored exams this way. To print a proctored exam, go to the Online Testing homepage, and then choose View Past Results. There you will see every graded assignment you have taken. Now you can select one, and print it using your browser's Print button.

Entering Formulas in EDU

The EDU testing system allows your instructor to ask questions for which the answer is a mathematical formula. This allows you some flexibility. For instance, if the instructor says the answer is 2x+1, you can also enter 1+2x or even x+1+x and still have your answer recognized as correct.

Here are some examples of formulas that EDU will understand:

x^2-2x+1	(2*y+1) / (y-4)
2 sin(x)+sqrt(3)	(x^2+1) * e^(-x^2)

Many simple mathematical formulas are really more like pictures than like sentences. This is especially true for formulas involving fractions or exponents. When specifying a formula to EDU, we can't draw a picture; we are required to describe the formula as a sentence, and that means we must be careful in our description.

The hardest thing to understand is that we need to use a lot of parentheses to specify the formula. Here are some examples:

words	ambiguous	You might mean	You probably mean
1 over x plus 1	1 / x + 1	( 1 / x ) + 1	1 / ( x + 1 )
e to the 2 times x	e ^ 2 x	( e ^ 2 ) * x	e ^ ( 2 * x )
the sine of 3 x	sin 3 x	sin ( 3 ) x	sin ( 3 x )
the square root of 4 + y	sqrt 4 + y	sqrt ( 4 ) + y	sqrt ( 4 + y )
minus z squared	- z ^ 2	(-z)^2	- (z^2)

Now you don't have to put in parentheses everywhere, but the most common error people make is to leave out parentheses in fractions, square roots, exponents, and trig functions. Now we're only talking about "round" parentheses, that is, ( and ). You never want to use "square" or "curly" parentheses, also known as braces or brackets: [, ], {, }. Sometimes people assume that they should use these other kinds of parentheses when a formula gets complicated; in fact, EDU has no trouble keeping track of lots of round parentheses. It's just hard for us!

The system is case sensitive. Usually, everything will be in lowercase, and EDU will not recognize a name that is in uppercase. Thus, if the answer is

        sin(pi*x)

then EDU will not accept the answers

        Sin(pi*x), SIN(PI*X), sin(pi*X) (wrong!)

When entering powers of functions, you need to be careful. In print, you will often see the square of the sine function expressed like this sin²(x). So you might try to enter such a formula into EDU as

        sin^2(2x) (wrong!)

but this will not be acceptable! You can write such a formula in the slightly ambiguous form

        sin(2x)^2

or the safer, clearer form

        ( sin(2x) )^2

Another point that you may worry about is whether the square root is the same as the 1/2 power. It is, as long as you are careful to write it correctly. The following are OK:

        sqrt ( x ), x^(1/2), x^0.5

The reason people have trouble using the 1/2 power correctly is that the forget the parentheses! The following expression might look like it means the square root of x, but it does not:

        x^1/2 (wrong!)

The Previewer

EDU includes a Preview option that lets you see a "picture" of your formula. You should use this frequently during your first few sessions with EDU, and whenever you type a complicated formula where the chance of a mistake is significant.

The previewer isn't perfect. Every now and then, it might do something that surprises you. Occasionally, there will be formulas that the previewer can't handle properly. If you're in doubt, ask the computer lab monitor for a second opinion.

You might expect the previewer to display exactly what you typed in, but "nicer". Actually, it also sometimes rearranges your input to correspond to the way it thinks. While this doesn't affect your answer, it can confuse you. Here are some things the previewer does to your work:

If your answer is a pair of numbers, like
```
          1, 3
```
the previewer will automatically put parentheses around them:
```
          (1,3)
```
In fact, any list of numbers separated by commas will automatically be previewed with a pair of parentheses. Sometimes this is appropriate, if the numbers represent the coordinates of a point. Sometimes, these parentheses just look odd. Usually, the information under the answer box will tell you what is expected, but in general, just put parentheses around things like (x,y) coordinates, and don't bother putting them around a simple list of numbers.
If your answer includes multiplication and division, the previewer will often insert parentheses, or put some multipliers on top of a fraction and some not. For instance, if you want to enter 3 times pi divided by 4, you can type any of the following:
```
          3 pi / 4, 3 (pi / 4 ), (3 pi)/4
```
These are all fine, but the previewer will show the first two entries something like this:
```
               pi
            3 ----
                4
```
and the third one as
```
             3 pi
             ----
               4
```
It doesn't matter, they're all the same!
If your answer is a polynomial, like
```
            x³+5*x²+3*x-7
```
the previewer will insert lots of parentheses to show you how it's going to add the terms, like this:
```
            ((x³+5*x²)+3*x)-7
```
These extra parentheses are pointless to us, although they seem to make the computer happy. Just remember that you do not have to enter such parentheses yourself. If you get such a polynomial problem wrong, it's not because you left out parentheses, but because you got a coefficient or power incorrect.

Exact and Approximate Answers

EDU sometimes expects an exact answer, and sometimes an approximate one. If an approximate or numeric answer is expected, the problem will always say something like

    Give your answer to two decimal places

and the wording under the answer box should read something like

    This question expects an answer that is a number.

But if an exact answer is expected, the phrase under the answer box will read

    This question expects an answer that is a formula or a number.

So the answer to the question

    What is the positive number whose square is equal to 3?

has the answer

     sqrt(3)

if an exact answer is expected, or

     1.732

if an approximate answer to 3 decimal places is expected.

In some cases, an exact answer and a decimal answer are both acceptable. For instance, 1/2 and 0.5 are the same. But 1/3 is not equal to 0.333, and so 0.333 would not be acceptable if an exact answer is expected.

You might be confused the first time you get a problem graded whose answer is approximate or numeric. For instance, if the question was

    What is the value of pi to 3 decimal places?

you'd probably expect that the correct answer would be printed out as 3.141 or 3.142 depending on whether you're supposed to round. What the computer will show is something like this:

   3.14159265 ? 0.001

or perhaps

   3.14159265 +/- 0.001

where the +/- that I've shown will actually show up on the test as a regular plus-or-minus sign.

This strange formula is not what you're supposed to type. The computer still expects that you typed in something like 3.141. But it wants to give you credit for any answer that's close enough to the exact one. So in fact, a numeric answer usually has a range of values that will be acceptable. For this problem, any number will be marked correct if it is within 0.01 of 3.14159265. That is, your answer is OK if it is between 3.14059265 and 3.14259265.

Remember: for a numeric answer, you enter a number. You never, ever have to type in an answer like the weird result you'll see when the question is graded. That's just there to show you the range of acceptable values.

This also points out another question. If we're supposed to give an answer to three decimal places, do we simply compute 3 decimal places and stop, giving us 3.141, or do we look at the next decimal place, and round, giving us 3.142. The answer is, it is always best to round. Usually, the instructor gives you some leeway, but rounding is sure to keep you closer to the right answer.

Problems with fractions

Many problems have answers that are fractions. Here are some things to keep in mind.

A few fractions can be also be written as exact decimals. Thus, if your answer involves 1/2, you can also write 0.5. In the same way, a value of 1/4 can also be written 0.25. As long as the decimal and fraction are exactly the same, either way of writing them is usually OK. But if an exact answer is required, most fractions should be left as fractions, so 1/3 should not be written as 0.33, because that is not exactly the same.
If your answer is a "mixed" fraction, such as one and three fourths, then you can't write something like
```
        1 3/4 (Wrong!)
```
EDU will not understand what you mean by that space. Instead, you could either write
```
        1 + 3/4
```
which will work as long as formulas are acceptable, or
```
        7/4
```
which is probably best.

If the top or bottom of your fraction is "complicated", you will need to use parentheses. The fractions

        x    x + 1       x      x + 3
       ---  -------   -------  -------
        y      y       y + 2    y + 4

should be entered as


       x/y, (x+1)/y, x/(y+2), (x+3)/(y+4)

You do not need to "clean up" your fractions. Usually, it is OK to give a fraction as an answer even if there is a common factor
```
        12/8
```
or a square root in the denominator:
```
        1/sqrt(2)
```
You are usually allowed to make a "fraction of fractions", as long as you include parentheses to make it clear. This is handy when you're trying to report the value of the tangent, for instance, and you remember the sine and cosine. In order to express the fraction which is 1/2 on top and sqrt(3)/2 on bottom, you could write
```
        (1/2) / (sqrt(3)/2)
```
but you should understand that this is not the same as
```
        1 / 2 / sqrt(3) / 2.
```
If the bottom of your fraction begins with a negative sign, it might be best to put it in parentheses. To write 6 divided by -5, you could write
```
        6/(-5)
```
although it would be more usual to rewrite this as
```
        -6/5.
```

Problems with angles

In trigonometry, many answers involve the measurement of angles. The problem will usually say explicitly whether your answer should be in degrees, or in the radian system of measurement. If the problem does not say it explicitly, then you should be able to determine what is needed based on the units of measurement for other angles described in the problem.

Whether you're using radians or degrees, your answer will never require a degree symbol. It will usually not require the word "radians" or "degrees". Thus, the correct answer to the question

What is the measurement of a right angle in degrees?

is usually simply

90

and the correct answer to the question

What is the measurement of a right angle in radians?

is usually simply

pi/2

Sometimes, an instructor will want you to enter not just the value, but the units, but in that case, the text of the question will always include that information. Thus, the correct answer to the question

What is the measurement of a straight angle? Include the units.

would be either

180 degrees

pi radians

For a different reason, however, it would be incorrect to answer this question with

3.14159 radians

(Do you remember why this is an incorrect answer?)

For problems where the answer is an angle, it is usually required that that angle be between 0 and 360 degrees, or 0 and 2 pi radians. In some cases, your initial answer may be outside this range, and you'll need to add or subtract 360 degrees or 2 pi radians in order to fix that.

Restricted Mode

There are certain problems in the trigonometry course where the question is marked "restricted formula mode" or "restricted mode". This simply means that the answer to the question is not allowed to involve any trigonometric functions. In other words, the answer cannot include the functions sin, cos, tan, cot, sec, csc or their inverses.

The difference can be summarized as follows. If you aren't in restricted mode, and you see the question

    What is the sine of pi/2?

then you can type either:

1 (which the instructor wanted)
sin(pi/2) (which the instructor did not want!)

But if you see the warning "This question only accepts answers in restricted formula mode" you are being warned that you cannot give the second answer, because it uses the sin function. If you incorrectly use a trigonometric function in the answer to a restricted mode question, you will usually be warned about this when you go to grade the test.

Special Symbols and Names

Arithmetic symbols:

Name Meaning Example

+ Add 5+3, x+y

- Subtract 5-3, x-y

- Negative -3, -sqrt(3)

* Multiply 2*x, x*(x-2)

/ Divide 1/3, (x+y)/2

^ Power 4^2, x^2, e^(pi/2)

Name	Meaning	Example
+	Add	5+3, x+y
-	Subtract	5-3, x-y
-	Negative	-3, -sqrt(3)
*	Multiply	2x, x(x-2)
/	Divide	1/3, (x+y)/2
^	Power	4^2, x^2, e^(pi/2)

Some special numbers:

Name Meaning When Useful?

e Euler's constant Natural logarithms, polar form of complex numbers

i The square root of -1 used with complex numbers

pi Pi used in the radian system of angle measurement

Name	Meaning	When Useful?
e	Euler's constant	Natural logarithms, polar form of complex numbers
i	The square root of -1	used with complex numbers
pi	Pi	used in the radian system of angle measurement

Algebra functions:

Name Meaning Example

abs Absolute value abs(x)

sqrt The square root sqrt(3), sqrt(x+1/x)

ln the natural logarithm (base e) used in the algebra class

log the common logarithm (base 10) used in the algebra class

Name	Meaning	Example
abs	Absolute value	abs(x)
sqrt	The square root	sqrt(3), sqrt(x+1/x)
ln	the natural logarithm (base e)	used in the algebra class
log	the common logarithm (base 10)	used in the algebra class

Trigonometry functions:
These functions assume that the angle is given in radians.

Name Meaning Example

sin the sine of an angle sin(pi/6) = 1/2

cos the cosine of an angle cos(pi/2) = 0

tan the tangent of an angle tan(pi/4) = 1

sec the secant of an angle sec(pi/3) = 2

csc the cosecant of an angle csc(pi/4) = sqrt(2)

cot the cotangent of an angle cot(pi/4) = 1

arcsin an angle whose sine is the given value arcsin(1) = pi/2

arccos an angle whose cosine is the given value arccos(1/2) = pi/3

arctan an angle whose tangent is the given value arctan(1) = pi/4

Name	Meaning	Example
sin	the sine of an angle	sin(pi/6) = 1/2
cos	the cosine of an angle	cos(pi/2) = 0
tan	the tangent of an angle	tan(pi/4) = 1
sec	the secant of an angle	sec(pi/3) = 2
csc	the cosecant of an angle	csc(pi/4) = sqrt(2)
cot	the cotangent of an angle	cot(pi/4) = 1
arcsin	an angle whose sine is the given value	arcsin(1) = pi/2
arccos	an angle whose cosine is the given value	arccos(1/2) = pi/3
arctan	an angle whose tangent is the given value	arctan(1) = pi/4

Miscellaneous

Name Meaning Example

( left parenthesis grouping: (x+y)/7, coordinates: (3,2)

) right parenthesis same as left parenthesis

, comma coordinates: (3,2); separating ordered answers

; semicolon separating multiple answers that are not ordered

Name	Meaning	Example
(	left parenthesis	grouping: (x+y)/7, coordinates: (3,2)
)	right parenthesis	same as left parenthesis
,	comma	coordinates: (3,2); separating ordered answers
;	semicolon	separating multiple answers that are not ordered

Things NOT to use include:

CAPITAL LETTERS
[ [ [Square brackets] ] ]
{ { {Curly brackets} } }
The colon: : :
single quote ' ' '
double quote " " "
a "degree" symbol. If an answer is measured in degrees, you will usually just type in the number:
90 (usually correct!)
occasionally, an instructor may require that you enter the word "degrees":
90 degrees (sometimes correct)
but you will never have to enter the little circle that means degrees:
90^o (never right; you can't do this, anyway!)
nor should you try to indicate degrees by using an apostrophe:
90' (never right!)
a plus/minus sign. (There isn't one, but sometimes people think they need one for an answer, so if the answer is plus or minus 3, they might try typing
+ - 3 (never right!)
but plus or minus 3 is really two answers, and usually if there are two answers to a problem, EDU wants you to enter them both, separated by a semicolon:
+3; -3 (correct)
or
-3; +3 (correct)

EDU Bugs, Puzzles and Complaints

We're keeping track of bugs, puzzles and complaints about the EDU testing system. You can look at this list if you like, to see if a problem you've encountered has already been seen, or can be fixed, or isn't a bug but a "feature".

Bugs

A bug is when the program doesn't do what it says it's going to do.

The secant function won't preview properly.
This problem was reported by a Math 166 student on 22 January 2002.
The problem is very simple. If your answer is a formula, such as sec(2x), when you try to preview the formula, the previewer box only displays an error message, saying Broken ML Link.
Choosing the "Move Down" command once too often crashes the program and loses the currently edited assignment
This problem occurred to John Burkardt on 23 January 2002.
This problem is only of interest for instructors. When they set up a new test, it gets listed first in the list of assignments. To move it down the list, you click on "Move Down". If you click once too often, the program crashes. We have reported this problem.
The [PRINT] item doesn't print my results.
This problem was reported in early January 2002,
If you use the "View Previous Results" option to see past results, and then "View Details" to see one whole test, then the words "[PRINT]" appear on the test, suggesting that if you click there, your test will print. At least on Macintoshes, nothing happens. Brownstone Software reports "there is no quick fix for this".
The graphs in my test don't print out.
This problem was reported in early January 2002.
This problem only occurs for Math 150 right now, and only for tests in which a special command is used to draw graphs. Oddly enough, the graphs will print correctly from a PC, but not from a Macintosh.
The grading authorization message is confusing.
This problem noted by John Burkardt, 24 January 2002.
When the student clicks on GRADE, the authorization page comes up. But it's the authorization page for starting the test, not grading it! In particular, part of it reads: "Method 2: ...Once you have been authorized, you can proceed to the test by pressing the button: START" which should read "Method 2: ...Once you have been authorized, you can proceed to have the test graded by pressing the button: GRADE".

Puzzles

A puzzle is when you're not quite sure how to ask the program to do something, or you can't figure out what it's trying to tell you:

Is the square root the same as the 1/2 power?
Yes. You should be able to write either
```
            sqrt(x)
```
or
```
            x^(1/2)
```
. However, you would not get the square root if you typed
```
            x^1/2
```

Complaints

Complaints aren't quite bugs. They refer to issues where we wish the program could do something, or do it in a different or better way.

I can't enter the square of a trig function like sin²(x).
If you want to type a formula involving the square of the sine function, you do not enter it the way it is normally printed, where the power of 2 comes right after the name of the function and before the argument. Instead, it must be entered after the argument;
```
            sin(x)^2
```
to be safe, you should put an extra pair of parentheses around the function and its argument:
```
            ( sin(x) )^2
```
The program times me out after 20 minutes, and my work is lost.
This problem occurred to an entire Math 150 class on 23 January 2002,
This seems to be true. If you spend more than 20 minutes on one question, or, if your test is all one page and you spend more than 20 minutes on the test, the program...times you out and discards your work. We have talked to the EDU developers, who tell us this is a security feature. They have temporarily agreed to change the time to 60 minutes. We will try to figure out a better solution.
The same question showed up twice on one exam.
This happened to user MURPHYJ on 23 January 2002, taking Math 142 Unit Exam 1.
We believe that EDU will never pick the same question twice. Our best guess right now is that the particular question was accidentally put into the system twice, so EDU sees two copies and doesn't know they're the same. We're checking on this one.
I clicked on PRINT but nothing came out.
When trying to print out a sample test or a graded proctored exam, you have to be careful. What looks to you like a test is actually two frames. One frame is the EDU control bar; the other frame is your test. If you try to print by clicking on the Netscape or Explorer printer icon, you'll very likely just get a printout of the EDU control bar. To get what you want, make sure you click somewhere in the area of your test, and then go to the FILE menu item and select PRINT or PRINT FRAME. This should do a better job.

You can return to the HTML web page.

Last revised on 12 September 2005.

EDU An Online Assignment Administrator