[math4] FourthGradeMath Digest, Vol 2, Issue 41
Gary C Martin
gary at garycmartin.com
Mon Mar 30 22:21:56 EDT 2009
On 31 Mar 2009, at 02:47, Wade Brainerd wrote:
> Arriving late to the discussion....
Hi Wade, me too! :-)
> Has anyone tried Assimilate (http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Assimilate)?
> It's a flash card activity for the XO that features collaboration
> and some kind of an optimized learning system. I just wonder if
> anyone has tried it and can speak to how good it is for the target
> age group.
FWIW: As an age challenged user, I've used it myself as an experiment
(learning pathophisiology terms) and really like it. It does need some
work on the UI to simplify/clean-up things, but is usable as is (with
some poking about). I need to ping Urko again and have a chat, I'm
afraid he dropped off my radar (sorry Urko!) with all the other
incoming Sugar tasks :-(
Regards
--Gary
> Second, it hasn't been bundled as a .xo file yet, but I encourage
> people to check out Peter Moxhay's early Math work at http://git.sugarlabs.org/projects/math
> .
>
> Cheers,
> Wade
>
> On Mon, Mar 30, 2009 at 9:32 PM, Stephen Jacobs <itprofjacobs at gmail.com
> > wrote:
> I've brought two kids up through fourth grade in the last few years
> and
> agree that there is absolutely a place for memorization.
>
> No disagreement with what you state below. Reread my comments and
> see that
> I'm not down on drillware. I'm down on using a computer to merely
> display
> flashcards and uninspired drilling software that doesn't exploit the
> power
> of the platform.
>
> Nor was I suggesting that we give students an exploratory/active
> learning
> tool without any formulas and/or guides to achieve their answers. I
> suggested we give them tool sets to visually and (kinda) physically
> manipulate and employ math concepts in the same way that Montessori
> and
> Piaget and their followers have been doing for decades and had great
> success
> with. These approaches make math applied as well as conceptual and
> accessible to a wide variety of child learning styles beyond a text-
> bound
> abstract. Especially when some of the curriculum items are
> geometry, which
> should be an applied math at this age.
>
> What you've described below is much more than just a flash card,
> right? And
> why not make what you've described collaborative, so that they are
> working
> in teams to reach the goal? What if it takes a co-pilot and a pilot
> to
> drive the ship and each of them work on different types of problems,
> and
> then they have to switch, and on and on and on. You can still track
> their
> individual progress even if they work in teams.
>
> On 3/30/09 9:05 PM, "Kathy Pusztavari" <kathy at kathyandcalvin.com>
> wrote:
>
> > Why not? Because at some point some things are simply a drill
> item. Once
> > you understand count bys (2,4,6,8) you memorize your math facts
> and do it
> > with TIMINGS. Not everything can be taught efficiently (or even
> well)
> > through discovery learning. Lord knows I've seen 4th graders that
> don't
> > know their multiplication math facts. Teaching them functions
> withing small
> > sets of simple multiplication facts was very limiting. Let's not
> even get
> > into addition math facts - that they did not know. These are
> TYPICAL 4th
> > graders taught using - you guessed it - discovery math.
> >
> > Please don't.
> >
> > You want to make it fun? Use Precision Teaching and chart their
> math fact
> > progress. When they are done, show shooting stars, a rocket
> blasting off -
> > maybe the class can have a small party when a student finishes all
> math
> > facts. If they get a high score on a particular timing, add an
> extra part
> > of a picture so they can see it quicker. There are all sorts of
> behavioral
> > motivators that can be incorporated into the XO.
> >
> > -Kathy
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: fourthgrademath-bounces at lists.sugarlabs.org
> > [mailto:fourthgrademath-bounces at lists.sugarlabs.org] On Behalf Of
> Stephen
> > Jacobs
> > Sent: Monday, March 30, 2009 5:57 PM
> > To: fourthgrademath at lists.sugarlabs.org
> > Subject: Re: [math4] FourthGradeMath Digest, Vol 2, Issue 41
> >
> > Re the "Math API," really consider what's going to make the
> difference and
> > leverage the XO's use.
> >
> > Merely making a "flash cards" or "Quizing" program doesn't really
> buy you a
> > whole lot. You don't need a computer to create Flash cards or
> quizes.
> >
> > The benefits of doing things on a computer should be exploited.
> This is
> > where most drillware fails to be educational or motivational. In
> the XO's
> > case you have the other advantage of a platform that will easily
> support
> > collaborative work.
> >
> > Instead of a flash card or a quiz that shows a diagram and asks a
> question,
> > why not single or shared apps that allow students to manipulate
> objects and
> > symbols to arrive at an answer. Much more interactive,
> constructive and
> > developmentally appropriate, since kids in the OLPC age group are
> born
> > experimenters. Give them 2D environments to manipulate to take
> them way
> > beyond the digital equivalent of a printed piece of cardboard.
> >
> > Also Brian, remember that we're in a conceptual design and
> prototyping stage
> > in an 18 month long development timeline. At this point one of
> the most
> > useful things that can be done is to create "10 small apps that
> don't make
> > it out of a beta stage"
> >
> > A technologist's first instinct is to "build the tech!" When you are
> > building educational software (and really any content-based
> software,)
> > prototyping various approaches and running them by your target
> audience is
> > crucial to the success of your development effort.
> >
> > Those 10 small apps that test various methods of displaying
> objects and
> > symbols for students to experiment with object manipulation and
> formulas
> > tell you which directions to move in to make the right software to
> go beyond
> > alpha down the appropriate delivery for the content and the
> audience :-)
> >
> >
> > On 3/29/09 10:06 AM, "fourthgrademath-request at lists.sugarlabs.org"
> > <fourthgrademath-request at lists.sugarlabs.org> wrote:
> >
> >> Send FourthGradeMath mailing list submissions to
> >> fourthgrademath at lists.sugarlabs.org
> >>
> >> To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
> >> http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/fourthgrademath
> >> or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
> >> fourthgrademath-request at lists.sugarlabs.org
> >>
> >> You can reach the person managing the list at
> >> fourthgrademath-owner at lists.sugarlabs.org
> >>
> >> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
> >> than "Re: Contents of FourthGradeMath digest..."
> >>
> >>
> >> Today's Topics:
> >>
> >> 1. Re: Quiz/Question API Proposal (Frederick Grose)
> >> 2. Re: Quiz/Question API Proposal (Karlie Robinson)
> >>
> >>
> >>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> >>
> >> Message: 1
> >> Date: Sat, 28 Mar 2009 17:39:21 -0400
> >> From: Frederick Grose <fgrose at gmail.com>
> >> Subject: Re: [math4] Quiz/Question API Proposal
> >> To: fourthgrademath at lists.sugarlabs.org
> >> Message-ID:
> >> <f3383f810903281439w4a47151fi6ae1f834a213ca56 at mail.gmail.com>
> >> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
> >>
> >> I have a simple data model that worked extremely well for an almost
> >> universal questionnaire building application I can contribute.
> >> --Fred
> >>
> >> 2009/3/28 Brian Long <brilong87 at gmail.com>
> >>
> >>> All,
> >>>
> >>> I think this is absolutely brilliant. After our class on
> Friday, I
> >>> noticed a LOT of conceptual overlap of the simple projects that
> >>> people were proposing and I think a math API would be a great
> place
> >>> to start. As I've been trying to mention to everyone, I've not
> had
> >>> any experience with Python so perhaps I'd be better suited to
> work on
> >>> the database integration? (Not that I've done SQLite either,
> but SQL is
> > SQL generally...).
> >>>
> >>> In regards to the class, I know Profs. Jacobs and Grace are not
> >>> extremely regulating our final deliverable for the class but I
> feel a
> >>> strong API would be much more of a milestone than 10 small apps.
> that
> >>> don't make it out of a beta stage.
> >>>
> >>> I think we should try and drum up support for this idea. Bring on
> >>> the replies!
> >>>
> >>> Cheers,
> >>> Brian Long
> >>> bbl5660 at rit.edu
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> >>>> From: Enimihil <enimihil at gmail.com>
> >>>> To: fourthgrademath at lists.sugarlabs.org
> >>>> Date: Fri, 27 Mar 2009 22:32:03 -0400
> >>>> Subject: [math4] Quiz/Question API Proposal Hello all,
> >>>>
> >>>> This is my first post so I guess I should introduce myself a bit.
> >>>> I'm Greg S., one of the RIT students in the class working on the
> >>>> Math4 goals, and something that I've mentioned might be a good
> idea
> >>>> a few times now is a shared library/API for quiz questions/
> drilling
> >>>> so that activity developers can leverage content and easily use
> >>>> questions written in a variety of formats, from a variety of
> sources.
> >>>>
> >>>> Inline below is a simple outline of a proposal for an API along
> >>>> those lines, with a few notes on implementation at the end. Just
> >>>> trying to propose something to save and/or centralize some common
> >>>> work that needs to be done for a variety of activities.
> >>>>
> >>>> =================================
> >>>> Sugar Quiz API Preliminary Design
> >>>> =================================
> >>>>
> >>>> Motivation
> >>>> ==========
> >>>>
> >>>> In the RIT class working on the Math4 projects, many proposed
> >>>> activities require a question database of some kind. A common
> API
> >>>> or library for accessing databases in different formats, stored
> >>>> either locally or remotely, along with a simple mechanism to
> >>>> determine more complex formatting or presentation than simple
> text
> >>>> (e.g. to include simple graphics or mathematical notation) would
> >>>> cover a majority of the cases where the activity needs some
> >>>> configurable "curriculum data".
> >>>>
> >>>> Eventually this library could be extended to provide hints,
> >>>> explanations, or walkthroughs for questions, in addition to the
> >>>> basic metadata about level, grouping, difficulty, and subject
> matter
> >>>> that would be part of the base system.
> >>>>
> >>>> Envisioned Usage
> >>>> ================
> >>>>
> >>>> Consider a simple flash-card-like activity. It presents a
> question
> >>>> from a list of questions, allows the student to select an answer
> >>>> from the provided answers for the question or to enter their own
> >>>> answer. Then the correct answer is revealed and the student it
> told
> >>>> whether their answer is correct.
> >>>> If the question has an explanation of the correct answer, the
> >>>> flash-card activity will show the explanation of the correct
> answer.
> >>>> (Note that this is just a simple usage example, the interaction
> >>>> design of a drilling activity could be markedly different.)
> >>>>
> >>>> The flash-card activity would use this proposed Quiz API for the
> >>>> following:
> >>>>
> >>>> - Loading the questions from the storage location into
> memory. This
> >>>> includes any filtering or network lookup to download the
> questions
> >>>> from a remote resource and select appropriate questions
> for the
> >>>> student.
> >>>>
> >>>> - Determining whether the student has entered a correct
> answer.
> >>>>
> >>>> - Rendering the question to a simple widget/canvas. (i.e.
> pass the
> >>>> library a GtkCanvas or similar and tell it to display the
> >>>> question)
> >>>>
> >>>> To start with, the library would simply be a time-saving tool for
> >>>> developers needing similar functionality, but as the XS (School
> >>>> Server) becomes more fully developed the library should integrate
> >>>> the functions provided by the XS to enable automated update of
> >>>> course material for the current topic of study so the students
> can
> >>>> drill material using any tool they prefer, while still reporting
> >>>> progress to the instructor using the XS services.
> >>>>
> >>>> Proposed API
> >>>> ============
> >>>>
> >>>> The Quiz API would be a python library, to act mostly as glue
> >>>> between various file formats (and local or remote resources) for
> >>>> question data and the Gtk graphical environment, providing a
> simple
> >>>> way to consistently present and layout questions.
> >>>>
> >>>> :quizdata.open(uri, [cache=False]):
> >>>> Opens a URI, returning a list of quizdata.Question
> instances. A
> >>>> standard method of filtering question data based on
> parameters
> >>>> should be specified. Examples of URIs that might be
> used::
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> http://xs-server/math4class/current_topic?
> level=4&difficulty=hard&fo
> >>>> rmat=moo
> >>>> dle
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> file:///var/lib/mathquestions/quiz1?level=4&difficulty=hard&format=x
> >>>> ml
> >>>>
> >>>> xmpp://teacheraccount@xs.server
> >>>> /classname?difficulty=hard&level=4
> >>>>
> >>>> The cache parameter would locally save the retrieved
> questions to
> > a
> >>>> persistent storage so requests from the same URI (with
> > cache=True)
> >>>> would read from the cache.
> >>>>
> >>>> :class quizdata.Question:
> >>>> This class contains individual data for a question:
> >>>> - The question text
> >>>> - The style of answer (incl. multiple-choice,
> numeric, free
> >>>> response, etc.)
> >>>> - The correct answer (or if the question is
> subjective, that
> >>>> there *is* no correct answer).
> >>>> - Question difficulty
> >>>> - Grade level
> >>>> - Tags (for free-form grouping by topic, course,
> instructor,
> >>>> etc.)
> >>>>
> >>>> The question text and answers should support at least
> minimal
> >>>> markup, like that supported by pango, in addition to
> markup
> >>>> rendering with MathML/LaTeX syntax.
> >>>>
> >>>> .. note::
> >>>> The attributes listed above will should grow
> standardized
> > names
> >>>> and be documented as part of the interface to the
> Question
> >>>> class, to allow for fine-grained for activity
> controlled
> >>>> rendering of the Question, if the simple show() call
> is not
> >>>> appropriate.
> >>>>
> >>>> :Question.show(surface, x, y, [width=-1, [height=-1]]):
> >>>> Draw the question to the drawing surface at
> coordinates (x,y)
> >>>> limited to the optionally specified width/height.
> >>>>
> >>>> This also should set up the appropriate input
> widgets for the
> >>>> type of question (multiple-choice/free-response) and
> handle
> > the
> >>>> vents for those widgets.
> >>>>
> >>>> :Question.answered():
> >>>> Returns True if the student has provided an answer
> for the
> >>>> Question.
> >>>>
> >>>> :Question.submitted():
> >>>> Returns True if the student has submitted an answer
> for the
> >>>> Question.
> >>>>
> >>>> :Question.correct():
> >>>> Returns True if the currently selected answer is
> correct
> >>>> for the
> >>>> Question.
> >>>>
> >>>> :Question.answer():
> >>>> Returns the answer the student has currently
> selected, or
> > None
> >>>> if no answer has been entered.
> >>>>
> >>>> :Question.clear():
> >>>> Removes the widgets and drawings that show() set up,
> > preparing
> >>>> the surface to receive the next question or other
> widgets.
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> Implementation Issues
> >>>> ======================
> >>>>
> >>>> The implementation of this (deceptively simple) library will take
> >>>> some effort, in that it will be closely tied to the
> >>>> windowing/graphical toolkit, PyGtk/Cairo/Pango rather directly,
> due
> >>>> to the high level of abstraction.
> >>>> Additionally the URI lookup and question filtering based on
> >>>> parameters will be necessary, as will interpreter the various
> format
> >>>> parsers necessary to build the Question objects.
> >>>>
> >>>> For MathML support, the GtkMathView widget will need to be
> >>>> available, so a certain amount of effort may be involved in
> >>>> packaging the library in a simple way for activity developers.
> >>>>
> >>>> Next Steps
> >>>> ==========
> >>>>
> >>>> Firstly, this API is being proposed and posted to the Math4
> mailing
> >>>> list for feedback and changes before any commitments to this
> >>>> interface is decided.
> >>>> For any activity developers who are currently working on an
> activity
> >>>> that could take advantage of such a system, or who have written
> >>>> similar functionality in an activity, your input on usage and the
> >>>> naturalness of the API.
> >>>>
> >>>> Secondly, anyone who is interested in doing work on this
> library or
> >>>> using the library in their activity should chime in, along with
> the
> >>>> expected usage or how you can contribute.
> >>>>
> >>>> Greg S.
> >>>> --
> >>>> Email is packaged by intellectual weight, not volume. Some
> settling
> >>>> of contents may have occurred during transmission.
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> _______________________________________________
> >>>> FourthGradeMath mailing list
> >>>> FourthGradeMath at lists.sugarlabs.org
> >>>> http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/fourthgrademath
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>
> >>> _______________________________________________
> >>> FourthGradeMath mailing list
> >>> FourthGradeMath at lists.sugarlabs.org
> >>> http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/fourthgrademath
> >>>
> >>>
> >> -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was
> >> scrubbed...
> >> URL:
> >> http://lists.sugarlabs.org/archive/fourthgrademath/attachments/2009032
> >> 8/985b4c
> >> 69/attachment-0001.htm
> >>
> >> ------------------------------
> >>
> >> Message: 2
> >> Date: Sun, 29 Mar 2009 10:06:01 -0400
> >> From: Karlie Robinson <karlie_robinson at webpath.net>
> >> Subject: Re: [math4] Quiz/Question API Proposal
> >> To: fourthgrademath at lists.sugarlabs.org
> >> Message-ID: <49CF8049.4040806 at webpath.net>
> >> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
> >>
> >> Before you guys get too far, be sure to do some research on
> Learning
> >> management software - specifically, Moodle.
> >>
> >> Remember - with Open Source you're aiming to begin with the
> finishing
> >> touches. If you don't have to write something from scratch, but
> >> simply modify an existing block of code to suit your needs,
> you'll get
> >> much farther in less time.
> >>
> >> ~Karlie
> >>
> >>
> >> Frederick Grose wrote:
> >>> I have a simple data model that worked extremely well for an
> almost
> >>> universal questionnaire building application I can contribute.
> >>>
> >>> --Fred
> >>>
> >>> 2009/3/28 Brian Long <brilong87 at gmail.com
> >>> <mailto:brilong87 at gmail.com>>
> >>>
> >>> All,
> >>>
> >>> I think this is absolutely brilliant. After our class on
> Friday,
> >>> I noticed a LOT of conceptual overlap of the simple projects
> that
> >>> people were proposing and I think a math API would be a great
> >>> place to start. As I've been trying to mention to everyone,
> I've
> >>> not had any experience with Python so perhaps I'd be better
> suited
> >>> to work on the database integration? (Not that I've done
> SQLite
> >>> either, but SQL is SQL generally...).
> >>>
> >>> In regards to the class, I know Profs. Jacobs and Grace are
> not
> >>> extremely regulating our final deliverable for the class but I
> >>> feel a strong API would be much more of a milestone than 10
> small
> >>> apps. that don't make it out of a beta stage.
> >>>
> >>> I think we should try and drum up support for this idea.
> Bring on
> >>> the replies!
> >>>
> >>> Cheers,
> >>> Brian Long
> >>> bbl5660 at rit.edu <mailto:bbl5660 at rit.edu>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> >>> From: Enimihil <enimihil at gmail.com <mailto:enimihil at gmail.com
> >>
> >>> To: fourthgrademath at lists.sugarlabs.org
> >>> <mailto:fourthgrademath at lists.sugarlabs.org>
> >>> Date: Fri, 27 Mar 2009 22:32:03 -0400
> >>> Subject: [math4] Quiz/Question API Proposal
> >>> Hello all,
> >>>
> >>> This is my first post so I guess I should introduce
> myself a
> >>> bit. I'm
> >>> Greg S., one of the RIT students in the class working on
> the
> > Math4
> >>> goals, and something that I've mentioned might be a good
> idea
> >>> a few
> >>> times now is a shared library/API for quiz questions/
> drilling
> >>> so that
> >>> activity developers can leverage content and easily use
> questions
> >>> written in a variety of formats, from a variety of
> sources.
> >>>
> >>> Inline below is a simple outline of a proposal for an API
> >>> along those
> >>> lines, with a few notes on implementation at the end.
> Just
> >>> trying to
> >>> propose something to save and/or centralize some common
> work that
> >>> needs to be done for a variety of activities.
> >>>
> >>> =================================
> >>> Sugar Quiz API Preliminary Design
> >>> =================================
> >>>
> >>> Motivation
> >>> ==========
> >>>
> >>> In the RIT class working on the Math4 projects, many
> proposed
> >>> activities
> >>> require a question database of some kind. A common API or
> >>> library for
> >>> accessing databases in different formats, stored either
> >>> locally or remotely,
> >>> along with a simple mechanism to determine more complex
> >>> formatting or
> >>> presentation than simple text (e.g. to include simple
> graphics or
> >>> mathematical notation) would cover a majority of the cases
> >>> where the
> >>> activity needs some configurable "curriculum data".
> >>>
> >>> Eventually this library could be extended to provide
> hints,
> >>> explanations, or
> >>> walkthroughs for questions, in addition to the basic
> metadata
> >>> about level,
> >>> grouping, difficulty, and subject matter that would be
> part of
> >>> the base
> >>> system.
> >>>
> >>> Envisioned Usage
> >>> ================
> >>>
> >>> Consider a simple flash-card-like activity. It presents a
> >>> question from a
> >>> list of questions, allows the student to select an
> answer from
> >>> the provided
> >>> answers for the question or to enter their own answer.
> Then
> >>> the correct
> >>> answer is revealed and the student it told whether their
> >>> answer is correct.
> >>> If the question has an explanation of the correct
> answer, the
> >>> flash-card
> >>> activity will show the explanation of the correct answer.
> >>> (Note that this
> >>> is just a simple usage example, the interaction design
> of a
> >>> drilling
> >>> activity could be markedly different.)
> >>>
> >>> The flash-card activity would use this proposed Quiz API
> for
> >>> the following:
> >>>
> >>> - Loading the questions from the storage location into
> >>> memory. This
> >>> includes any filtering or network lookup to
> download the
> >>> questions
> >>> from a remote resource and select appropriate
> questions
> >>> for the
> >>> student.
> >>>
> >>> - Determining whether the student has entered a correct
> > answer.
> >>>
> >>> - Rendering the question to a simple widget/canvas.
> (i.e.
> >>> pass the
> >>> library a GtkCanvas or similar and tell it to
> display the
> >>> question)
> >>>
> >>> To start with, the library would simply be a time-saving
> tool
> >>> for developers
> >>> needing similar functionality, but as the XS (School
> Server)
> >>> becomes more
> >>> fully developed the library should integrate the functions
> >>> provided by the
> >>> XS to enable automated update of course material for the
> >>> current topic of
> >>> study so the students can drill material using any tool
> they
> >>> prefer, while
> >>> still reporting progress to the instructor using the XS
> services.
> >>>
> >>> Proposed API
> >>> ============
> >>>
> >>> The Quiz API would be a python library, to act mostly as
> glue
> >>> between
> >>> various file formats (and local or remote resources) for
> >>> question data and
> >>> the Gtk graphical environment, providing a simple way to
> >>> consistently
> >>> present and layout questions.
> >>>
> >>> :quizdata.open(uri, [cache=False]):
> >>> Opens a URI, returning a list of quizdata.Question
> >>> instances. A
> >>> standard method of filtering question data based on
> >>> parameters
> >>> should be specified. Examples of URIs that might
> be
> > used::
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> http://xs-server/math4class/current_topic?
> level=4&difficulty=hard&for
> >>> mat=mood
> >>> le
> >>>
> >>> <http://xs-server/math4class/current_topic?
> level=4&difficulty=hard&fo
> >>> rmat=moo
> >>> dle>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> file:///var/lib/mathquestions/quiz1?level=4&difficulty=hard&format=xm
> >>> l
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> xmpp://teacheraccount@xs.server/classname?difficulty=hard&level=4
> >>>
> >>> The cache parameter would locally save the
> retrieved
> >>> questions to a
> >>> persistent storage so requests from the same URI
> (with
> >>> cache=True)
> >>> would read from the cache.
> >>>
> >>> :class quizdata.Question:
> >>> This class contains individual data for a question:
> >>> - The question text
> >>> - The style of answer (incl. multiple-choice,
> >>> numeric, free
> >>> response, etc.)
> >>> - The correct answer (or if the question is
> >>> subjective, that
> >>> there *is* no correct answer).
> >>> - Question difficulty
> >>> - Grade level
> >>> - Tags (for free-form grouping by topic,
> course,
> >>> instructor,
> >>> etc.)
> >>>
> >>> The question text and answers should support at
> least
> >>> minimal
> >>> markup, like that supported by pango, in addition
> to
> > markup
> >>> rendering with MathML/LaTeX syntax.
> >>>
> >>> .. note::
> >>> The attributes listed above will should grow
> >>> standardized names
> >>> and be documented as part of the interface to
> the
> >>> Question
> >>> class, to allow for fine-grained for activity
> >>> controlled
> >>> rendering of the Question, if the simple show()
> >>> call is not
> >>> appropriate.
> >>>
> >>> :Question.show(surface, x, y, [width=-1,
> [height=-1]]):
> >>> Draw the question to the drawing surface at
> >>> coordinates (x,y)
> >>> limited to the optionally specified width/
> height.
> >>>
> >>> This also should set up the appropriate input
> >>> widgets for the
> >>> type of question (multiple-choice/free-
> response)
> >>> and handle the
> >>> vents for those widgets.
> >>>
> >>> :Question.answered():
> >>> Returns True if the student has provided an
> answer
> >>> for the
> >>> Question.
> >>>
> >>> :Question.submitted():
> >>> Returns True if the student has submitted an
> answer
> >>> for the
> >>> Question.
> >>>
> >>> :Question.correct():
> >>> Returns True if the currently selected answer
> is
> >>> correct for the
> >>> Question.
> >>>
> >>> :Question.answer():
> >>> Returns the answer the student has currently
> >>> selected, or None
> >>> if no answer has been entered.
> >>>
> >>> :Question.clear():
> >>> Removes the widgets and drawings that show()
> set
> >>> up, preparing
> >>> the surface to receive the next question or
> other
> >>> widgets.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> Implementation Issues
> >>> ======================
> >>>
> >>> The implementation of this (deceptively simple) library
> will
> >>> take some
> >>> effort, in that it will be closely tied to the
> >>> windowing/graphical toolkit,
> >>> PyGtk/Cairo/Pango rather directly, due to the high level
> of
> >>> abstraction.
> >>> Additionally the URI lookup and question filtering based
> on
> >>> parameters will
> >>> be necessary, as will interpreter the various format
> parsers
> >>> necessary to
> >>> build the Question objects.
> >>>
> >>> For MathML support, the GtkMathView widget will need to be
> >>> available, so a
> >>> certain amount of effort may be involved in packaging the
> >>> library in a
> >>> simple way for activity developers.
> >>>
> >>> Next Steps
> >>> ==========
> >>>
> >>> Firstly, this API is being proposed and posted to the
> Math4
> >>> mailing list for
> >>> feedback and changes before any commitments to this
> interface
> >>> is decided.
> >>> For any activity developers who are currently working on
> an
> >>> activity that
> >>> could take advantage of such a system, or who have written
> > similar
> >>> functionality in an activity, your input on usage and the
> >>> naturalness of the
> >>> API.
> >>>
> >>> Secondly, anyone who is interested in doing work on this
> >>> library or using
> >>> the library in their activity should chime in, along
> with the
> >>> expected usage
> >>> or how you can contribute.
> >>>
> >>> Greg S.
> >>> --
> >>> Email is packaged by intellectual weight, not volume. Some
> >>> settling of
> >>> contents may have occurred during transmission.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> _______________________________________________
> >>> FourthGradeMath mailing list
> >>> FourthGradeMath at lists.sugarlabs.org
> >>> <mailto:FourthGradeMath at lists.sugarlabs.org>
> >>> http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/fourthgrademath
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> _______________________________________________
> >>> FourthGradeMath mailing list
> >>> FourthGradeMath at lists.sugarlabs.org
> >>> <mailto:FourthGradeMath at lists.sugarlabs.org>
> >>> http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/fourthgrademath
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> >>> ---
> >>>
> >>> _______________________________________________
> >>> FourthGradeMath mailing list
> >>> FourthGradeMath at lists.sugarlabs.org
> >>> http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/fourthgrademath
> >>>
> >>
> >>
> >> ------------------------------
> >>
> >> _______________________________________________
> >> FourthGradeMath mailing list
> >> FourthGradeMath at lists.sugarlabs.org
> >> http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/fourthgrademath
> >>
> >>
> >> End of FourthGradeMath Digest, Vol 2, Issue 41
> >> **********************************************
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > FourthGradeMath mailing list
> > FourthGradeMath at lists.sugarlabs.org
> > http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/fourthgrademath
> >
>
>
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