[PDF] Teachers Guide - ALEKS

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Teacher'sGuide

HaroldD.Baker,Ph.D.

ALEKSCorporation

ii

ALEKSTeacher'sGuide,Version3.3.6.

Copyright

?2004ALEKSCorporation.

RevisedDecember18,2003.

PreparedbyHaroldD.Baker,Ph.D.

ALEKS ? isaregisteredtrademarkofALEKSCorporation.

Contents

Prefacexiii

1Introduction1

1.1WhatisALEKS?.....................................1

1.2TheALEKSTeacher'sGuide...............................1

2QuickStart3

2.1ObtainingaClassCode..................................3

2.2RegisteringStudents....................................4

3SetupGuideforTeachers7

3.1TeacherPreparation....................................7

3.2TechnicalRequirements..................................7

3.3Installation.........................................8

3.4RegisteringasaTeacher..................................9

3.5TeacherModule.......................................11

3.6LabCheck..........................................11

3.7StudentOrientation....................................12

3.8Registration.........................................12

3.9TeacherAuthorizationofStudentRegistration.....................13

3.10Tutorial...........................................17

3.11FirstAssessment......................................17

3.12ReportTutorial.......................................18

3.13BeginningtheLearningMode...............................18

iii ivCONTENTS

4AssessmentMode19

4.1AssessmentsinALEKS..................................19

4.2RulesforAssessments...................................20

4.3SchedulingofAssessments.................................20

4.4Buttons...........................................21

4.5AnswerEditor.......................................21

4.5.1ManipulatorsforMathematicalExpressions...................22

4.5.2MathematicalExpressions.............................24

4.5.3TypesofMathematicalExpressions.......................26

4.5.4AdvancedMathematicalExpressions.......................29

4.5.5TheAnswerEditorfortheNumberLine.....................30

4.5.6TheAnswerEditorforGraphing.........................31

4.5.7TheAnswerEditorforHistograms(Statistics).................33

4.6AssessmentReport.....................................34

4.6.1StandardReportFormat.............................34

4.6.2InterpretingthePieCharts............................34

4.6.3MultiplePieCharts................................35

4.6.4ReadytoLearn...................................36

4.6.5ProgressBars....................................36

4.7IntegratedAlgebra1Assessment.............................36

5LearningMode39

5.1TheALEKSLearningMode...............................39

5.2Buttons...........................................40

5.2.1Exit.........................................40

5.2.2Options.......................................40

5.2.3Print.........................................41

5.2.4Report........................................41

5.2.5Dictionary......................................41

5.2.6Calculator......................................41

5.2.7Review.......................................42

CONTENTSv

5.2.8Worksheet......................................42

5.2.9Quiz.........................................42

5.2.10Message.......................................42

5.2.11Help.........................................43

5.2.12MyPie........................................43

5.3TheLearningModeInterface...............................44

5.3.1ItemPage......................................44

5.3.2ExplanationPage..................................45

5.3.3PracticePage....................................45

5.3.4WrongAnswerPage................................47

5.3.5Dictionary......................................48

5.4FeedbackinLearningMode................................48

5.5Review............................................49

5.6Worksheet..........................................50

5.7AskaFriend........................................51

6TeacherModule:BasicInterface53

6.1HowdoI..........................................54

6.2ClassAdmin........................................56

6.3SchoolAdmin(Administrator)..............................58

6.4Reporting..........................................59

6.5TakingActions.......................................69

6.6Advanced..........................................73

7AdvancedTeacherModule:Results&Progress75

7.1TheALEKSAdvancedTeacherModule.........................75

7.2TeacherTutorial(AdvancedTeacherModule)......................75

7.3AccesstotheAdvancedTeacherModule.........................77

7.4OnlineHelpintheAdvancedTeacherModule......................78

7.5ViewStudentProgress...................................79

7.6ViewStudentAssessmentReport.............................81

viCONTENTS

7.7ViewClassProgress....................................82

7.8ViewClassReport.....................................86

7.9ScheduleStudentAssessment...............................88

7.10ScheduleClassAssessment.................................89

7.11Create,Edit,ViewQuizzes................................91

7.12SendMessage........................................94

7.13CheckMessages.......................................95

7.14CheckServerUsage....................................96

7.15CreateTeacherAccount..................................97

7.16EditTeacherAccount...................................97

7.17CreateClassAccount...................................98

7.18EditClassAccount.....................................101

7.19SelectCourseObjectives..................................101

7.20EnrollandUnenrollStudents...............................102

7.21EditStudentAccount...................................103

7.22IntermediateObjectives..................................104

7.23ContentEditor.......................................107

7.24AssignLearningRates...................................108

8AdvancedTeacherModule:Standards&CourseObjectives111

8.1Items,CourseObjectives,andStandards.........................112

8.2NavigationandUse.....................................113

8.3Buttons...........................................114

8.4CourseObjectivesEditor.................................115

8.4.1Fields........................................116

8.4.2Buttons.......................................116

8.4.3UsingtheCourseObjectivesEditor.......................117

9KnowledgeSpacesandtheTheoryBehindALEKS119

9.1History...........................................119

9.2Theory............................................119

CONTENTSvii

9.2.1Domain,Items,andInstances...........................119

9.2.2KnowledgeStates..................................121

9.2.3KnowledgeStructuresandKnowledgeSpaces..................121

9.2.4InnerandOuterFringesofaKnowledgeState.................123

9.2.5Assessment.....................................124

9.3SelectedBibliography...................................125

10FrequentlyAskedQuestions131

10.1General...........................................131

10.2Technical..........................................132

10.3Theory............................................133

10.4Assessments&Reports..................................135

10.5LearningMode.......................................136

10.6EducationalUse......................................137

11Support139

11.1FormforReportingProblems...............................141

AALEKSStudentUser'sGuide143

A.1Preface...........................................143 A.2TechnicalRequirements..................................144 A.3Registration&Installation................................144 A.4Tutorial...........................................147 A.5AssessmentsandLearning.................................148 A.5.1Assessments.....................................148 A.5.2Results.......................................148 A.5.3LearningMode...................................148 A.5.4ProgressintheLearningMode..........................149 A.5.5AdditionalFeatures................................150 A.6LoggingontoYourAccount................................150 A.7InstallationonAdditionalMachines...........................151 A.8GuidelinesforE®ectiveUse................................152 viiiCONTENTS A.9FrequentlyAskedQuestions................................152 A.10Troubleshooting.......................................157 BCorrelationsofALEKSObjectivestoGlencoeMathematicsTextbooks161 B.1Arithmetic..........................................161 B.2Algebra...........................................170

CAdditionalSubjectMatter185

C.1PreCalculus.........................................185

ListofFigures

3.1TechnicalRequirements..................................7

3.2TheALEKSWebsiteforK-12Education........................8

3.3TeacherAccessCode....................................10

3.4Registration(continued)..................................14

3.5Registration.........................................15

3.6Registration(continued)..................................15

3.7Registration(continued)..................................16

4.1TheAnswerEditorforMathematicalExpressions(Assessment)............22

4.2MathematicalExpressionsProducedbytheAnswerEditor..............23

4.3UsingSpecialKeysintheAnswerEditor.........................24

4.4TheAnswerEditorfortheNumberLine(Assessment).................30

4.5TheAnswerEditorforGraphing(LearningMode)...................31

4.6TheAnswerEditorforHistograms(LearningMode)..................33

4.7AssessmentReport.....................................34

4.8IntegratedAssessment...................................36

5.1TheOptionsPage(LearningMode)...........................40

5.2TheHelpMenu.......................................43

5.3ItemPage..........................................44

5.4ExplanationPage......................................45

5.5PracticePage........................................46

5.6WrongAnswerPage....................................47

5.7Dictionary..........................................48

ix xLISTOFFIGURES

5.8Review............................................49

5.9Worksheet..........................................50

6.1TeacherModule.......................................54

6.2HowdoIQuestions....................................55

6.3ClassAdmin........................................56

6.4SchoolAdmin........................................59

6.5Reporting..........................................60

6.6Individuallearningprogresssincelatestassessment...................61

6.7Individualdetailedprogresshistory............................62

6.8Individualoverallprogressinassessment.........................63

6.9ScheduledAssessmentReport...............................64

6.10Averagereport(piechart).................................65

6.11ClassQuizResults.....................................66

6.12Progressreportforasinglestudentinthisclass.....................67

6.13Reportforasinglestudentinthisclass.........................68

6.14TakingActions.......................................69

6.15Scheduleanewassessment.................................70

6.16GradingwithScheduledAssessment...........................71

6.17Advanced..........................................73

7.1TutorialfortheAdvancedTeacherModule........................76

7.2TheResults&ProgressDirectory(AdvancedTeacherModule)............77

7.3StudentProgress(AdvancedTeacherModule)......................79

7.4StudentReport(AdvancedTeacherModule).......................81

7.5ClassProgress(AdvancedTeacherModule).......................82

7.6ClassReport(AdvancedTeacherModule)........................86

7.7StudentAssessment(AdvancedTeacherModule)....................88

7.8ClassAssessment(AdvancedTeacherModule).....................89

7.9GradingwithScheduledAssessment(TeacherModule).................90

7.10CreatingaQuiz(AdvancedTeacherModule)......................92

7.11SendMessage(TeacherModule).............................94

LISTOFFIGURESxi

7.12ServerStatistics(TeacherModule)............................95

7.13TeacherAccount(AdvancedTeacherModule)......................96

7.14ClassAccount(AdvancedTeacherModule).......................98

7.15CourseObjectives(AdvancedTeacherModule).....................101

7.16StudentAccount(AdvancedTeacherModule)......................103

7.17IntermediateObjectives(AdvancedTeacherModule)..................104

7.18ContentEditor.......................................107

7.19AssignLearningRates(AdvancedTeacherModule)...................108

8.1TheStandards&CourseObjectivesDirectory(AdvancedTeacherModule).....112

8.2TheCourseObjectivesEditor(AdvancedTeacherModule)..............115

9.1DomainofArithmetic...................................120

9.2KnowledgeState......................................121

9.3LearningPath........................................122

9.4OuterFringeofaKnowledgeState............................123

9.5InnerFringeofaKnowledgeState............................124

A.1TheALEKSWebsiteforK-12Education........................145 A.2ClassCode.........................................146 A.3TheAnswerEditor(Tutorial)...............................147 A.4AssessmentReport.....................................149 xiiLISTOFFIGURES

Preface

CongratulationsonyourinterestinALEKS!Thisisanonlineeducationalsystem likenoneyouhaveencounteredbefore,whoseuseofcomputertechnologytopromote mathlearningispedagogicallysoundandcutting-edge. ThefeaturesofALEKSmakeitaself-containedtool,openingnewhorizonsfor educatorsandlearnersalikeinanyeducationalcontext.TheALEKSClassMan- agementSystemenablesteachersandadministratorstooverseeandmonitortheir students'progress,communicatewiththem,trackusagelevels,andfocusinstruc- tion.ByitsunprecedenteduseofArti¯cialIntelligence,ALEKSdeterminesquickly andpreciselywhatyourstudentsknowandwhattheyneedtolearn,guidingthem downindividualizedlearningpathstomastery.Assessmentandpracticeproblems arealgorithmicallygenerated,sothestudentscannotpredictthem.Thecourseob- jectivesusedinALEKSarecustomizable,lettingyouaddorsubtracttopicsfrom yourcoursewithaclickofthemouse.SinceitisaccessedovertheWorldWideWeb usingstandardbrowsers,nocomplicatedtechnicalpreparationisneeded|andyour studentscanworkatanytime,fromhomeorfromtheclassroom!It'sapersonal tutorforeachofyourstudents,atafractionofwhatsuchservicesnormallycost. Thebene¯tsofusingALEKSarestriking.Studentsworkinadynamic,interactive learningenvironmentonpreciselythosematerialsthattheyareindividuallyready tolearn,buildingmomentumtowardmastery.Itisthepersonalized,\just-in-time" learningsystem. ALEKSmaybeusedinavarietyofclassroomsituations|whetherinatraditional classroom,orinaself-directedordistance-learningenvironment.Onceyoupurchase ALEKS,youwillreceiveaTeacherAccessCode.UsingthisTeacherAccessCode, youcanregisterasateacherwiththeALEKSsystemattheALEKSK-12website. Inthisprocess,youwillobtainoneormoreClassCodes,whichyourstudentscan usetoregister. ThisTeacher'sGuideisintendedtoprovidecompleteinformationonthefunction- ingofALEKS.AdescriptionofitscontentscanbefoundintheIntroductionin

Chapter1.

xiii xivPREFACE ALEKS:ATeacher'sVideo,packagedwiththisTeacher'sGuide,preparesyoutouse ALEKS.Inthevideo,youwillmeetthecognitivescientist,Jean-ClaudeFalmagne, whoco-developedKnowledgeSpacetheoryandtappeditspotentialfordevelop- mentalmathinstruction.TohelpyouunderstandhowALEKSworks|fromboth thestudent'sandteacher'sperspectives|youwillseeathoroughdemonstrationof itsAssessmentandLearningModesandTeacherModule.Finally,youwillhear mathteachersdiscusshowALEKSmaybeusedintheclassroom|whetherina traditionalclassroomorinaself-directedordistance-learningenvironment.The videoisapproximately30minutesinlength.Itisrecommendedthatanyteacher whowillbeassistingorinstructingstudentsusingALEKStakethetimetowatch thevideo.

Chapter1

Introduction

1.1WhatisALEKS?

ALEKSisanonlinesystemfortheassessmentandindividualizedteachingofmath- ematics.ItisaccessedovertheWorldWideWebonanysuitablecomputerandis designedtoallowthemonitoringandmanagementofentireclassesandschools. Thecoreofthesystemisane±cient,adaptiveassessmentenginewhichdetermines quicklyandpreciselywhatanindividualstudentknows.Basedonthatassessment data,thesystemisabletoo®ermaterialthatthestudentisbestabletolearnata giventime.TheALEKSLearningModeincludesexplanationsandalgorithmically generatedpracticeproblems,ongoingassessmentofstudentknowledge,anonline mathdictionary,andfacilitiesforreviewandcollaborativehelp.Itcanbeusedon anindependentbasisorasasupplementtoclassroominstruction. TheALEKSsystemistheproductofyearsofcutting-edgeresearchintothemath- ematicalmodelingofhumanknowledge(SeeChapter9).ThecreatorsofALEKS arecognitivescientists,softwareengineers,anduniversityprofessorsinthemath- ematicaldisciplines.IndesigningALEKS,theirgoalsweretoachievetheutmost simplicityofusewithoutcompromisingthedepth,rigor,orrichnessofmathematics instructionatitsinspirationalbest.ALEKSisatooltoempowerbothteachers andlearnersofmath:itopensdoorsandwindowsintotheassessmentandrepresen- tationofknowledge,anditbreaksdownbarrierstosuccessbyrecognizingthevast diversityofpathsthatleadtomastery.TheALEKSsystemcanmakearadical di®erenceinhowmathlearningisexperienced.

1.2TheALEKSTeacher'sGuide

ThepurposeoftheALEKSTeacher'sGuideistogiveteachersusingALEKS informationontheoperationofthesystemthatisascompleteaspossible.The 1

2CHAPTER1.INTRODUCTION

systemisnotcomplex.ALEKScanbeandoftenisusedwithnodocumentation whatsoever.Atthesametime,wewishtoo®erteachersaclearideaofeverything ALEKSdoes,howitworks,andwhereto¯ndanswerstotheirstudents'questions. ALEKSisdesignedtobeusedwithouthelpfromtheTeacher'sGuide. Feelfreetousethesystemnow.Ifquestionsarise,orifyouwanttolearn moreaboutALEKS,thisTeacher'sGuideisintendedasaconvenientand comprehensivereference. NOTE.Forabrief,comprehensiveoverviewofALEKS,pleaseturndirectlytothe

FrequentlyAskedQuestionsinChapter10.

?The¯rstchaptersarethosemostlikelytobeturnedtobyteachersusing ALEKSforthe¯rsttime.Chapter2,\QuickStart,"containsaconcisecheck- listforbeginningtouseALEKS.Chapter3,\SetupGuideforTeachers," providesalloftheinformationnecessaryforpreparingtouseALEKSwith oneormoreclasses.Thisrangesfromtechnicalrequirementsandinstallation throughthestudents'¯rstALEKSsession(whichtypicallyinvolvesregistra- tion,tutorial,initialassessment,andentryintotheLearningMode).(Muchof theinformationisthesameasthatinAppendixA.) ?Chapters4through8containdescriptionsoftheprincipalpartsoftheALEKS system:AssessmentMode,LearningMode,andTeacherModule.TheTeacher Moduleisdiscussedinthreechapters.Chapter6presentstheTeacherModule generally,andisfollowedbytreatmentsofthemorespecializedcapacitiesofthe AdvancedTeacherModule.Chapter7coversResults&Progress,thefacilityfor monitoringstudentuseofALEKSandmanagingaccounts.Chapter8covers Standards&CourseObjectives,thefacilityforreviewingandmodifyingthe curricularinformationusedbyALEKSforaparticularschoolorclass. ?Chapters9through11provideadditionalinformationthatmaybenecessary orofinteresttoteachersusingALEKS.Chapter9,\KnowledgeSpacesand theTheoryBehindALEKS,"explainsthehistoryofKnowledgeSpacetheory anditsfundamentalconcepts,alongwiththeevolutionofALEKSitself.Also includedisaBibliographyforthoseseekingtounderstandthetheorybehind ALEKSingreaterdepth.Chapter10providesanswerstofrequentlyasked questionsaboutALEKS.Chapter11givestheinformationnecessaryforob- tainingtechnicalandothersupport. NOTE.Teacherswhoneedtechnicalorothersupportintheuse ofALEKSshouldturntotheformattheendofChapter11(See

Sec.11.1).

?AppendixAcontainsthecompletetextoftheALEKSStudentUserGuide. ForacompletelistofcourseobjectivesforArithmetic,Algebra1,andAlgebra

2,aswellasacorrelationtoGlencoeMathematicstextbooks,seeAppendixB.

Chapter2

QuickStart

Thepurposeofthischapteristoprovideasummaryofthestepsinvolvedinstarting aclasswithALEKS.

2.1ObtainingaClassCode

InordertouseALEKSwithyourclass,youwillneedtohaveatleastoneClass Code.Yougivethiscodetothestudentsinyourclass;theywillusethisClassCode toregister.TheClassCodeisallyourstudentsneedtoregisterwithALEKS.When theyregistertheywillreceiveaLoginNameandPassword;afterthistheywillno longerneedtheClassCode.StudentsshouldnotusetheClassCodetoregistera secondtime,asdoingsowillcreateanewaccountintheirname,unconnectedwith the¯rst. YoucanhaveasmanyclassesandsectionsasyouneedorwantinALEKS.Foreach classorsection,thereisoneuniqueClassCode.Studentswhoregisterusingthis codewillbeenrolledinthecorrespondingclass.Studentswhoaccidentallyenroll inthewrongclasscaneasilybemovedtotherightoneatanytime,withoutany unwantede®ectontheirworkorrecords(movingastudenttoaclassusinganew domaininALEKSwilltriggeranewassessment).ToobtaintheClassCode foranyclass,logontoyourteacheraccount,clickon\ClassAdmin," andthenon\Viewallyourclassesandclasscodes"(SeeSec.6.2).Or,in theAdvancedTeacherModule,simplyselectthenameoftheclassandclick\Edit." TheCodewillappearintheupperright-handpartofthescreen(SeeSec.7.18). IfyouarecreatinganewschoolordistrictaccountinALEKS,youmust¯rstobtain aTeacherAccessCodefromGlencoe/McGraw-Hill.Ifsomeoneelsehasregistered youasateacherwithALEKS,youdonotneedaTeacherAccessCode.Ifnoone hasdonethisforyou,hereishowyouregisterasateacher. 3

4CHAPTER2.QUICKSTART

1.GototheALEKSwebsiteforK-12.

http://www.k12.aleks.com

2.Clickontheyellowbutton,\RegisterwithALEKS."

3.EnteryourTeacherAccessCodewhenprompted.

4.Enterotherinformationrequested.

5.RecordyourLoginNameandPassword.YoumaychangeyourPasswordifyou

wish.

6.TaketheTeacherTutorialtofamiliarizeyourselfwiththefeaturesofthe

TeacherModule.

IfsomeoneelsehasregisteredyouwithALEKS,youwillalreadyhaveateacher LoginNameandPassword.Inthiscasealso,westronglyadvisethatyoutakethe TeacherTutorialtofamiliarizeyourselfwiththefeaturesoftheTeacherModule. OnceyouareloggedontoALEKSasateacher,youcancreateoneormoreclasses asfollows.

1.Clickonthebutton\NewClass."

2.Enterallnecessaryinformationaboutyournewclassinthespacesprovided.

3.Click\Save."

TheClassCodeforyourclasswillbevisiblewhenyoucreatetheclass.Youcansee thiscodeagainatanytimebyselectingthenameoftheclassandclicking\Edit."

2.2RegisteringStudents

Studentsshouldusethefollowingstepstoregister.

1.GototheALEKSwebsiteforK-12.

http://www.k12.aleks.com

2.Clickonthebuttonfor\RegisterwithALEKS."(Thisistheonlytimethey

willclickonthatbutton.)

3.EntertheClassCodewhenprompted.

4.Enterotherinformationasrequested(studentsinhighschoolareaskedfor

theirfullnames,thosebelowhighschoolonlyfortheir¯rstnameandlast initial).

5.RecordtheirLoginNameandPassword,providedbythesystem.(Students

canchangetheirPasswordnoworlateriftheywish.)

2.2.REGISTERINGSTUDENTS5

6.Waitfortheteachertoauthorizetheirregistration.Theycanlogo®atthis

pointandlogbackinlater,usingtheLoginNameandPasswordprovided.As soonastheteacherauthorizestheirregistrationitwillbecomplete.

7.BeginusingALEKSbytakingtheStudentTutorialandaninitialAssessment.

StudentswillsubsequentlyusetheirLoginNameandPasswordtoentertheirac- counts. NOTE.Foracompletedescriptionofhowteachersauthorizetheregistrationof theirstudents,seeSec.3.9.

6CHAPTER2.QUICKSTART

Chapter3

SetupGuideforTeachers

3.1TeacherPreparation

ItisimportantthatteachersusingALEKSwiththeirclassesclearlyunderstandthe system'sfunctioningandtheideasthatunderlieit.Timeshouldbetakentostudy allmaterialsprovided,includingthisTeacher'sGuide,andtotryoutthesystem thoroughly.TheschooladministratorforALEKScancontactALEKSCorporation forconsultationatanytime,andpreferablywellinadvanceofthe¯rstsession(See

Sec.11.).

3.2TechnicalRequirements

ThefollowingtablepresentsthetechnicalrequirementsforALEKSinsummary form.

PCMacintosh

OperatingSystemWindows95/98/2000/ME/XP/NT4.0+MacOS7.6.1+

Processor

Pentium133+MHz(166+preferred),

PentiumII+

RAMMemory32+MB32+MB

Browser

Netscape4.5-4.8,6.0+,Explorer4.0+Netscape4.5-4.8

(6.0+,Explorer

5.2+OSXonly)

ModemSpeed

28+kbps28+kbps

Figure3.1:TechnicalRequirements

Yourbrowsershouldbecon¯guredwithJavaenabled.BothNetscapeandInternet ExplorerusuallyshipwithJava.YoucanalsoinstallSunMicrosystems'Java ?

VM,version1.4.1+,whichcanbeobtainedfromSun.

7

8CHAPTER3.SETUPGUIDEFORTEACHERS

Figure3.2:TheALEKSWebsiteforK-12Education

Notethatanyofthekindsofdirectconnection(cable,ISDN,DSL)thataretypicalin computerlabsareadequateforusewithALEKS.Ifyourcomputerlabhassecurity safeguardsinplace,youwillneedthecooperationofyourLANadministrator,system administrator,orlabtechniciantoinstalltheALEKSplugin. AstudentusingAmericaOnline4.0willneedtoupgradetoAmericaOnline5.0or highertouseALEKS.ThiscanbedonefromAOL.

3.3Installation

InstallationoftheALEKSplugintakesplacefromtheALEKSwebsiteforK-12

Education(SeeFigure3.2):

http://www.k12.aleks.com NOTE.YoumustusethisURLtoaccessALEKS.Althoughthereareother ALEKSwebsitesyoumay¯ndusinganInternetsearchengine,onlythisonecon- tainsyourregistrationdataasalicensedALEKSteacher.Itisadvisabletomark

3.4.REGISTERINGASATEACHER9

thiswebsiteinyourbrowserwitha\Bookmark"or\Favorite"orbycreatinga shortcutofsomekind. Closeallapplicationsotherthanyourwebbrowserbeforebeginninginstallation. InstallationoftheALEKSpluginisautomatic.Ifyouattempttousethesystem directlybyclickingon\BeourGuest"oron\RegisterwithALEKS"itwillauto- maticallychecktoseewhetheryourcomputerhasthemostrecentplugincurrently installed.Ifitdoesnot,itwilldownloadthepluginandaskforyourpermissionto install.(Thisisnotahigh-riskoperationforyourcomputer.TheALEKSpluginis asmalllibraryofJavaclasseswhichareusedbyyourbrowserwhenyouareloggedon toALEKS.Theyareinactiveatothertimes,anddonotdoanythingexceptprovide functionalityforALEKS.Theycaneasilyberemovedfromthecomputerwithno othere®ectexceptthatALEKSceasestobeavailableonthatcomputer.ALEKS CorporationCustomerSupportwillbehappytoansweranyquestionsaboutthe plugin.)Whenyougrantpermission,itwillinstall.Followinginstallationyoumust closeandreopenyourbrowserapplication.Installationisautomaticforregistered usersaswell. Ifyouneedtodownloadandinstallthepluginwhenthisdoesnotoccurautomati- cally,clickon\DownloadtheALEKSplugin."

3.4RegisteringasaTeacher

IfyouhavebeenprovidedwithyouraccountinformationbyALEKS Corporation,asisusualforinstructorsusingALEKSwiththeirclasses, pleaseskipthissection.Youarealreadyregisteredandshouldnotdoso again. BeforeYouBegin.InordertoregisterasanALEKSteacheryouneedyour TeacherAccessCode.Contactyourschool'sALEKSAdministratortoreceive yourTeacherAccessCode. Step1.GototheALEKSwebsiteforK-12Education(useyourBookmark/Favorite, ifyoumadeone;seeSec.3.3): http://www.k12.aleks.com

Step2.Clickon\RegisterwithALEKS"(SeeFigure3.2).

Step3.YouwillseeinstructionsforteachersregisteringwithALEKS.Clickon \Register." NOTE.Ifyoudonothaveacurrentpluginthedownloadandinstallationprocess

10CHAPTER3.SETUPGUIDEFORTEACHERS

Figure3.3:TeacherAccessCode

willbeginhere(SeeSec.3.3).Whenitis¯nished,youwillneedtoquityour Webbrowser(\Exit,"\Close,"or\Quit"underthe\File"menu),openyourWeb browseragain,andgobacktotheALEKSwebsiteforK-12Education(useyour Bookmark/FavoritefortheALEKSwebsite).ReturntoStep1,above,tobegin registration. Step4.Atthebeginningofregistration,youwillbeaskedforyourTeacherAccess Code.Enterthisinthespacesprovidedandclickon\Next"(SeeFigure3.3). Answerthequestionstocompleteyourregistration.Amongotherquestions,you willbeaskedtoprovidecompleteinformationontheclassyouareteachingwith ALEKS.FollowingyourregistrationasateacheryouwillbeabletousetheTeacher Moduletocreateadditionalclassesifneeded(SeeSec.7.17). Step5.Inthecourseofregistration,youwillbegivenaLoginNameandPassword. Writethesedownandkeeptheminasafeplace,sinceyouwillneedthemtoreturn tothesystem.YourLoginNameisnotthesameasyourname,butusuallyconsists ofthe¯rstletterofyour¯rstnameplusyourlastnameinitsentirety,withno spacesorpunctuation.Thus\JaneSmith"mayhavetheLoginName\jsmith";if thereismorethanone\Smith"inthedatabasewhose¯rstnamebeginswith\J," anumeralwillbeappended,as\jsmith2."YoucanchangeyourPasswordatany time. NOTE.LoginNameandPasswordcanbetypedwithupper-orlower-caseletters.

Neithermaycontainspacesorpunctuation.

Step6.FollowingRegistrationyouarealsogiventheClassCodefortheclassyou

3.5.TEACHERMODULE11

areteaching.Recordand¯lethisinformationcarefully.Thiscodemustbesupplied toyourstudentswhenthey¯rstlogonandregisterwithALEKS(SeeSec.3.8).

3.5TeacherModule

WhenRegistrationiscomplete,theteacherenterstheALEKSTeacherModule; sheorhecanreturntotheTeacherModulebyloggingontoALEKSwiththe TeacherLoginNameandPasswordprovided(Seeabove).TheTeacherModuleis anextremelyimportantcomponentoftheALEKSsystempermittingteachersto monitorandmanagetheirALEKSclasses.TheTeacherModuleisdesignedfor theutmosteaseofuse;itguidesusersthroughthestepsneededtoaccomplishtasks insuchawaythatnoseparatetrainingisneeded,andmistakesorconfusionare unlikely.SeeChapter6foracompletedescriptionoftheTeacherModule. AftertheteacherisfamiliarwiththefeaturesoftheTeacherModule,heorshe maywishtotrytheAdvancedTeacherModule,whichissomewhatmorecomplex thanthestandardinterfacebuto®ersgreatere±ciencyinsomeoperations.There isaTutorialinALEKSexplainingtheuseandfeaturesoftheAdvancedTeacher

Module(Seebelow).

3.6LabCheck

ToensurethebestpossibleexperienceofALEKSforyourstudents,werecommend thatteacherscheckthecomputerlabinwhichALEKSwillbeusedinadvanceofthe ¯rstsession.Thismeansinstallingandtestingthepluginonsomeor(preferably) allofthecomputersinthelab.Ifsecuritymeasuresareine®ect,youwillneed thecooperationofthelabadministratortoinstalltheplugin.Toinstallandtest, simplylogontoALEKSthrough"BeOurGuest"oneachcomputeroruseyour teacherlogintoenteryouraccount.Installationwilloccurautomatically.Following installation,restartthebrowsersandattemptloginagain.Thistimeyoushould accessALEKS. IftheALEKSpluginisnotpreinstalledandtestedinthisway,itwillbeinstalled whenyourstudents¯rstaccessthesystem.Thiswilltakeawayacertainamount oftimefromtheiruseofthesystem.Also,ifthereissomeprobleminthelabthat makesinstallationdi±cult,itisfarbettertocatchandresolveitbeforethestudents arrive.

12CHAPTER3.SETUPGUIDEFORTEACHERS

3.7StudentOrientation

Itisstronglyrecommendedthatthe¯rstALEKSsessionbeconductedundersuper- vision,withoneormoreteachersonhandtohelpthestudentsgetstarted.Teachers mayalsochoosetoschedulesupervisedassessmentsatregularintervalsandatthe endofthecourse.Itisnotgenerallynecessarytoscheduleaseparateorientation meetingbeforethestudentsactuallybeginusingthesystem,althoughinsomecases theremaybereasonsfordoingso.Itisalsoadvisabletoemphasizethefewrequire- mentsforassessmentsinALEKS:paperandpencilareneeded,simplecalculators withoutgraphicorsymbolicfunctionsarepermittedforAlgebraonly,andnohelp whatsoevercanbereceivedbystudentsbeingassessed.Abasiccalculatorispartof ALEKS.Remindthemthathelpisnotallowedduringtheassessmentbecauseif thestudentbeingassesseddoesnotdotheirownwork,theassessmentresultsmay notbeaccurate,andthiswillhinderthatstudent'sprogressintheLearningMode. Ifatallpossible,thestudents'¯rstsessionwithALEKSshouldbelongenough forthemtocompletetheirassessmentsandbeginworkintheLearningMode.One hourmaybeconsideredareasonableperiodoftime.Ifthestudentscannot¯nish theirassessmentsduringthistime,ALEKSwillautomaticallykeeptheirplace,and theywillresumenexttimewheretheyhadlefto®.Noworkwillbelost.

3.8Registration

StudentsregisterwithALEKSbygoingtotheALEKSwebsiteforK-12Education andclickingon\RegisterwithALEKS."Thiswillbeexpeditedifthebrowsersused bythestudentshaveBookmarksorFavoritespointingtothewebsite(SeeSec.3.3). NOTE.Inordertoregister,allstudentsmusthavetheClassCodefortheclassthat youareteaching.TheClassCodeissenttotheteacherbyALEKSCorporationor obtainedbytheteacheratthetimeofregistration(SeeSec.3.4).Youareresponsible forgivingthiscodetothestudentsatthetimeofthe¯rstsession. ToobtaintheClassCodeforanyclass,logontoyourteacheraccount, clickon\ClassAdmin,"andthenon\Viewallyourclassesandclass codes"(SeeSec.6.2).Or,intheAdvancedTeacherModule,simplyselectthe nameoftheclassandclick\Edit."TheCodewillappearintheupperright-hand partofthescreen(SeeSec.7.18). ThestudentregistrationprocessisdescribedindetailintheStudentUserGuide (SeeAppendixA).Therearecompleteonlineinstructionsforeverystepofthis simpleprocedure.Amongotherinformation,studentsareaskedtosupplytheir emailaddress(sotheycanbehelpedmorepromptlyincaseofdi±culties)andtheir StudentIDnumber(iftheteacherwishestohavethisinthesystem).Specialcare

3.9.TEACHERAUTHORIZATIONOFSTUDENTREGISTRATION13

shouldbetakeninenteringthelatter,asthesystemcannotdetectmistyping.Both emailandStudentIDareoptionalinformation. NOTE.YoumayusethemasteratthebackofthisTeacher'sGuidetocreate

StudentIDcards.

NeartheconclusionofRegistrationstudentsreceiveaLoginNameandPassword. Theseshouldbenotedcarefully,astheywillbeessentialforallfurtherworkwith ALEKS.YoumaywishtoadvisethestudentstochangetheirPasswordsatthe earliestopportunity.TheyshoulduseaPasswordtheywillremembereasily,but whichwillbehardforotherstoguess.LoginNameandPasswordcanbetyped withupper-orlower-caseletters.Neithermaycontainspacesorpunctuation. AttheendofRegistration,studentsareaskedtowaitfortheirteacher'sauthoriza- tion.Foracompletedescriptionofhowteachersauthorizetheregistrationoftheir students,seeSec.3.9.Thestudentscanlogo®atthispointandlogbackinlater, usingtheLoginNameandPasswordprovided.Assoonastheteacherauthorizes theirregistrationitwillbecomplete.

3.9TeacherAuthorizationofStudentRegistration

Thefollowingisamoredetaileddescriptionofthestudentregistrationprocess,high- lightingtheactionsbywhichstudents'registrationisauthorizedbytheirteacher. AstudentwishingtoregisterwithALEKSbeginsontheALEKShomepageby clickingontheyellowbuttonmarked\RegisterwithALEKS,"locatedtoupper leftofthelargeALEKSlogo(SeeFigure3.2). Onthepagethatfollows,thestudentshouldclicktheleft-hand\Register"button (theright-hand\Register"buttonisforteachers).Abovetheleft-hand(student) buttonisanotethattheteacherwillneedtoauthorizethestudent'sregistration (SeeFigure3.4). NextthestudentisaskedtoentertheClassCodewhichhasbeenprovidedbythe teacher(SeeFigureA.2).SinceeachClassCodeisassignedtoaclassde¯nedby gradelevel,theClassCodeenteredbythestudenttellsALEKSthegradelevelat whichthestudentisseekingtoregister.Thestepsbywhichthestudentcompletes registrationfollowtwopaths,oneforstudentsbelowHighSchool,andanotherfor studentsinHighSchool. FollowingentryoftheClassCode,thestudentisgiveninformationontheclass selectedandontheprocessofbeginningtouseALEKS. Subsequently,ifthestudentisin8thgradeorbelow,ALEKSasksforthestudent's ¯rstnameandlastinitial(SeeFigure3.5).ALEKSdoesnotaskforthestudent's

14CHAPTER3.SETUPGUIDEFORTEACHERS

Figure3.4:Registration(continued)

fulllastnamesothatthereisnopersonallyidentifyinginformationinthesystemfor studentsin8thgradeorbelow.ThestudentisthenprovidedwithaLoginName consistingofthestudent's¯rstname,lastinitial,andpossiblyanumber.Ifthe studentisbeyondthe8thgrade,ALEKSasksforfull¯rstandlastnames,and thenprovidesaLoginNameconsistingofthestudent's¯rstinitial,lastname,and possiblyanumber(SeeFigure3.5).Thestudentisalsoprovidedwithapassword, whichcanbechangedatthistimeorlater,asthestudentdesires. Studentsabovethe8thgradehavetheopportunitytoenteranemailaddressanda StudentIDnumber.Nostudentsarerequiredtoprovidethisinformation;students inthe8thgradeandbelowareneveraskedforitorgivenanywaytoprovideit. Atthispointthestudentistoldthatauthorizationisneededfromtheteacherbefore registrationcanbecompleted(SeeFigure3.6).UntiltheteacherlogsontoALEKS andprovidesauthorization,thestudentwillnotbeabletogetfurtherthanthis

3.9.TEACHERAUTHORIZATIONOFSTUDENTREGISTRATION15

Figure3.5:Registration

Figure3.6:Registration(continued)

page.Onceauthorizationisprovided,thestudentwillbeabletoclick\Next"and beginusingALEKS.Iftheteachercannotauthorizeimmediately,thestudentis abletologo®atthispointandlogbackonatalatertimeusingtheLoginNameand Passwordprovided;iftheteacherhasauthorizedregistrationbythen,thestudent willbeabletobeginusingALEKS. Inordertoauthorizeregistration,theteacherofthisclassmustlogontoherorhis teacheraccountusingtheLoginNameandPasswordreceivedatregistrationorfrom ALEKSCorporation.Iftherearestudentsintheclassawaitingregistration,the teacherwillcometotheAuthorizationpagewithinstructionsandalistofstudents needingauthorization(SeeFigure3.7).Iftheteachersimplywishestoauthorize allstudents,thereisacheckboxatthetopofthelisttodothis;otherwiseeach studentcanbeauthorizedindividuallybyclickingthecheckboxoppositehisorher name(\Authorize").Thereisalsoacheckboxfordeletingtheaccountofastudent whohasinitiatedregistration(\Delete").Checkingthischeckboxwillremovethe account.

16CHAPTER3.SETUPGUIDEFORTEACHERS

Figure3.7:Registration(continued)

ItisnotedontheAuthorizationpagethatauthorizingregistrationfor studentsinGrade8orbelowconstitutesassurancebytheteacherthat allnecessaryparentalconsentshavebeenobtainedforthestudents'use ofALEKS. Somestudentsmayinitiateregistrationmorethanonceduetomisunderstanding. Thiswillbeevidentfromtherepetitionofnamesinthelist.(Occasionallythere maybemorethanonestudentintheclasswiththesamecombinationof¯rstname andlastinitial;presumablytheteacherwilltakethisintoaccount.)Whenthereis repetition,theteacherwillwishto\Authorize"onlyoneaccountforeachstudent and\Delete"anyothers,topreventunnecessaryuseofpurchasedlicenses. Whenallnecessaryboxeshavebeenclicked,theteachercanthenclick\Done"; asummaryofauthorizationsandcurrentlicensingstatuswillbeshown,andthe teachercancontinuetoworkintheTeacherModule.Itisalsopossibletodefer authorizationsimplybyclicking\Done"ontheAuthorizationpage,withouteither

3.10.TUTORIAL17

authorizingordeletingalloranyofthestudents.Theteachercanreturntothe Authorizationpagelaterbyclicking\Authorization"ontheALEKSmenubar. NOTE.WhentheAuthorizationpageisshownforclasseshigherthanthe8th grade,thereisanoteadvisingtheteacherthatstudentsundertheageof13should notbeauthorizedinthisway.Whenstudentsundertheageof13wishtoregisterin ALEKSforaclasshigherthanthe8thgrade,theteachershouldcontactALEKS

Corporationforassistance.

3.10Tutorial

FollowingRegistration,thestudentsenterabrieftutorialontheuseofALEKS inputtools,alsocalledtheAnswerEditorTutorial(SeeSec.4.5).Thereare separateTutorialsfordi®erentsubjectssincethespeci¯ctoolsforthemdi®ersome- what.Iftheclasscoversmorethanonesubject,allnecessaryTutorialswillbetaken. TheALEKSTutorialprovidesamplefeedbacktoensurethatstudentscompleteit successfully. NOTE.TheTutorialisnotintendedtoteachmathematicalknowledge,butrather totrainstudentsinusingthesystemtoolsandtoavoidmultiplechoiceproblems. Thecorrectinputisalwaysshown,andstudentssimplyenterwhattheysee.If studentsneeda\refresher"onuseofthesystemtools,itisalwayspossibleto clickonthe\Help"button,whichgivesaccesstothesectionsoftheTutorial(See

Sec.5.2.11).

3.11FirstAssessment

StudentsproceeddirectlyfromtheTutorialtotheir¯rstassessment(SeeChapter4). Toreiterate,nohelpofanykindshouldbegiventostudentsbeingassessed,noteven rephrasingaproblem.Studentsneedtohavepaperandpencil.Simplecalculators withoutgraphicorsymbolicfunctionsmaybeusedforAlgebra.Abasiccalculator ispartofALEKS.NocalculatorsareusedforArithmetic. Inclassescombiningmorethanonesubjecttherewillbeanassessmentforeach domain.TheALEKSassessmentisadaptiveandvariableinlength.Somestudents willhaveveryshortassessments,whereasotherswillhaveassessmentsthatare considerablylonger.Consistencyofe®ortandconcentrationisthefactormost likelytoin°uencethelengthofanassessment. NOTE.Allstudentswillbeassessedupontheir¯rstuseofthesystem.Thiswill provideyouwithabaselinepictureofyourclassandofeachindividualstudent.

18CHAPTER3.SETUPGUIDEFORTEACHERS

3.12ReportTutorial

Attheconclusionofeachassessment,thestudentisgivenabriefTutorialonhowto interprettheAssessmentReport.Thiswillbeintheformofoneormorecolor-coded piecharts,withaccompanyingtextualinformation(SeeSec.4.6).Itisextremely importantthatthestudentsknowhowtointerpretthesepiechartscorrectly.Some teachershavefounditworththee®orttositwitheachstudentindividuallyasthey concludetheirassessments.Theycanthenmakesurethestudentsunderstandthe partsofthereportandhelpthemchoosetopicsforentryintotheLearningMode. Explaintostudentsthatsubsequentassessmentswillproduceonlythepiecharts. ThepiechartsalsoappearintheLearningModeeachtimeanewconceptismastered and\addedtothepie."Ifthestudentwishestochooseanewtopic,thepiecan alsobeaccessedbymeansofthe\MyPie"button.

3.13BeginningtheLearningMode

StudentsentertheLearningModebyclickingononeofthetopicscontainedin theirpiechart(topicstheyarecompletely\readytolearn").Ifatallpossible, thestudentsshouldbegivensu±cienttimeintheir¯rstALEKSsessiontouse theLearningModeand,ideally,beginto\addconceptstotheirpie."Iftheyhave thisexperience,theirinterestinusingALEKSislikelytobemorefavorable.The teachershouldalsobepresenttoanswerquestionsregardingtheLearningMode andtoassistthestudentsinfamiliarizingthemselveswithitsvariedfeatures.This isparticularlyimportantincaseswheretheirsubsequentuseofALEKSwillbe unsupervised.

Chapter4

AssessmentMode

TheAssessmentModeistheheartoftheALEKSsystem.Itsabilitytoquickly andaccuratelydetermineastudent'sknowledgeenablesALEKStocontinuously makeavailablethematerialthestudentcanmostreadilyemploy,andthuse±ciently guideindividuallearningpaths.TheAssessmentandLearningModesworktogether closely.InALEKS,learningispoweredandoptimizedbyassessment.

4.1AssessmentsinALEKS

TheALEKSassessmentusesopen-endedproblems(nomultiple-choicequestions). Itisanadaptiveassessment;thatis,problemtypesareselectedbasedonallthe previousanswersthestudenthasgiven.Itisimpossibletopredictwhichtypesof problemswillappear,orinwhatorder.Moreover,theproblemsthemselvesare generatedalgorithmically,withrandomly-selectednumericalvalues(asisalsothe caseintheLearningMode).Thus,onecannot\learntheassessment"or\teach totheassessment,"andcheatingisalmostimpossible.Intheunlikelyeventthat twostudentssittingnexttooneanotherweregiventhesameproblem-typeatthe sametime,theproblemparametersandnumericalvalueswouldalmostcertainlybe di®erent,andsowouldthecorrectanswer.Despitethis,certainassessmentsmust besupervised,suchastheinitial,interim,and¯nalassessmentsinaclass.Without supervision,studentscoulduseatextbook,receivesystematichelp,orhavesomeone elsetaketheassessmentintheirplace.Thispointiscriticalwhereassessmentresults areusedforpurposesotherthanthoseinternaltothesystem.(Thereisnoreason forastudentwhohasbegunusingALEKStocheatona\progress"assessment, asthiswillsimplycausethesystemtosuggestproblemsthataretoodi±cult,and thushinderthestudent'sownwork.) Asnoted,thestudenttakesaninitialassessmentimmediatelyfollowingcompletion oftheTutorial(SeeSec.3.11).Whenanassessmentbegins,thestudentisclearly 19

20CHAPTER4.ASSESSMENTMODE

informedithasbegun.Nextaseriesofmathematicalproblemsisposedtothe student.ThestudentprovidesthesolutiontoeachproblemusingtheAnswerEditor (orclicks\Idon'tknow").IntheAssessmentMode,thesystemdoesnotinformthe studentwhethertheanswerjustgivenwascorrectornot.Theassessmentcontinues untilthesystemhasdeterminedthestudent'spreciseknowledgeofthedomain, atwhichtimetheassessmentendsandareportispresentedtothestudent.The numberofquestionsaskedcannotbeknowninadvance,althoughconsistencyof e®ortandattentionseemtocontributetoshorterassessments.

4.2RulesforAssessments

AssessmentinALEKSisanimportantandseriousevent.Itisessentialthatassess- mentsbeconductedaccordingtocertainguidelinesandintheproperspirit.Ifthere isanatmospherepermittingdisturbancesordistractions,studentswillnotobtain thebene¯tsthesystemiscapableofproviding.Ifassessmentresultsareinaccurate, thesystemwillgivethestudentinappropriateproblemsandprogresswillinitially beimpaired.Thesystemwillrecoverand¯ndtherightlevel,butthestudentmay stillexperienceadegreeoffrustration.Inordertoavoidthis,itisstronglyrec- ommendedthatthe¯rstassessmentbetakenundertheteacher'ssupervision(See

Sec.3.11).

Allstudentsbeingassessedneedpaperandpencil.Nocalculatorsarepermitted inassessmentsforArithmetic,butsimplecalculatorswithoutsymbolicorgraphing functionsshouldbeavailableforstudentsbeingassessedinAlgebra.Abasiccalcu- latorispartofALEKS.Mostimportant,noassistancemaybegiven|notevento theextentofexplainingorrephrasingaproblem.Studentsshouldbeencouraged tousethe\Idon'tknow"buttonwhentheydonotknowwhattodo.

4.3SchedulingofAssessments

InitialAssessment.Theinitialassessmenttakesplaceattheoutsetofstudents' useofALEKS,immediatelyafterRegistrationandTutorial(SeeSec.3.11).We stronglyrecommendthatthisinitialassessment,whichhasthecharacterofan orientationtothesystemforstudentusers,takeplaceinasupervisedcomputer labsettingtoensurethatstudentsdonotreceivehelporcollaborate.Increating oreditingaclassaccount,theteachercanstipulatethattheinitialassessmentbe allowedonlyfromschool(SeeSec.7.17.). AutomaticAssessments.Additionalassessmentsarescheduledautomatically bythesystembasedontwofactors:overalltimespentintheLearningMode(called \LoginTimeAssessment")andprogressmadewhilethere(called\ProgressAssess- ment").Bydefault,anewassessmentistriggeredafter20newitemshavebeen

4.4.BUTTONS21

learned(butnosoonerthan5ALEKShoursafterthelastassessment)orafter10 hourshavebeenspentinLearningModesincethelastassessmentorafter60days havepassedsincethelastassessment.Somemodi¯cationoftheseparametersispos- sible;pleasecontactALEKSCorporationCustomerSupportforassistanceifyou wouldliketodothis.TheLearningModeitselfupdatesstudents'assessmentresults asitgoesalong,periodicallydisplayingnewpiechartsandnewchoicesofconcepts theyarecompletely\readytolearn."Theautomaticassessments,however,provide a¯rmerbasisforsuchguidance. CompletionAssessments.ALEKSalsoassessesstudentsautomaticallywhen theycompletethesyllabusforacourse.Iftheassessmentdoesnotcon¯rmthe student'smasteryofthesyllabusmaterials,theywillreturntotheLearningMode. MorethanoneCompletionAssessmentisthuspossible,butasaruleALEKSwill notreassessthestudentifonlyasmallnumberoftopicsneedtoberelearned. RequestedAssessments.Assessmentscanalsoberequestedbytheteacherfor individualstudentsorforentireclasses.Forexample,theteacher,department,or schoolmaywishtohave\interim"assessmentsundersupervisiontoguaranteesound results.ALEKSallowstheteachertoscheduletheassessmentforaparticulardate andtime(SeeSec.6.5).StudentsloggingontoALEKSwithinthetimeperiod speci¯edfortheassessmentwillautomaticallyenterAssessmentMode. Theteachersimplyannouncestheassessmentforacertaintimeandplace.Just priortothistimetheteacherpromptstheclassassessmentintheTeacherModule (SeeSecs.7.9{7.10).Thenexttimestudentslogontheywillautomaticallyenter theassessment.

4.4Buttons

TheAssessmentMode(SeeFigure4.1)hasareducedsetofactivemenubuttons enablingthestudentbeingassessedtoleavethesystem(\Exit")orgethelponuse oftheAnswerEditor(\Help").Otherbuttonsappear,buttheyaredisabled.All oftheALEKSmenubuttonsareenabledintheLearningMode(SeeSec.5.2). ThetwoaspectsoftheALEKSinterfacerelevanttoworkintheAssessmentMode aretheAnswerEditorandtheAssessmentReport.

4.5AnswerEditor

InputtotheALEKSsystemisalwaysintheformofpropermathematicalexpres- sionsandconstructions,nevermultiplechoice.Acriticalreasonforthisistoprevent substantialinaccuracieswhicharisefromstudents'guessingandtryingoutthedif- ferentchoices.Anotherpurposeofthisapproachistotrainstudentsinthesame

22CHAPTER4.ASSESSMENTMODE

Figure4.1:TheAnswerEditorforMathematicalExpressions(Assessment) skillsthatarenecessaryforconventional,paper-and-pencilcommunicationofsolu- tionsandresults.Atthesametime,thesophisticationoftheALEKSinputtools providescertainadvantages.Thepresentationofresultsisalwaysneatandclear. Manualdexterityplaysareducedrolein,say,drawinganaccurategraphorgeo- metricalconstruction.Immediatefeedbackisprovidedontheformalcompleteness ofsolutions. ThegeneraltermfortheinputtoolsusedinALEKSisthe\AnswerEditor." Thisencompassesavarietyofactualmodesforuserinput:anAnswerEditorfor mathematicalexpressions,anAnswerEditorforthenumberline,anAnswerEditor forgraphingintheCartesianplane(withxandycoordinateaxes),andanAnswer Editorforhistograms(inStatistics).AstudentbeginningtouseALEKSis thoroughlytrainedinallfeaturesoftheAnswerEditorthatarerelevanttothe subjectbeingstudiedduringtheTutorial(SeeSec.3.10). Inmuchofwhatfollows,emphasisisonthe\AnswerEditorformathematicalex- pressions,"asthisisthesectionwhichinvolvesthegreatestdegreeofinterplay betweenmouse,keyboard,andon-screenbuttonsandicons.

4.5.1ManipulatorsforMathematicalExpressions

TheAnswerEditorforMathematicalExpressions

TheAnswerEditorformathematicalexpressionsconsistsoftwo parts:arectangular¯eldintowhichmathematicalexpressions areentered(the\entry¯eld")istotheleft,anda\keypad"

4.5.ANSWEREDITOR23

Expression

AnswerEditor

keypadbuttonKeyboardequivalent

SquareRoot[]p[](none)

Fraction

[] []=

MixedNumber

[][][](none)

RepeatingDecimal

[][](none)

AbsoluteValue

[]j[]j(none)

ListofExpressions

[];[];:::;

Exponent

[][]^(beforeexponent)

MultiplicationExpression

[]£[]¤

Percentage

%%

Greater-Than

[]>[]>

Less-Than

[]<[]<

Greater-Than-Or-Equal-To

[]¸[](none)

Less-Than-Or-Equal-To

[]·[](none)

Equal-To

[]=[]=

Not-Equal-To

[]6=[](none) AND

AND(none)

OR

OR(none)

Figure4.2:MathematicalExpressionsProducedbytheAnswerEditor madeofbuttonswithmathematicalsymbolsistotheright(See Figure4.1).ThesebuttonshavelabelsintheTutorial,butdo notthereafter.Mathematicalexpressionsareenteredandedited usingthebuttonsoftheAnswerEditorkeypad,aswellasthe basickeyboard,theLeftandRightarrowkeys,theTab,Enter, andBackspacekeys,andthemouse.

NOTE.Buttonsaredisplayedtocorrespondwiththekindof

problembeingsolved.Theselectionismadeinsuchawayas toavoidgivingawaythecorrectanswer.Keyboardshortcuts (SeeFigure4.2)workonlywhenthecorrespondingbuttonis displayed.

BasicInput

Whenanewpageisopenedandcontainsaproblemwhoseso-

lutionisamathematicalexpression,theentry¯eldinitiallycon- tainsatleastonebluebox.Eachblueboxrepresentsamath- ematicalexpressionthatformspartofthecompleteanswer.To enteramathematicalexpressiononemust¯rstclickonablue box.Whenthisisdone,thecursor(or\caret")appearsinside thebox.Thecursormarksthepointatwhichsomethingisen- tered.Materialcanbeenteredusingthebasickeyboardorthe buttonsofthekeypad.Individualdigitscanbeenteredonly

24CHAPTER4.ASSESSMENTMODE

KeyE®ect

Rightarrow

Tab

Entermovesthecursoroneplacetotheright(ahead)

Leftarrowmovesthecursoroneplacetotheleft(back)

Backspace

deletesinputimmediatelypreceding(tothe leftof)thecursorandmovesthecursorone placetotheleft(back)

ORdeletesselectedinput

Figure4.3:UsingSpecialKeysintheAnswerEditor

fromthekeyboard.Symbolscanbeenteredusingthebuttons ofthekeypadand,sometimes,fromthekeyboardaswell(See

Figure4.2).

BasicEditingTools

Thecursor,showingthepointatwhichmaterialisentered,can bemovedusingtheLeftandRightarrowsandtheTabandEnter keys.Itcanalsobepositionedusingthemouse.Inputcanbe deletedusingtheBackspacekey(SeeFigure4.3).

SelectingInput

Itispossibletoselectacontinuousportionofinputbydragging thepointerwiththemousebuttonhelddown.Asegmentthat hasbeenselectedbydragginginthiswaycanbedeletedby pressingBackspace,replacedbytyping,orreplacedbyclicking thebuttonsoftheAnswerEditorkeypad.Itcanalsobeinserted intoamathematicalexpressionsuchasafractionorasquare root(theselectedportionisplacedinthenumeratorpositionor underthesquarerootsign,respectively).

Clear&Undo

Aftermaterialhasbeenentered,the¯eldcanbereturnedtoits emptystatebyclickingon\Clear."Clickingon\Undo"can- celsthemostrecentaction.Clickingon\Undo"asecondtime restoresthee®ectofthecanceledaction(includinga\Clear" command).

4.5.2MathematicalExpressions

ThepurposeoftheAnswerEditorformathematicalexpressionsisto processuserinputintheformofsyntacticallycorrectmathematical expressions.OneimportantwayinwhichtheAnswerEditorguides theuserinconstructingsuchexpressionsisbymeansoftheblue

4.5.ANSWEREDITOR25

boxes.Ifablueboxremainsonthescreen,itisclearthattheinput typedsofarisnotvalid.Ifnoblueboxesremainitmayormaynot bevalid.

Enteringexpressionsfromthekeyboard

ForexpressionsthatdonotrequiretheuseoftheAnswerEditor keypad,theusercanplacethecursorwithinablueboxand enterthemathematicalexpressionfromthekeyboard.Formany expressions,however,theAnswerEditorkeypadmustbeused. Itmaybeused,aswell,forsometypesofexpressionsthatcan alsobeenteredfromtheregularkeyboard(SeeFigure4.2).

UsingtheAnswerEditorkeypadtostructuresimpleex-

pressions Toformasimplemathematicalexpression,theuserplacesthe cursorinanemptyblueboxandclicksontheappropriatebutton fromtheAnswerEditorkeypad.Theinitialblueboxdisappears andnewblueboxesmayappear(dependingonthebutton),ac- companiedbyallofthenecessarysigns.Theusercannow¯ll inthenewboxes.

Enteringcomplexexpressions

Sometimesitisnecessarytoentermorecomplexmathematical expressions.Whathasbeenwrittenaboutenteringmathemati- calexpressionsintoasingleblueboxholdsequallytrueforenter- ingexpressionsintoanyoftheblueboxesproducedbyclicking abuttonoftheAnswerEditorkeypad.Onecanplacethecursor inoneoftheseboxesandenteranexpressionfromthekeyboard, or,byclickingonabuttonoftheAnswerEditorkeypad,replace itwiththestructureofanewmathematicalexpression.Expres- sionsofanydegreeofcomplexitycanbecreatedinthisway.

NOTE.TheAnswerEditordoesnotsupplyparentheses.The

usermustknowwhenthesearenecessary.Inparticular,when thereisanexpressionconsistingofmorethanonesymbolthat mustberaisedtoapower,onemayneedtoencloseitinparen- theses,justasinwriting;otherwise,onlythe¯nalsymbol(just beforetheexponent)willberaisedtothespeci¯edpower.

Alternatewaysofenteringexpressions

ThebuttonsoftheAnswerEditorkeypadcanbeusedinother

waysaswell.Inparticular,onecanselectsomeportionofthe inputintheentry¯eldwhichconstitutesacompletemathemati- calexpression,andthenclickonakeypadbutton.Thiswill createanewmathematicalexpressionwithinwhichtheexpres- sionselectedisonecomponent.Thesamebasicruleapplies: theminimumunitofmanipulationisacompletemathematical expression.

26CHAPTER4.ASSESSMENTMODE

Othermathematicalsigns

Thefollowingmathematicalsignscanbeenteredonlyfromthe keyboard: ?theplussign(+); ?theminussign(-),bothforconnectingthetwopartsofa subtractionexpressionandfordesignatinganegativenum- ber; ?theperiod(.)usedindecimals; ?thecomma(,)usedtopunctuatenumbersofmorethanthree places.

Pleasenoteaswellthefollowingspecialcases:

Theasteriskformultiplication

The\x"characteronthekeyboardcannotbeusedtoenter

amultiplicationsign.Onlytheasterisk(*)servesthispur- pose.(ThemultiplicationsignontheAnswerEditorkeypad, however,isthetraditionalx-shapedsymbol.)

Mixednumbers

Althoughfractionscanbeenteredfromthekeyboardusing

thefrontslashcharacter(/),mixednumberscannotbeen- teredthisway.Moreprecisely,theAnswerEditordoesnot automaticallyregardawholenumberfollowedbyafraction asamixednumber.ThemixednumberbuttonontheAn- swerEditorkeypadmustbeusedtoentermixednumbers.

4.5.3TypesofMathematicalExpressions

Thefollowingsetoftipsisintendedtoillustratethevarietyofways inwhichmathematicalexpressionscanbeenteredusingtheAnswer Editor.ItisinnowayathoroughdescriptionoftheAnswerEditor, whichincludesmanyotherkindsofmathematicalexpressionsand constructions. Here,\Button"willalwaysrefertoabuttonontheAnswerEditor keypad.By\select"wemeandragthemouseovertheexpression tobeselectedwiththemousebuttondepressed,sothataredbox appearssurroundingit.

Percentage48%

Thenextexampleillustratesthepossibility,insomecases,of usingeithertheAnswerEditorkeypadortheregularkeyboard toentersigns:

4.5.ANSWEREDITOR27

?Entertheexpressionyouwishtoexpressasapercentageand clickonthepercentbutton;OR ?Entertheexpressionyouwishtoexpressasapercentageand thenenterthe(keyboard)percentsign. Fraction710Fractionscanbeenteredconvenientlyatleastthreeways: ?Enterthenumerator,entera(keyboard)forwardslashchar- acter,andenterthedenominator;OR ?Enterthenumerator,clickonthefractionbutton,andenter thedenominator;OR ?Clickonthefractionbutton,enterthenumerator,thenclick onthebluesquareinthepositionofthedenominatorand enterthedenominator. MixedNumber578Mixednumberscanbeenteredinmorethanoneway,butthey eachrequireuseofthemixednumberbutton: ?Enterthewholenumberpart,clickonthemixednumber button,enterthenumerator,pressEnter,andenterthede- nominator;OR ?Clickonthemixednumberbutton,clickonthe¯rstblue box(forthewholepart),enterthewholenumberpart,press therightarrow,enterthenumerator,movethecursortothe denominatorposition,andenterthedenominator(i.e.,¯llin theboxes).

RepeatingDecimal1:27

?Enteralldigitsthatprecedetherepeatingpattern,including thedecimalpoint(aperiodonthekeyboard)andanydec- imalplacesprecedingthepattern,clickonthebarbutton, andentertherepeatingpattern;OR ?Enteralldigits,includingthedecimalpoint(aperiodonthe keyboard)andalldecimalpositionsfollowingit,selectthe repeatingpatternonly,andclickonthebarbutton.

Fractioninsquarerootfollowedbymultiplierq5

8£3

Forthisexampleonlyoneinputmethodisgiven,butotherscan clearlybesuggested: ?Clickonthesquarerootsignbutton,clickonthefraction button,enterthenumerator,tab,enterthedenominator, thentab,enteranasterisk(fromthekeyboard),andenter themultiplier.

28CHAPTER4.ASSESSMENTMODE

List1;2;3

Forthepurposesofthefollowingexample,assumethatthereis alistconsistingofthreecomponentstobeentered: ?Enterthe¯rstexpression,clickonthelistbutton(orpress thekeyboardcomma),enterthesecondexpression,clickon thelistbutton,enterthethirdexpression,clickonthelist button,andenterthefourthexpression;OR ?Clickonthelistbutton(orpressthekeyboardcomma)twice, clickonthe¯rstbluebox,enterthe¯rstexpression,move thecursorright,enterthesecondexpression,movethecursor right,andenterthethirdexpression.

AnswerswithUnits10cups

TherearealsosomecaseswheretheAnswerEditordoespartof theformatting.Forexample,inproblemswhereanswersmust beexpressedinsomekindofunits,suchasdollarsorcandies, theunitexpressionneededmayappearinadvance.

SquareRootp81

?Clickonthesquarerootbuttonandentertheexpressioninto thesquarerootsign;OR ?Entertheexpressionyouwishtoappearunderthesquare rootsign,selectit,andclickonthesquarerootbutton. Inthesimpleexamplejustgiventhesecondmethodreverses thesequenceofstepsofthe¯rstmethod.Suchcomplementary methodsaretypical.

4.5.ANSWEREDITOR29

AbsoluteValuej¡6j

?Clickontheabsolutevaluebuttonandentertheexpression whoseabsolutevalueyouwishtoexpress;OR ?Entertheexpressionwhoseabsolutevalueyouwishtoex- press,selectit,andclickontheabsolutevaluebutton.

Exponent32

?ClickontheExponentbutton,enterthebase,thenmovethe cursortotheexponentboxandentertheexponent;OR ?Entertheexpressionyouwishtoraisetoapower,clickon theexponentbutton,andentertheexponent.

NOTE.Ifthenumberyouwishtoraisetoapowerisanex-

pressionconsistingofmorethanonesymbol,itmayneedtobe enclosedinparentheses.TheAnswerEditorwillnotdothisfor you.Ifnoparenthesesareused,onlythelastsymbolwillbe raisedtoapower.

SquareRootPrecededbyMultiplier2p6

Withmorecomplexexpressionsyoucanusethemousetoplace thecursorintheneededposition,asinthesecondmethod: ?Enterthemultiplier,clickonthesquarerootbutton,and entertheexpressionyouwishtobeunderthesquareroot sign;OR ?Clickonthesquarerootbutton,clicktotheleftofthesquare rootsign,enterthemultiplier,tab(orpresstherightarrow, orpressEnter,orclickontheblueboxunderthesquare rootsign),andentertheexpressionyouwishtobeunder thesquarerootsign.

4.5.4AdvancedMathematicalExpressions

Thefollowingtypesofmathematicalexpressionsoccurinmoread- vancedsubjects. Tocreateamatrix,theuserclicksonaniconcorrespondingtothe dimensionsdesired(2£2,2£3,etc.),then¯llsinthecellswith appropriatevalues. Fortopicsinvolvingsetnotation,therewillappeariconsforeach ofthespecialsymbolsrequired,suchascurlybraces,\belongsto," \suchthat,"therealnumbers,theintegers,andsoforth.

30CHAPTER4.ASSESSMENTMODE

Figure4.4:TheAnswerEditorfortheNumberLine(Assessment)

4.5.5TheAnswerEditorfortheNumberLine

TheAnswerEditorforthenumberlineconsistsofanumberline andtoolsforplacingfullandemptyendpointsandsegments(See Figure4.4).Toplaceasegment,markapointonthenumberline withthepencil,thenclickonthatpointwitheitherthefullorthe emptytool.Toplaceasegment,usetheRegiontooltoclickon anypointintherelevantpartofthenumberline.Iftheuserclicks betweentwoendpoints,thesegmentwillextendtoeachofthem. Whentheuserclicksbetweenanendpointandanextremityofthe numberline,thesegmentwillappearwithanarrowtoindicatethat itcontinuestoin¯nity.Clickwiththeerasertoremoveanypartof theconstruction.

4.5.ANSWEREDITOR31

Figure4.5:TheAnswerEditorforGraphing(LearningMode)

4.5.6TheAnswerEditorforGraphing

TheAnswerEditorforgraphingconsistsofaCartesianplanewith x-andy-coordinateaxesandaselectionofothertoolsforgraphing linesandregionsoftheplane(SeeFigure4.5). Tographaline,usethepenciltooltoplottwopoints.Then,align thestraightedge(ruler)onthetwopoints(itisa\grabby"tooland willjumptoapointwhenitisnearit).Thenusethepenciltoolto drawtheline.Notethatthee®ectofthestraightedgecontinuespast itsends,sothereisnoneedtomoveittomakealinegoingfrom edgetoedgeofthedepictedplane. To¯llinaregion,usetheregiontoolandclickinthedesiredregion

32CHAPTER4.ASSESSMENTMODE

oftheplane.Onemustdrawalllinesde¯ningtheregionbefore¯lling itin.Inorderforoneormoreofthelinesde¯ningaregiontobe dotted(asinthegraphofasystemcontainingoneormorestrict inequalities),clickonthelinewiththedottedlinetool.Thismaybe donebeforeoraftertheregionis¯lled. Toplaceapointwherecoordinatesarenotbothintegers:usethe input¯eldtoenternumericalvalues(fractionsandmixednumbers canbeplacedusingtheiconsbeneaththe¯eld),thenclickontheicon withhorizontalbrokenline(forthey-coordinate)orverticalbroken line(forthex-coordinate).Abrokenlinewillappearontheplane foreachgivencoordinate.Usethepenciltomarkthedesiredpoint attheirintersection.Anothermethodistheclickontheordered pairicon(withacommaseparatingtwoboxesinparentheses),enter apairofcoordinates(interminatingdecimal,fractional,ormixed- numberform),thenclickontheiconwithasmallCartesianplane andapointmarkedby\X."Thiswillplacethepointdirectlyonthe planewithoutusingthepencil. Todrawagraphrequiringanasymptote,usetheasymptotetool (brokenhorizontalorverticalline)toplacetheasymptoteasneeded. Aslantedasymptotemaybeplacedby¯rstdrawingtwopointsand thenusingthetoolwithabrokendiagonalline.Plottheadditional pointsneededforthegraph,andthenclickonthegraphbutton (curvedlineconnecting\X"s). Foreachtypeofconicsection,thereisaspecialtoolallowingthe constructionofitsgraph.Normally,theuserclicksoncewiththe tooltoestablishthecenterorvertexofthegraph,andthenoneor moreadditionaltimestodetermineits¯nalform. Aswiththenumberline,selecttheerasertoolandclickonanypart ofaline,arc,orothercomponenttoremoveit.

4.5.ANSWEREDITOR33

Figure4.6:TheAnswerEditorforHistograms(LearningMode)

4.5.7TheAnswerEditorforHistograms(Statistics)

TheAnswerEditorforhistogramsconsistsofaspacefordrawinghistogramsand icons(buttons)permittingthecreationandadjustmentofbars(SeeFigure4.6). Initially,thehistogramappearswithasmallnumberofbars(e.g.,two).Theheight ofthebarsisadjustedbyclickingonthetopedgeofeachandholdingthemouse buttondownwhiledraggingtothedesiredheight.Toaddbars,clickontheicon withtheplussign;tosubtractbars,clickontheiconwiththeminussign.Eachbar hasaspacebeneathitwherea

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