Maplesoft recently announced the newest version release of its classroom testing and assessment tool Maple T.A. The software provides online testing and assessment systems designed for use in courses that involve rigorous calculations such as in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education courses.
This newest version release, Maple T.A. 2016, provides enhancements to the content authoring system, making it faster and easier to create and modify questions and assignments.
After engaging in consultations with customers and users, Maplesoft completely redesigned the basic authoring workflow to make it easier to create content.
The result is a more fluid and flexible process for authoring new questions and assignments, which leads to a reduced learning curve for users to become a productive author.
Several question types have become easier to create, including sorting, clickable image and interactive MathApp questions. Authors can now also apply a consistent style and appearance to all questions without having to modify each question individually.
Other enhancements in Maple T.A. 2016 include:
- A redesigned content repository that provides educators easy management of their Maple T.A. questions and assignments
- Easier content searching, both locally and from the Maple T.A. cloud
- The ability to upload and grade scanned documents
- Enhancements to essay questions
- The ability for authors to develop questions in HTML5
Certified Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) allows educators to integrate Maple T.A. with various course management systems including Canvas, Brightspace, Sakai, Blackboard and Moodle.
"Maple T.A. offers institutions a valuable tool that allows educators to truly assess their students' understanding of STEM courses in ways no other system can, while working within the framework of their existing course management technologies," said Paul DeMarco, director of development for Maple and Maple T.A.
"The enhanced authoring environment of Maple T.A. 2016 provides educators more flexibility and control of their testing content, whether they want to assemble assignments using questions contributed by instructors from the Maple T.A. user community or create new questions using step-by-step authoring tools. Feedback from our customers helped us streamline the user experience and we are grateful to our passionate users who contribute to Maple T.A.'s success," DeMarco continued.
Maple T.A. 2016 is available as both a Maplesoft-hosted or school-hosted solution. Interface translations are available for French, Spanish, German, Japanese, Brazilian Portuguese, Korean, Simplified and Traditional Chinese and more.
In the coming weeks, Maplesoft will also be releasing a new version of the Maple T.A. MAA Placement Test Suite (PTS), which offers the renowned placement tests from the Mathematical Association of America in the Maple T.A. online testing environment. Based on Maple T.A. 2016, this release of PTS will offer the same streamlined content management, LTI connectivity and other new features.
For more information on Maplesoft and Maple T.A., visit the website.