Note, a more complete discussion of the data is
available here.
From the instructor's view...
The WQS configuration is based on a data file which is a plain text file
that looks like this:
E1: chaney@ms.uky.edu
F1: /u/disk3/staff/chaney/public_html/wqs/sample
U1: http://www.ms.uky.edu/~chaney/wqs/sample
Q1: What do you think of this system?
(Hint - The right answer is A3: with a colon)
R1: A3
A1: I like it just the way it is
A2: I do not like it at all
A3: It is too soon to tell but I'll let you know what I think later
Q2: {include:q2_1.html}
R2: A1
A1: Answer 1
A2: Answer 2
A3: Answer 3
A4: Answer 4
A5: Answer 5
Notice that the general format of each line is:
tag : information
Where:
tag is an indicator of the type of information on the rest of
the line. Each tag is a single character followed by a number.
Examples of supported tags include:
-- Simple text questions, answers and which one is the right answer
- Q1: - The text of question number 1.
- R1: - Which answer is right for question 1.
- A1: - The text of answer 1 for the question.
- A2: - The text of answer 2 for the question.
- A3: - The text of answer 3 for the question.
-- Questions with explanatory sentences associated with each answer.
- Q2: What is the square root of 81?
- R2: A3
- A1: 40.5
- P1: No, 81/2 = 40.5 but the square root deals with multiplication
- P1: and division, not just addition and subtraction.
- A2: 6561
- P2: No, 81 * 81 = 6561 but that is 81 squared. The square root
- P2: "goes the other waay", so to speak. 81 is the square root
- P2: of 6561.
- A3: 9
- P3: Right!
- A4: 3
- P4: No, 3 would be the 4th root of 81 because 3*3*3*3 = 81
-- Questions which include files such as HTML code.
To include files, you must have one F1 and one U1 in the data file!
( Maple users, see the notes below! )
- Q3: {include:quest3.html}
- R3: A2
- A1: {include:q3_ans1.html}
- A2: {include:q3_ans2.html}
- A3: {include:q3_ans3.html}
-- General information lines
Each of these lines should be used only one time, the numbers associated
with each line is required but not significant.
- E0: E-mail address of the instructor(s) (One line per file)
- F0: The full pathname to the location of the (HTML) files.
This directory must be accessible by the WWW server and match the U line below.
- U0: The full web address to the location of the (HTML) files.
This URL must be accessible by the WWW server and match the F line above.
Obviously each Q line must have an R line and at least two A lines. Expanding
on answers (via P lines) is optional.
Each data should have an E line to allow students to submit their
comments back to the instructor(s).
If files (such as HTML files) are to be included, there must be a
U and F line pair in the datafile.
Each quiz will have a data file associated with it. The name and
location of each quiz's data file must be registered with the
administrator of the system, along with the student information. These
issues are discussed below.
To build a text quiz in a datafile, just follow a straightforward
outline, such as:
E1: chaney@ms.uky.edu
Q1: Which of the following is not considered a primary color?
R1: A2
A1: Blue
A2: Black
A3: Yellow
A4: Red
From the Maple user instructor's view...
Maple can generate HTML files but makes heavy use of images which
are included as relative HTML links. This makes the use of Maple-generated
HTML files a little tricky.
- Make the questions up in a maple worksheet
- Export the questions as HTML into individual files, naming them
Q1_ for question 1, Q2 for question 2...Q11_ for question 11, etc.
This is necessary because Maple generates individually named files
by appending a 1, 2, ... 10, 11, 12... onto the base filename which
would allow Q11.html (for Question 11) to be over-written by a
supporting file for question 1 (Q11). Make sure each HTML
filename ends in an underscore, to play it safe.
- Export each of the answers as individual HTML files, to allow the
system to identify the answers more easily. Use the same underscore
filenaming convention as above, such as Q1_A1_ for Answer 1 of
question 1, Q1_A2_ for answer 2 of question one, etc.
You may export all of the HTML to the same directory and the
generated images may all go (automatically) into the same 'images'
subdirectory.
- In a directory that you have verified with the WQS administrator, create
the data file, making sure that you:
- Place the HTML files in a WWW-readable location, such as a subdirectory
within your public_html directory.
- make the directory, the images subdirectory and all files
world-readable. (The unix command for this is: chmod 755 [filename/dirname] )
- include an E: line with your email address
- include an F: line which is the pathname to the directory used above
- include an U: line which is the URL to the directory above.
Example: If my Maple HTML files are in ~chaney/public_html/wqs/dan,
the appropriate entries in the data file would be:
U: http://www.ms.uky.edu/~chaney/wqs/dan
F: /u/disk3/staff/chaney/wqs/dan
Furthermore, I would have made sure I had executed the following commands:
chmod 755 ~chaney/public_html/wqs/dan
chmod 755 ~chaney/public_html/wqs/dan/*
chmod 755 ~chaney/public_html/wqs/images/*
- Test the setup by making sure you can read the Q1_1.html file from
the web. Note that q1_1.html is the Maple-generated file containing the
data from Q1_ (or Question 1, following our convention) and the images should
be included correctly.
Trouble spot: If the images are not showing up at this point,
you may have an upper/lower case problem with the exported Maple files.
Maple generates images in the images/ subdirectory with q*.gif filenames
and refers to them as IMG SRC="images/q*.gif" in the HTML code. In the
export or transfer process, the case of the Q*gif files may have been
changed which can result in broken image links. Check the case of the
images called fr in the HTML source against the filenames in the images
directory. If there uis a discrepancy, change the filenames in the
images directory. This will be a pain if the HTML code is looking
for Qblah.gif (not the uppercase Q and the lower case gif.) If you need
to change just the q to Q, try something gross like:
ls q*gif | awk '{ print "mv " $1 " " $1 }' | tr q Q | sed -e s/Q/q/ | sh
- Assuming everything is working fine to this point, just add the
appropriate entries into the data file, such as:
Q8: {include:q8_1.html}
R8: A3
A1: {include:Q8_a1_1.html}
A2: {include:Q8_a2_1.html}
A3: {include:Q8_a3_1.html}
A4: {include:Q8_a4_1.html}
Note that for Question8, we actually use q8_1.html as opposed to the
q8.html file you may find in the directory. The q8_1.html file should
contain the non-frames version of the HTML exported Maple file. If this
is not the case, well, that's why we love Maple.
From the administrator's view...
There are four CGI scripts in the WQS as well two support perl files.
We'll look at the Perl files first, since they are common across the
CGI scripts. The first one is cgi-lib.pl. (pause) Okay, we've
spent enough time on that one. The next one is readit.pl and it
contains a lot of tweakable variables:
- ADMIN - Set this to the name and/or email address of the WQS admin.
- ADMIN_MAILTO - Set this to the URL link to send the ADMIN mail
- WQSDIR - The pathname to the scripts herein discussed
- WQSURL - The URL to reach the WASDIR from the web
- PWDFILE - The full path to the WQS password file. This should
not be stored in a web-readable place but should be readable by the
WWW system if user-UID CGI isn't supported.
- CLASSFILE - The full path to the WQS class list. This should
probably be in the same location/setup as the PWDFILE.
- LOGDIR - This should be a WWW-writable directory used to store
per-user logfiles, which will include everything from scores to timestamps
logged in to comments submitted after quizzes.
Now the scripts themselves:
- login.cgi
- doit.cgi
- gradeit.cgi
- mailit.cgi
These files are documented and I've run out of steam. Caveat administrator.
Update as of Thu Jan 14 01:45:04 EST 1999
From: Web-based Quiz System at Math Sciences
Subject: Latest changes to WQS
To: wqs-users@ms.uky.edu
Date: Thu, 14 Jan 1999 01:30:45 -0500 (EST)
[ If you are getting this message, you are on the wqs-users@ms.uky.edu list.
If you want off, send a note to Dan Chaney (chaney@ms.uky.edu) -dan ]
Latest changes to the WQS system, as of Thu Jan 14 01:25:37 EST 1999:
- The WQS system has moved to a new place:
URL http://www.ms.uky.edu/~wqs
Email wqs@ms.uky.edu
To login, visit http://www.ms.ukyk.edu/~wqs/login.html
- The login screen has changed in a few ways:
There is now a guest user account, per Dr. Kubota's suggestion.
It simply uses the password 'guest' as well. The idea of letting
someone enter a mail id and later actually sending email there
struck me as too bold. The note at the top of the login screen is:
"You should obtain a login and password from your instructor.
If do not have a login/password, you may temporarily use the
login ID guest along with the password guest.
NOTE! Students should not use the guest account if they
need proof of usage."
- Multiple classes are now (more easily) supported.
The login screen now asks for only three things:
1. Login
2. Password
3. Class. The current options for class are:
- Watch video lectures
- Register as a new user
- MA123 -- Dr. Eakin's sections
- MA123 -- Dr. Eberhart's sections
- CS470 -- Dr. Kubota's sections
- MA193 -- Dan Chaney's test quizzes
After successfully logging in, a list of quizzes for
that course is put on the screen. The student may choose
one of those, click "Proceed" and take their quiz.
- A new file (wqs-dirs) allows instructors to post quizzes automatically
Per Dr. Eakin, each class now has a control file which is
to be maintained by the individual instructor for a course.
This file, called wqs-dirs, lists two items of info per line:
Quiz Name, Quiz file location
The first field (Quiz Name) is what is listed in the email
and on the 'quiz selection' screen, (#2 above) and is
separated from the second field by a comma, so don't use
commas anywhere else in this file. :-)
The second field is the DIRECTORY which contains the actual
quiz data file. Thus, the system will look for a file called
'data' wherever this second field points. Recall, the 'data'
file holds the info about the quiz questions and answers. The
control file just tells WQS where to find that file for a given
quiz. Keep in mind, if this entry is wrong, the students get an
error message which asks them to send an email message both to
me as well as the instructor.
Each instructor will maintain his/her own wqs-dirs file. They
are currently expected to be found in the following locations
but can be changed (one time only, please) if you like:
MA123-001 Paul Eakin /u/disk2/ma/paul/dolts
MA123-002 Carl Eberhart /u/disk13/ma/carl/dolts
CS470 Ken Kubota /u/disk5/staff/ken/wqs
MA193 Dan Chaney /u/disk3/staff/chaney/wqs
So, as an example, suppose Carl wanted to use this system. He would:
1. Make ~carl/dolts, if it isn't already there
2. Create the ~carl/dolts/wqs-dirs file, which would list
all of the quizzes he has ready. For example:
Quiz 1, /u/disk13/ma/carl/dolts/quiz1
3. Next, create ~carl/dolts/quiz1, if necessary
4. Make ~carl/dolts/quiz1/data, which would list all of
the questions and answers for quiz 1, such as:
Q1: Do you like Calculus?
R1: A1
A1: Yes.
A2: No
A3: I plead the fifth
F1: /u/disk13/ma/carl/public_html/quiz1
U1: http://www.ms.uky.edu/~carl/quiz1
Q2: {include:q2_.html}
R2: A2
A1: {include:q2_a1_.html}
A2: {include:q2_a2_.html}
A3: {include:q2_a3_.html}
A4: {include:q2_a4_.html}
5. Assuming his Maple files are in ~carl/public_html/quiz1
and readable from the web (this is necessary because Maple
will make web references to the included pictures, btw),
he would be able to test the system by:
- going to the WQS login page
http://www.ms.uky.edu/~wqs/login.html
- Choosing his class (MA123-015) and logging in
- Noting the new quiz entry and choosing it
- Making sure the quiz appears as he expects
- Sending a note out to his vict...students.
That's the long and short of it. Okay, the long of it. The short
of it is: maintain your wqs-dirs file, make a data file for each quiz
and things should work okay. If you use maple, make sure the HTML
and GIFs are in a web accessible (i.e.,: ~/public_html) subdirectory
and the E1: and U1: lines correspond to it.
- A registration screen is now available.
The registration screen (http://www.ms.uky.edu/~wqs/register.html) asks
the student for their first and last name, their class and their email
address. It offers them a tenative loginID and password but it WON'T work
until I add them into the main passwd file. The instructor will receive a
copy of the request via email, please verify it so I can be sure the student
actually exists.
-dan
Update as of Wed Jan 20 21:29:36 EST 1999
- The sorting option on the quiz list has been turned back on.
If you need to force an order to your quizzes that is non-alphabetic,
put a number at the beginning of the quiz name in wqs-dirs to produce
the order you desire. I no longer have the time to chase that bug
down right now and some kind of order is better than none at all.
- Text lines (Tn:) lines have been added to the data file to allow
text to be presented before each question. T1: lines will be displayed
immediately before the Q1: lines, T2: lines before the Q2, etc. If you
only wish to have a 'header' to your quiz, just use a T1: line at the
top which includes several <P> markers to separate it from the first
question.
- Quiz results are now sent only to the students, not the instructors.
Comments on the quizzes still go to both instructor and student(s).
Both are recorded in each user's log file.
- Ungraded quizzes, a possible oxymoron, are now supported. We'll call
them surveys. Surveys will use the same data file format as quizzes
but will be distinguished as surveys in the wqs-dirs file. To make a
survey, follow the process you normally do for a quiz data file. When
you add the line in the wqs-dirs, append a ",survey" much like you did
for the "hidden" instructor-only quizzes. Surveys will be marked with
a green "Survey" on the quiz selection screen. If you want to test a
survey, just append ",hidden survey" at the end of the appropriate
line in wqs-dirs.
- The logging routines have been completely re-written. Some students
were using the system while the changes were being phased in but after
midnight, everyone should be logging pretty much the same.
The format of the log file line is:
[TIMESTAMP][PID][LOGTYPE]: Text of log entry
Where:
[TIMESTAMP] is month/day/year-hour:minute:second
[PID] is the process ID of the CGI script
[LOGTYPE] is one of the entries detailed below
(RESULT, COMMENT, etc.)
and the remainded of the line is the text of the
log entry. The text will follow a format detailed below.
On a per-user basis, the following LOG entries are made and timestamped:
LOGIN: From [dan8.msext.uky.edu] as part of [dan,jim,betty,lou]
Indicates the user has successfully logged in from
dan8.msext.uky.edu (may also be an IP number if the
remote machine's nameserver entries do not include
reverse lookups or it may be null if the browser
doesn't pass the data) and logged in as part of a group
which included the users dan, jim, betty and lou.
SELECTION: Viewed MA123-005-QUIZ 5
This indicates the the user started looking at quiz 5.
GUEST_NAME: Dan Chaney
This indicates that the guest account was used and
that the user typed in the name of "Dan Chaney" before
submitting their answers.
SCORE: [MA123-005,Quiz 1] Ques: 10, Ans: 5, Right: 2
This indicates that the user answered 5 of 10 questions,
only two of them correctly.
RESULT: [MA123-005,Quiz 1] 22: Missed. Answered 4.
Indicates a student in MA123-005 took Quiz 1 and
missed question 22 by choosing answer 4.
RESULT: [MA123-005,Quiz 1] 23: Right.
Indicates a student in MA123-005 took Quiz 1 and
correctly answered question 23.
COMMENT: [MA123-005,Quiz 4] feedback-Q5: [I hate this question!]
Indicates a student in MA123-005 took Quiz 4 and
responded to question 5 with "I hate this question!".
Note, the comment field may include newlines (^M).
SURVEY: [MA123-005,Survey 6]
Indicates user is looking at Survey 6 in MA123-005
RESPONSE: [MA123-005,Survey 6] Q6: A5
Indicates user responsed with answer 5 to question 6 of
Survey 7 in MA123-005.
This concludes this development cycle of WQS. The next development cycle
is not scheduled to begin until February. Thank you and goodnight.
-dan
Thu Oct 14 16:58:56 EDT 1999
Just because Ken knew I was getting things done....he asked me for an addition.
The system now supports the use of an L: line in the data file, similar to the
T: line, which appends text to a question (after the answers are put up)
Much like text following Tx: lines is prepended to the question, Lx: lines
will be appended to the page *after* the questions.
-dan
