The Xronos Project Kevin Knudson and Jason Nowell

Developed at the Ohio State University, Ximera is an open source platform for converting

Goals Short term • move calculus sequence out of third-party online homework system 3

Goals Short term • move calculus sequence out of third-party online homework system Long

Timeline for Xronos, the UF implementation • July 2016: Jason Nowell attended Ximera workshop

Timeline for Xronos, the UF implementation • • July 2016: Jason Nowell attended Ximera

Timeline for Xronos, the UF implementation • • • July 2016: Jason Nowell attended

The Punchline By moving to Xronos, we are saving our students approximately $250, 000

Transition of content in MAC 1140 Starting point: LATEXnotes 6

Transition of content in MAC 1140 Transitioning Period • Original Source code was 120

First Phase Complete: Original Content Online 8

Example of Interactive Features • Ability to embed custom javascript and html. 9

Example of Interactive Features • Ability to embed custom javascript and html. • Write

Other Features of Interest • LTI real-time syncing. 10

Other Features of Interest • LTI real-time syncing. • Grade sync to any LTI

Slides: 45

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The Xronos Project Kevin Knudson and Jason Nowell February 28, 2019 Department of Mathematics University of Florida kknudson@ufl. edu, jnowell@ufl. edu

Developed at the Ohio State University, Ximera is an open source platform for converting LATEXfiles into interactive HTML 5 pages. 2

Developed at the Ohio State University, Ximera is an open source platform for converting LATEXfiles into interactive HTML 5 pages. begin{example} Use a linear approximation of $f(x)=sin(x)$ at $x=0$ to approximate $sin(0. 3)$. begin{explanation} To start, write $$ frac{d}{dx} f(x) = answer{cos(x)}, $$ so our linear approximation is begin{align*} ell(x) &= answer{cos(0)}cdot(x-0) + 0\ &= x. end{align*} end{explanation} end{example} 2

Developed at the Ohio State University, Ximera is an open source platform for converting LATEXfiles into interactive HTML 5 pages. begin{example} Use a linear approximation of $f(x)=sin(x)$ at $x=0$ to approximate $sin(0. 3)$. begin{explanation} To start, write $$ frac{d}{dx} f(x) = answer{cos(x)}, $$ so our linear approximation is begin{align*} ell(x) &= answer{cos(0)}cdot(x-0) &= x. end{align*} end{explanation} end{example} + 0\ 2

Goals Short term • move calculus sequence out of third-party online homework system 3

Goals Short term • move calculus sequence out of third-party online homework system Long term • move all lower-division courses out of third-party systems 3

Goals Short term • move calculus sequence out of third-party online homework system Long term • move all lower-division courses out of third-party systems Super long term • UF could make this system available campus-wide, allowing departments to create their own online homework systems (LATEX is agnostic about content) 3

Timeline for Xronos, the UF implementation • July 2016: Jason Nowell attended Ximera workshop at OSU 4

Timeline for Xronos, the UF implementation • July 2016: Jason Nowell attended Ximera workshop at OSU • August 2016: Provost’s office/CLAS agree to fund two math TAs to do coding work 4

Timeline for Xronos, the UF implementation • July 2016: Jason Nowell attended Ximera workshop at OSU • August 2016: Provost’s office/CLAS agree to fund two math TAs to do coding work • September 2016: dedicated server set up for Xronos, programming work begins 4

Timeline for Xronos, the UF implementation • • July 2016: Jason Nowell attended Ximera workshop at OSU August 2016: Provost’s office/CLAS agree to fund two math TAs to do coding work September 2016: dedicated server set up for Xronos, programming work begins October–November 2016: build problem banks, test server and Canvas integration December 2016: build homework sets for MAC 2311, set up online interactive text Spring semester 2017: pilot section of MAC 2311, taught by Knudson, testing system Spring semester 2017: build problem banks for MAC 2312, tweak MAC 2311 4

Timeline for Xronos, the UF implementation • • • July 2016: Jason Nowell attended Ximera workshop at OSU August 2016: Provost’s office/CLAS agree to fund two math TAs to do coding work September 2016: dedicated server set up for Xronos, programming work begins October–November 2016: build problem banks, test server and Canvas integration December 2016: build homework sets for MAC 2311, set up online interactive text Spring semester 2017: pilot section of MAC 2311, taught by Knudson, testing system Spring semester 2017: build problem banks for MAC 2312, tweak MAC 2311 Fall 2017: test Xronos in large section of MAC 2311, pilot MAC 2312 Spring 2018: fully deploy Xronos to MAC 2311, pilot MAC 2312 in large section, pilot MAC 1105/1140 4

The Punchline By moving to Xronos, we are saving our students approximately $250, 000 per year. 5

Transition of content in MAC 1140 Starting point: LATEXnotes 6

Transition of content in MAC 1140 Transitioning Period • Original Source code was 120 pages of text written with custom class commands. 7

Transition of content in MAC 1140 Transitioning Period • Original Source code was 120 pages of text written with custom class commands. • Xronos code is also a custom class. 7

Transition of content in MAC 1140 Transitioning Period • Original Source code was 120 pages of text written with custom class commands. • Xronos code is also a custom class. • Transition of source from one type to another; What does that involve? • Break up text into individual ‘sections’ or ‘lessons’. • Setup the Xronos content architecture. • Insert preliminary questions into content to check understanding. 7

Transition of content in MAC 1140 Transitioning Period • Original Source code was 120 pages of text written with custom class commands. • Xronos code is also a custom class. • Transition of source from one type to another; What does that involve? • • Break up text into individual ‘sections’ or ‘lessons’. Setup the Xronos content architecture. Insert preliminary questions into content to check understanding. Find/Write/Develop interactive content. 7

Transition of content in MAC 1140 Transitioning Period • Original Source code was 120 pages of text written with custom class commands. • Xronos code is also a custom class. • Transition of source from one type to another; What does that involve? • • Break up text into individual ‘sections’ or ‘lessons’. Setup the Xronos content architecture. Insert preliminary questions into content to check understanding. Find/Write/Develop interactive content. Lots to do, just to get base work online even before interactive content. . . 7

Transition of content in MAC 1140 Transitioning Period • Original Source code was 120 pages of text written with custom class commands. • Xronos code is also a custom class. • Transition of source from one type to another; What does that involve? • • Break up text into individual ‘sections’ or ‘lessons’. Setup the Xronos content architecture. Insert preliminary questions into content to check understanding. Find/Write/Develop interactive content. Lots to do, just to get base work online even before interactive content. . . 10 hours to get up to the last step. 7

First Phase Complete: Original Content Online 8

Example of Interactive Features • Ability to embed custom javascript and html. 9

Example of Interactive Features • Ability to embed custom javascript and html. • Write questions with customizable feedback and (some) adaptive behavior. 9

Example of Interactive Features • Ability to embed custom javascript and html. • Write questions with customizable feedback and (some) adaptive behavior. • Supports embedding lots of external tools, such as Desmos and Youtube. 9

Other Features of Interest • LTI real-time syncing. 10

Other Features of Interest • LTI real-time syncing. • Grade sync to any LTI capable LMS like Canvas. 10

Other Features of Interest • LTI real-time syncing. • Grade sync to any LTI capable LMS like Canvas. • Identity syncing for persistent classes. 10

Other Features of Interest • LTI real-time syncing. • Grade sync to any LTI capable LMS like Canvas. • Identity syncing for persistent classes. • Ability to control grade values, due dates, etc through the LMS directly. • Live Chat with students. • Records of exact student submissions (accessible via the LMS). 10

Thank you! Questions? 11