This article contains this release's feature updates, user interface changes and bug fixes.

Release date	Environment
3rd of March 2023	Stage (stage.ans.app)
12th of March 2023	Production (ans.app) Education (edu.ans.app)

Changes to the platform

The ProctorExam integration has been released out of beta

ProctorExam can be used to proctor participants remotely. For more information, please visit our support page about the ProctorExam integration.

Added a notice for participants when taking an assignment only accessible through using ProctorExam

We added a notice for participants when taking an assignment only accessible through using ProctorExam.

The STEP integration has been released out of beta

STEP can be used to lockdown participant devices using a USB drive. For more information, please visit our support page about the STEP integration.

Added a notice for participants when taking an assignment only accessible through using STEP

We added a notice for participants when taking an assignment only accessible through using STEP.

Added a warning when a question is not yet answered when using the strikethrough feature

We now show a warning to participants if they have used the strikethrough feature for multiple choice alternatives but not yet selected an answer. The warning will disappear once the participant selects an alternative. This warning will inform participants that the question was not answered by striking through alternatives before navigating to the next question.

Restrictions to the amount of users that can be added to a group or class

As announced previously, we have added a restriction of 2500 students per group and 1000 students per class. Ans would show inconsistent behaviour when there were too many users in a group or class and when attempting to expand or reduce the users in the group or class. This change has no impact to existing groups or classes that exceed this amount.

Updated date and time format in export files

As previously announced, we have changed the current exports that contain date time fields. The date time fields have been made consistent by using the ISO6801 format (2022-12-31T19:19:19+01:00). A consistent export format will make it easier for users to process exports in an automated way.

Removed the step by step guides from the help center

We have already stopped updating the step by step guides as we are focusing on improving and restructuring the instruction articles. On the 12th of March, the step by step guides will be deprecated.

Renaming of multiple elements in the platform

Based on your feedback, we are working on multiple interface inconsistencies and improvements. Below you can find the element(s) that have been renamed, including the place in the platform where it changed. The change is applied to all translations of the platform unless indicated otherwise.

Renamed the dropdown menu 'Test layout' to 'Theme' in the edit layout settings of an assignment. This applies to the English version of the platform only.
Renamed the dropdown menu 'Layout' to 'Thema' in the edit layout settings of an assignment. This applies to the Dutch version of the platform only.
Renamed 'Plan' to 'Copy' in the settings of a question bank assignment. This applies to the English version of the platform only.
Renamed 'Plannen' to 'Kopieer' in the settings of a question bank assignment. This applies to the Dutch version of the platform only.
Renamed 'Import users' to 'Import students' in the import dialog in the students overview on school level or in the members overview on course level. This applies to the English version of the platform only.
Renamed 'Importeer gebruikers' to 'Importeer studenten' in the import dialog in the students overview on school level or in the members overview on course level. This applies to the Dutch version of the platform only.
Renamed 'Add employees' to 'Add instructors' on the instructor tab at a class overview. This applies to the English version of the platform only.
Renamed the tab 'Opgeslagen opmerking' to 'Quick comment' when using quick comments in the platform. This applies to the Dutch version of the platform only.
Renamed the tab 'Wijzigen' to 'Hernoemen' in multiple places of the platform. This applies to the Dutch version of the platform only.

Open beta feature changes

Beta features are features which can be enabled and disabled on school level. Our available open beta features can be found in the school settings of your school. By default, all open beta features are disabled upon release. Only administrators can view and activate open beta features. As beta features are eventually released as feature which is enabled by default for all users, we encourage administrators to enable and test open beta features on the stage environment. Your feedback can help shape the feature before it is moved out of beta.

Added a notice for participants when taking an assignment or viewing a publication only accessible through using Schoolyear

We added a notice for participants when taking an assignment or viewing a publication only accessible through using Schoolyear.

We also updated the button for viewing a published test in Schoolyear to 'view' instead of 'start'.

Log feature additions

We have added additions to the logs feature. Below, you can find the logs including the information which is logged for that particular log.

Assignment log

In this log, changes to the following accessibility settings are logged:

Multiple attempts
Password
Restricted access to other pages
Restricted assignment access locations
Live chat
Code IDE
Digital notes
Spellchecker
Calculator
Feedback
One way navigation
Require answer
Deny reopening flow groups

Improvement to the CSV import template based on Respondus

We do not export questions as true/false questions because we would then have to check every supported language for the words which mean “true” and “false”. True/false questions are also basically multiple choice questions with two options. So we choose to export them as such. True/false questions can be imported but will become a multiple choice question with two choices and one correct answer.

API updates

No additions have been added to the API this release.

Important changes

7th of April 2023 - Adjustment to timing of release on stage environment
Currently, our release cycle consists of three stages carried out over a three week period. This means that every three weeks a new version of the platform is deployed on our production environment. One week prior to the production release, the new version is deployed on our stage environment.

Based on your feedback, we are going to extend the time that the new version of the platform is on the stage environment. It will be extended to two weeks. This will allow users more time to check the new version and to provide feedback. To give you more insight, we have included a visual below which includes the schedule of the timing of the upcoming releases on both the stage- and production environments. The first release on the stage environment with the updated timing is marked in red and will take place on the 7th of April (instead of the 14th of April).

Screenshot_2023-03-03_at_12.07.24.png

The overview of all important changes that may require an action from administrators can be found here.

Bug fixes

Fixed an issue with displaying LaTeX when exporting the result of a digital test
LaTeX was not be properly rendered when exporting a result that contained questions or answers that made use of LaTeX.
Fixed an issue when adding a user to a group via the API when the course only has one group
When attempting to add a student to a group via the API and there was only one group in the course, a 403 forbidden error was displayed instead of adding the student to the group.
Fixed the attribute 'active' not being set properly when creating users via the API

It was not possible to create inactive users via the API. The attribute 'active' was automatically turned to 'true', even when an explicit 'false' value was given.
Added a validation that makes sure the alumni status of a student cannot be set to 'nil' via API
Only either 'true' or 'false' values are accepted as an 'Alumni' status when updating users via the API.
Fixed an issue where filters were not taken into account when exporting the assignment analysis
After filtering assignments in the assignment analysis at the school insights and then making an export, the filters were not applied. Instead, all assignments were included in the export.
Fixed an issue where studies were not visible in the dropdown menu in 'Course settings'
It was not possible to select old studies when creating a course. Only newly created studies were shown in the dropdown menu. This made it appear as if the old studies had been deleted. The studies (previous and new) should all correctly appear in the study dropdown menu.
Fixed an issue where changing the label of a question bank exercise with a protection rule would disable the possibility of changing the label back
It was possible to change the label in the overview of question bank exercises but not when viewing a specific question bank exercise, when a protection rule has been set on the label.
Fixed issue where some students were not listed on the taking page
Some students did not appear in the taking overview even though they belonged to a group with an active timeslot. The issue was due to the extra time being set incorrectly in our database.
Fixed issue where the logs would show 'Deleted user' if a user has not performed any actions for some time
A user that had not performed any actions would show as 'deleted user' even though they were not.
Fixed timestamps for assignment locations, tags, and question bank question objectives log entries
These log entries were not available to users previously, however the timestamps have been logged incorrectly in our database. This means the new logs could be incorrect for these types of changes if the changes were made before this release.
Fixed issue with the preliminary result which prevented the calculating status from being removed automatically
When participants submitted a digital test result with preliminary results enabled on the assignment, the preliminary result would incorrectly stay on "calculating..." until the participant manually refreshed the page. The page is now automatically refreshed when the total points or grade are calculated.
Fixed inconsistencies in the CSV import template based on Respondus
This includes:
- The fill-in question contained a general feedback which referenced “MCQ1” which was wrong. This has been removed from the template.
- The multiple response question had its choice feedback misaligned. The first three choice feedbacks were aligned under general-, incorrect- and correct feedback. This has been aligned properly.
- The fill-in question contained choice feedback. This is not supported in Ans so it has been removed from the template.
- Fixed spelling errors in the import template.
- The column correct_answer in mathematical equations was filled in. This however is not supported. For mathematical equations to work with the correct answer, we would need more information than can fit the Respondus format. The correct_answer has therefore been removed from the template.