This article contains this release's feature updates, user interface changes and bug fixes.
| Release date | Environment |
|
19th of January 2024 |
Stage (stage.ans.app) |
| 4th of February 2024 | Production (ans.app) Education (edu.ans.app) |
Important changes
Added support for setting a custom role in the question bank via the API
The 'publisher_ids' and 'author_ids' params on the Question Banks endpoint are deprecated and will be removed with the 3rd of March 2024 release. The params have been replaced with the 'publishers' and 'authors' params, which add support for using custom roles and makes it consistent with the way you add users to a course. Please update your usage of the API by replacing the array of ids [1, 2] with an array of hashes [{user_id: 1}, {user_id: 2}].
The overview of all important changes that may require an action from administrators can be found here.
Changes to the platform
Released mark calculation variables out of beta
We have improved the clarity of variables in mark calculations. We have renamed "points" and "total" to "obtained points" and "total points," with distinct visual changes. We have also improved usability by adding auto-suggestions for variables. This means you no longer have to remember everything, making your workflow easier.
For assignments that include closed questions, like multiple choice, we have added new variables to help calculate those questions separately.
If you use flow groups in your assignment, you can now use specific variables for each group.
This means that you can now calculate marks for different parts of an assignment. This gives you more freedom to determine a student's final mark.
Improved the user interface in the flow tab of assignments
We have made several changes to the layout of the flow tab in the assignment editor to make useful actions easier to find:
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Moved the option to shuffle the order of flow groups in an assignment from the layout settings menu to the top of the flow group tab. In question bank assignments, the option can still be found in the test instructions tab of the settings. This is because you cannot currently edit flow groups in a question bank assignment.
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The shuffle order of exercises option for a flow group has been removed out of the menu. It is now a toggle button on the flow group itself.
- Added a drag indicator to flow groups and exercises in the flow groups tab that appears while hovering over the exercise with your mouse. This only appears if the user has permission to make changes to the ordering of flow groups and exercises.
Flow groups can now be pinned, locking their position in place
In addition to the changes to the layout, we have added a feature for pinning flow groups to the start or end of a digital test. This means the shuffling of flow groups can be limited to a set number of flow groups in the middle of a digital test.
A flow group can also be pinned, by clicking on the pin icon on a flow group in the flow tab.
Improved the question navigation
The grading navigation bar will be now be displayed vertically to provide a better overview between the navigation of ungraded questions and all questions.
Improved grading navigation
When grading, it will now show which question is being worked on. This makes it easier to find the questions skipped, such as the disabled or bonus ones.
The button will either show a preview of the question or indicate the progression to the next result. When grading flags or if your assignment has been open to discussions, the button provides a preview of the message.
It is also possible to use a keyboard to interact with the updated buttons. Use the left or upward arrow to go back and the downward or right arrow to go forward.
Improvement to the top grading navigation
The new top grading navigation allows for easier movement through the results of an assignment. The counter displays the number of results based on your grading. It decreases when you have completed the grading of a result, ensuring you are consistently aware of the remaining tasks. When reviewing flags, it shows the number of results with unresolved flags.
In the scenario where you are at the last result and proceed to the next one, the review count resets instead of exiting the review process. This ensures a seamless continuation of the review.
When looking at a question and moving to the next or previous result, the current question position remains unchanged. This makes it simpler to compare different answers.
Recently viewed results can now be found during grading
The new search feature makes it easier to find previously viewed results. Results can be filtered according to grading progress, such as fully graded, partially graded, or not graded. In instances where grading is not conducted anonymously, a search for a specific student is also possible.
Simplified the buttons at the review overview
The functionality of the "Review" buttons has been simplified and changed to 'Continue Review' or 'Review' based on the extent of the grading completed.
Rather than reviewing sequentially, a filter can be applied to display all questions, those graded, or those not yet graded.
Previously, results were displayed in a fixed order, but now they appear in a fixed shuffled order. This makes it easier to revisit previously viewed results, leading to the removal of the extra button for reviewing randomly.
The option to remove all flags at once has also been removed due to its lack of usage. This further helps in making the platform less complex.
Reviewers can now review per result
Reviewers can now review results individually. If they are assigned to specific exercises, they can only review the exercises assigned to each result.
The results overview now displays a warning banner if there are any ungraded questions when planning a publication
When creating a publication time slot for an assignment, a warning banner is shown if there are still ungraded results or questions.
The plagiarism banner now directly links to the plagiarism report
Previously, the plagiarism banner linked to the file of the submitted hand-in assignment. This has been updated to allow the direct download of the file during assessment, and the banner link now redirects to the plagiarism report instead.
Added an option to send the students email address to Ouriginal
Added an option in the Ouriginal settings on the school level, allowing users to choose whether to send a confirmation email to participants of a digital test. When this setting is turned off, a system-generated email is used when a students' submission is sent to Ouriginal.
The option for students to delete their own account has been removed
Previously, it was possible for students to delete their own account, which would anonymise their account. In some cases, this would result in problems with school API integrations as they were relying on certain attributes that were no longer available on the user. The option has now been removed and students will need to request account deletion with an administrator.
Added the QTI identifier to the exercise information for exercises imported in question banks through QTI import
If an exercise is imported with into a question bank using the QTI import, the identifier will be displayed if you click on the exercise.
Open beta changes
Added course actions to the school and the course log
It is now possible to see course changes in the school log and the course log. The log contains the following actions: create, edit, remove and restore.
API changes
Added a new 'extra_time' attribute to our user endpoint
We have added a new attribute called 'extra_time' to the user endpoint in our API, allowing for the automatic allocation of extra time students. This can be achieved by setting the extra time duration in a specific timeslot.
Added a 'template' attribute to assignment in the API
We have added a new attribute called "template" for assignments to the API. This attribute serves to designate an assignment as a template. When creating a new assignment, you have the option to use a template assignment. By doing so, the settings from the template assignment will be applied to the newly created assignment, streamlining the process and ensuring consistency with the template settings.
Bug fixes
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Fixed an issue where assignments using flow group variables in their mark calculation formula could not be synced with question bank assignments
Previously, it was not possible to synchronise assignments with question bank assignments when mark calculation variables for flow groups were used. These variables have now been made available in the question bank assignment if they are available in assignments that are linked to the question bank assignment. This allows the question bank assignment to be in sync with the course assignment, where it previously could never be in sync, due to the variables not being available in the question bank.
Fixed an issue where invigilators and instructors were not able to see their own name in the invigilators list
If you were the only instructor or invigilator in a course, you would not see your name in the list on the taking page. This has been fixed.
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Fixed an issue where the integrity statement option was missing in the settings of a question bank assignment
Previously, the integrity statement option could only be enabled in the test instructions of a course assignment. The option is now also available in the test instructions of a question bank assignment.
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Removed access to student answers from API before they are submitted
In line with the recent change in the interface in which we removed the possibility to access the answers of a student before it has been submitted, we have also removed this possibility from the API.
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Fixed an issue where students could not view their discussions outside of the publication location
Previously, viewing discussions of a publication restricted by an IP address after it had ended was not possible. This is no longer prohibited, allowing the viewing of replies to discussions regardless of the location.
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Fixed issues where exporting results to Excel with the 'Started' checkbox checked resulted in an error message
Previously, if results were exported to Excel with the 'Started' option enabled, then the Excel file would not be recognised as a valid, and therefore could not be opened for viewing. The file should no longer give an error when opening in Excel.
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Improved translation for the unpermitted characters warning message
Previously, the error message about unpermitted characters in a users name, would always be shown in English. Now, the error message is correctly translated according to your language setting.
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Fixed an issue where it was possible to clear student numbers when updating a user via the API
Previously, a student number could be cleared if the user was updated via the API. This is now prevented.
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Fixed an issue where certain alert messages were defaulting to English regardless of the user's language
Previously, some alert messages related to sessions ending, would be displayed in English, regardless of the selected language. We now take the users language into account and display the alert messages in the selected language.
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Fixed an issue where users could not log in after their school switched their identity provider
Previously, users could not log in after their school switched their identity provider. Now, this issue have been resolved and users are able to log in using Single Sign-On again.
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Fixed an issue where the select all from table button in results overview will also select results outside of the table
Previously, when using the select all functionality for bulk actions in the results overview, then the selected action would also take student results that were still busy into account.
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Fixed an issue where the recently uploaded scans were incorrectly displayed
Occasionally, scans that had already been processed were not correctly marked as "done," leading to their persistence in the scans overview. This issue has been resolved, and the status of existing scans has been updated.
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Fixed an issue where archived results would still be shown in the submitted column of the taking page
Previously, archived results would be still be displayed in the submitted column of the taking page overview. Now, when a result is archived, it will also be removed from the taking page.
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Fixed an issue where copy pasting underlined text from Word would not result in underlined text in Ans
Previously, when pasting underlined text that was copied from Word, the underline would disappear. Pasting underlined text now works as expected.
| Version | Date | Information |
| v1.1 | 02-02-2024 | Added the change 'If an exercise is imported with into a question bank using the QTI import, the identifier will be displayed if you click on the exercise.' |
| v1.0 | 19-01-2024 | Initial version |
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