7th of January 2024 – Ans

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

Release date	Environment
24th of December 2023	Stage (stage.ans.app)
7th of January 2023	Production (ans.app) Education (edu.ans.app)

Changes to the platform

Released 'Notifications' out of beta

We have released the 'Notifications' feature out of beta. Notifications will notify you when you have been tagged, mentioned, assigned or added somewhere by other users within the platform. You can read more about notifications here.

We now display the full path hierarchy with links in the header

The full navigation path is now always displayed in the header. It contains links to specific sections within the path hierarchy for easier navigation in the platform. Due to this improvement, the back button from the header has been removed as it is now redundant.

The grading progress bar now includes the progress of partial graded results

At the review overview, the grading progress bar visually displays the progress of partially graded results. When you hover over the progress bar, a legend appears, displaying the counts of ungraded, partially graded, and fully graded results.

The review overview now includes the reviewers who graded a particular exercise

exercise number and name in overview.png

On the review overview page, the reviewers who graded each exercise are displayed. Furthermore, the most recent reviewer is highlighted by showcasing the timestamp of the last grading for the exercise.

In addition, the exercise number in the review overview is also included to make it easier to find a specific exercise.

Added the possibility to filter assignments by their review progress

Assignments can now be filtered based on their grading progress at the assignment overview. By using this filter, it is easier to find assignments that still need grading, already graded assignments, or assignments awaiting submissions.

Simplified the clearing of filters with the newly styled filters

new filter styling.gif

In addition to the standard way of clearing the filters (by opening the filter and deselecting the selected items), the filter design has been enhanced by adding the option to clear the filters by simply clicking the 'x'. This addition provides a more streamlined and convenient experience.

Improved the equation editor to better support matrices

Matrice support.gif

The equation editor now has a context menu which can be opened by right-clicking on the the equation field. When right-clicking you have to option to insert a matrix and select the number of rows and columns. After the matrix is inserted you can add and remove rows and columns by right clicking the matrix.

Added the possibility for participants to use special characters in the gaps of fill-in questions

Special characters.gif

Participants can now insert special characters in the answer box of gaps in the fill-in question, by making use of the special character button.

Added support for drag and drop questions to the QTI import

We've added support for Associate Interaction items to our QTI import. These questions are imported as Match (Drag & Drop) questions in Ans.

Added support for importing tags in the QTI import

Previously, the taxonomy options, which are part of the QTI standard to include metadata, were not included in the import. From now on, the taxonomy options will be added as tags to exercises that are imported based on the QTI file.

Removed the HTML edit option from the text editor of open questions for participants during a digital test

To reduce the amount of buttons shown to participants in a digital test, the button to edit html directly is now hidden.

Updated the styling of the question buttons at the review overview

The question buttons are now disabled for questions that do not require grading, such as questions that automatically give full points or are intentionally disabled.

Allow administrators to view the domain settings of their school

Administrators now can view the custom domain settings for their school. These settings can be found under ‘Domain names’ in the school settings. While the creation of a custom domain is done by Ans, administrators can now view the necessary DNS records that are essential for the proper functioning of a custom domain. Administrators are also able to enforce the custom domain.

API changes

Added a new attribute to our "Results" API to retrieve the maximum amount of points for a particular result

We have improved our "Results" API endpoint by adding a new attribute. This new attribute represents the the maximum achievable points that a student can score for a given assignment.

Bug fixes

Fixed an issue where elements incorrectly appeared to be clickable during grading
Previously, it was possible to click on the criteria buttons of automatically graded questions. While clicking did not perform any action, it could still cause confusion on whether the criteria was selectable or not. The buttons no longer give the impression that they are clickable.
Fixed an issue where new lines were incorrectly created while navigating through the mark formula using arrow keys
Previously, navigating left on the most left mark variable using arrow keys would create a new line within the mark calculation text box. Navigating through the mark calculation formula using arrow keys should no longer create new lines.
Fixed an issue where the text cursor would disappear when creating a mark formula
When the text cursor was placed after the last variable in a formula, the text cursor of the mark formula text box would no longer be visible. The text cursor will now always be visible unless a variable is selected, which is indicated by the highlight around it.
Fixed an issue where the assignment protection rule 'Disable anonymizing results' was always displayed in English
Previously, the 'Disable anonymizing results' assignment protection rule was always shown in English, independent of the users' language. This has now been fixed and all assignment protection rules are shown in the users' language.
Improved the cover page instructions for written assignments
The instructions for correctly filling in multiple choice questions on the cover page of a written assignment have been updated from:

Fill in your answer(s) to the multiple-choice questions as shown above (circles = one correct answer, boxes = multiple correct answers possible).

to:

Answer multiple-choice questions as shown in the example. Circular checkboxes have one correct answer. Square checkboxes may have multiple correct answers.
Fixed an issue where the cover page displayed multiple-choice instructions with inconsistent image sizes
When enabling the "Show multiple choice instructions" in a written assignment, there was an inconsistency in image sizes between the multiple-choice and multiple-response instructions. Both images are now uniform in size.
Fixed an issue where the enumeration in a written assignment was replaced with "None"
Previously, when synchronizing a written assignment with a question bank assignment, the enumeration of an exercise would sometimes display "None". The correct enumeration is now shown after synchronizing.
Improved the assignment takings overview at the school insights for written assignments without a timeslot
Previously, the assignment takings overview only displayed written assignments that had been assigned a timeslot. With this improvement, the actual created written assignment results are also displayed, based on when the scans of the assignment were uploaded. The number of expected results for a written assignment will only be displayed when a timeslot has been assigned. Please note, the mentioned overview is only visible to administrators.
Fixed issue where the level name was still visible when changing the grading method from 'Rubrics with levels' to 'Points per criterium'
When copying the evaluation criteria from a question that uses the grading type "Rubric with levels", to a question that uses the grading type "Points per criterion", the name of the rubric level would also incorrectly copy over. The rubric level name will no longer be copied over.
Fixed an issue where filters would not close properly
Previously, filters throughout the platform would remain open even after clicking the button to close them. Now, clicking the button closes the filters as expected.
Fixed an issue where the width of the dialog resizes when the content in the dialog changes
The dialog is stopped from getting wider when the inside content changes. The dialogs now have a minimum width, which means they might be larger than before in some cases.

Version	Date	Information
v1.0	22-12-2023	Initial version