This is available for Authors with extended access. 

The Math Symbol Palette is a customizable toolbar in Inspera Assessment that provides candidates with a selection of mathematical and LaTeX symbols for answering questions. 

This article explains what the math palette is, details how to create and customize a new palette, outlines the process for publishing and making changes, and provides instructions on how to add the palette to a question.

What is a Math symbol palette?

When candidates answer a Math entry or Math working question in Inspera Assessment, a math palette will become visible when hovering over the answer box. The math palette is also available in Essay questions in the toolbar. With this function, the candidate gets the opportunity to answer with math symbols or other LaTeX symbols. 

The purpose of the configurable math palette is to enable institutions to customize the palette to the specific requirements in the question. The custom palette is then applied to a particular math entry, math working, or essay question.

Creating and editing a palette is only available for Authors with extended access, however, all Authors can use the published palettes.

Instructions

• Create the Math symbol palette

  1. Go to the Author module, and select the Math Symbol Palettes in the dropdown menu.

     

  2. Get started by creating a new Math palette by clicking on Create new on the top right corner, or by copying an existing palette from the list.

  3. Give the palette a name at the top left. The name is required to publish the palette.

     

  4. Make sure to save.
  5. Note: Options and Setup in the header are greyed out because there is no functionality attached to them in the context of the math palette.

• Configure the palette 

  • The left panel will show the preview of the palette, while the configuration will happen in the right panel.
  • The code for the different symbols that are standard in the palette can be edited to remove or add symbols or functions.

  • The beginning of the code for basic looks like this: 

    

  • You can remove or add sequences.

  • We encourage you to play around and test because you can always reset to default (up to the right).

    

  • Be careful of commas and brackets, too many or too few will not work.
  • We recommend that you test your palette before using it in a real test to make sure it works as intended.

• Publish the palette

  1. Once you are ready to publish the palette, all you have to do is to click on Publish now at the top right of the page. 

     

  2. You will be presented with a review of the palette, where name, and configuration are validated. You will not be able to publish the palette if the configuration is not valid.
  3. When everything is green, you can publish the palette. It will then become available for all Authors.

What can be added to the palette

Some LaTeX symbols are possible to add to the palette. The math editor relies on a third party library (MathQuill) that is no longer being maintained. A full list of symbols is not available. Please make sure to preview and test any symbols used. We recommend testing from the candidate perspective by setting up a test and using the newly added symbols as a candidate.

The article Tips and examples of Math Symbol Palettes provides you with examples of premade math palettes that you can use. 

Make changes to the palette

The palette cannot be edited while it is published. To unpublish, click on the button at the top right. Make the necessary changes and publish the palette when you are ready.

Add the palette to a Math entry, Math working, or Essay question

This part is available for all Authors.

1. Create a new question or edit an existing one to add the custom palette.

2. At the right panel, go to Advanced and click Select under Math Symbol Palette.

   

3. This step must be repeated for each Math entry, Math working, or Essay question in which you want to use a palette (a palette cannot be set as a default across questions).
4. Preview the question to see what the palette will look like for the candidates.