AUTOMATIC GENERATION AND CORRECTION OF TECHNICAL EXERCISES Ferran Prados 1 , Imma Boada 2 , Josep Soler 3 , Jordi Poch 4 1 University of Girona, Computer Science Department, Campus de Montilivi, 17071 Girona, Spain, ferran.prados@udg.es 2 University of Girona, Computer Science Department, Campus de Montilivi, 17071 Girona, Spain, imma.boada@udg.es 3 University of Girona, Computer Science Department, Campus de Montilivi, 17071 Girona, Spain, josep.soler@udg.es 4 University of Girona, Computer Science Department, Campus de Montilivi, 17071, Girona, Spain, jordi.poch@udg.es Abstract – The kernel of an e-learning environment developed to improve both teaching and learning at the technical/engineering degrees at Girona Polytechnic University is presented. Such a kernel consist of two modules. The exercise generation module, used to automatically generate different versions of a base exercise and the correction module, used to automatically correct the generated exercises by applying a solution code maintained in the base problem. The key of both modules is on the definition of the base exercise which varies according to the subject. Our environment supports mathematics, physics and computer science problems amongst others. Index Terms - Engineering and technology education. Automatic correction, exercise generation INTRODUCTION Over the last few years advances in technology and communications have lead to transformations in the education system. Not surprising e-learning has become a priority at the present time in higher education [1][2]. Currently, most higher education institutions have introduced web-based environments into their curricula. In this paper we present the kernel of an e-learning environment developed to improve both teaching and learning at the technical/engineering degrees at Girona Polytechnic University. Concerned by the alarming failure rate of these courses we decided to develop an e-learning platform with the idea of reducing it. We identified two major reasons for the problem. The first is due to the fact that in most subjects concepts are built one upon the other and a lack of understanding in the first topics makes difficult the comprehension of the next. After the few first sessions an important percentage of students lose the thread of the course. The second reason is a direct consequence of the first. In general, engineering courses involve students having to solve problems by applying the theoretic concepts. If students have not acquired the theoretic level they do not feel motivated to do the problem solving component. The evaluation of this situation pointed to continuous assessment as the solution to reduce the failure rate. A student should not be able to advance in the subject unless a specified level has been reached and the ability to solve related problems has been acquired. Since this ability is related with student skills, our interest is focused not only on the evaluation of knowledge but also on the skills to solve problems. In general, e-learning platforms are devoted to multiple choice, fill-in-the-blanks, etc. They are suitable for the assessment of theoretic concepts, but, for our purposes, we need an additional capability in order to support practical problems. With this idea in mind we developed a new e-learning framework aimed at: (i) Supporting continuous assessment. The main task involved in carrying out continuous assessment is teacher correction which in many cases is just a mechanical process. The idea is to develop a module able to perform this mechanical process. (ii) Supporting different kind of problems and not only test problems. Our framework has to have a multidisciplinary domain that enables it to be adapted to different subjects. Although subjects might look quite different they can in fact share a lot of common features. The correction of physics and mathematical problems, for example, often involves the same steps. (iii) Providing teachers with feedback of student weaknesses. We are not just interested in the correction of student work we also want to track their progress on the subject and the acquired skills. (iv) Providing students with a friendly scenario to solve practical problems. Design an environment that makes student feel comfortable and supported. Each student must have personalized attention, this means continuous feedback from the platform and also exercises specifically designed for him. The environment should be seen as a private teacher who offers help when the student is doing practice. Currently, our e-learning platform is used in several subjects of the technical/engineering degrees of the Girona Polytechnic University with very promising results. In [6] , [7] and [8] we described how it is applied in mathematic, programming and database courses, respectively. The purpose of this paper is to describe the kernel of the platform and how it has been designed in order to support different kind of problems. THE KERNEL OF OUR PLATFORM To define the platform the challenge was to develop a module able to automatically support different kind of exercises. Two main considerations had to be taken into account. First, to guarantee that each student has a set of © 2005 ICECE05, International Conference on Engineering and Computer Education