Submitty supports construction of mixed instructional and webform
gradeables called Notebooks. Notebooks can be used to create
tutorial teaching material interspersed with exercises or web-based
exams. Notebooks support basic markdown text formatting and collect
student input through multiple choice (radio button or multiple
selection checkboxes), single or multi-line short answers, and syntax
highlighted code boxes.
Submitty Notebooks also support url links and the display of images, which is useful for display of complex exam question formatting (e.g., examination questions prepared in LaTeX, Word, or another document formatting software).
Complete Notebook Examples
Please refer to these complete sample notebook configurations:
This example demonstrates markdown formatting, multiple choice (radio button and ‘select all’ checkbox), short answer, embedded images and url links, syntax highlighting for programming languages, automated grading of multiple choice answers, and automated grading of simple programming exercises. -
Notebook with Time Limit
This example demonstrates enforcement of an exam time limit. The initial access time for the gradeable is recorded. The time difference between initial access and the current submission is monitored. If the instructor-specified time limit is exceeded an autograding point penalty is applied.
TODO: The time limit example will likely be updated with a built-in autograding validation option in the near future.
Notebook Configuration
Notebooks are different from standard file submissions in that a
notebook may contain several different types of inputs or outputs.
The available types of input and outputs are defined by setting the
type
and are as follows:
Label
Value
Short answer input
short_answer
Multiple choice input
multiple_choice
Markdown
markdown
Image
image
File Submission Area
file_submission
Notebook config.json example
Some of the config fields have been truncated for brevity and not all possible options are shown
Short Answer Input
Filename
field
filename
required
true
type
string
value
Filename where results of submission will be saved.
Initial Value
field
initial_value
required
false
type
string
value
A value to pre-populate into short answer box.
Programming Language
field
programming_language
required
false
type
string
value
Programming language that will be entered into the short answer box and will be used for syntax highlighting.
notes
Rows
field
rows
required
false
type
int
value
Height of the short answer box in rows.
Multiple Choice Input
Filename
field
filename
required
true
type
string
value
Filename where results of submission will be saved.
Choices
field
choices
required
true
type
array
value
An array of javascript objects which describe a value and description for each choice.
notes
Each choice should take the form of {"value": "1", "description": "Choice 1"}
Allow multiple choices
field
allow_multiple
required
false
default
false
type
bool
value
true or false
notes
If true allows multiple values to be selected, if false only one value may be selected.
Allow psuedo-randomization
field
randomize_order
required
false
default
false
type
bool
value
true or false
notes
If true, choices are psuedo-randomized, i.e for given pair of gradeable and student, order of choices is always same.
Markdown
Markdown
field
markdown_string
required
true
type
string
value
A markdown string to be displayed.
Images
Image
field
image
required
true
type
string
value
The filename of the image to display.
Image Height
field
height
required
false
default
native
type
int
value
The height in pixels the image should be displayed at.
Image Width
field
width
required
false
default
native
type
int
value
The width in pixels the image should be displayed at.
Accessibility Text
field
alt_text
required
false
default
“Instructor provided image”
type
string
value
The image’s alt text
notes
When displaying an image you should use this field to describe the contents of the image. Such a description is useful to visually impaired users who may be using screen reading software.
Testcase Labels and References
With testcase labels and references it is possible to display feedback messages to students next to items that an autograding submission found incorrect.
To do this first add a testcase_label
to a testcase item by creating a label, in this example “problem_1”:
Then using the label you selected earlier, add a testcase_ref
to the input/output item where you would like the
feedback message displayed:
File Submission areas
Notebook gradeables, by default, do not have a file submission area like normal gradeables, however, they can be placed within a notebook through the file_submission cell type.
Directory Name
field
directory
required
true
type
string
value
The name of the directory associated with this submission area
notes
When students submit a file to this submission area, the files will be uploaded to this directory
Label
field
label
required
false
type
string
value
An optional label to display within a submission area
notes
Submission areas will have the label “Drag and drop your label file(s) here or click to open file browser”