Concepts #

Overview #

Here we will explain the basic concepts of Doatask such as tasks, assignments and submissions.

User #

There are three types of users:

• student
• teacher
• admin

A student solves or practices tasks. A teacher defines the tasks and groups them to assignments. An admin manages the system.

Users can register and log in directly to Doatask. It is also possible to use Doatask via an LTI platform such as Moodle. The platform then transfers the log in to Doatask.

Domains #

Each task is assigned to a knowledge domain. There is a separate rating number for each knowledge domain for each student.

The domains should not be to narrow. For example, it could be the domains of mathematics and geography.

Task #

Tasks are defined by teachers and solved by students.

Doatask is not limited to tasks of a certain type. The plugin system allows adding new types of tasks. These can be e.g. multiple-choice tasks or mathematical tasks, but also e.g. clicking cities on a map.

Assignment #

Tasks can be grouped into assignments. Each assignment thus contains one or more tasks. Within an assignment, each task has a weight and an optional time limit.

The weight defines the percentage of the task in the evaluation of the whole assignment. The percentage is the weight of the task in relation to the sum of the weights of all tasks. For example, if there are three tasks with a weight of 2,3 and 5, the percentages are 20%, 30% and 50%. This makes it easy to insert new tasks without having to recalculate the percentages.

The optional time limit is specified in seconds and is the time the student has to solve the task. The student must then complete the task in the specified time. Otherwise, they will not receive any points for this task.

Ratings #

Tasks are assigned to knowledge domains. Students receive a rating number per knowledge domain that reflects their skills in that knowledge domain. The better the skills in that knowledge domain, the higher this rating number. In addition, each task in a knowledge domain also receives a rating number that expresses its difficulty. The higher this rating number is, the more difficult the task is.

If a student solves a task correctly, the student's rating number will increase and the task's rating number will decrease. If a student solves a task incorrectly, the student's rating number will fall and the task's rating number will rise.

The Glicko rating system from Glickman is used for this purpose. The Glicko rating system has proven itself in practice. Among other things, it is used to evaluate the abilities of chess players or chess problems.

Submission #

There are two types of submissions: the student can submit a task within an assignment and they can submit an entire assignment.

When a task is submitted, it is graded and the student receives feedback on the percentage achieved. An assignment should normally only be submitted if all tasks in that assignment have already been submitted.

Doatask then calculates the grade of the assignment from the grade of the individual tasks. The weight of the tasks within the assignment is used for the percentage weighting of the grade.

If the student has logged in through an LTI platform such as Moodle, the grade for this assignment will be reported to that platform.