Calculated Objects question type

This a Moodle question type which extends the 'calculated' question type. Teachers can create questions like How much is {apples} + {oranges}?

• where the {wildcards} become M and N x images of apples and oranges respectively. It is aimed at pre/primary-school students (approximately age 3-9).

Note, this question type uses the database tables of the 'calculated' question type.

Tested with Moodle 1.9.7, 2.0.2 and 2.2.3.

Currently supported wildcards: apple, redapple, orange, pear, pineapple, tomato, walnut, cookie, cake, cup, car pencil (each with or without an 's', eg. {cookies} and with an optional differentiator, eg. {apples_1} + {apples_2}).

Book

This plugin was initially developed to support the book "Moodle 2 for Teaching 4-9 Year Olds", by Nicholas Freear, published 2011 by Packt Publishing [isbn:978-1-84951-328-9] http://bit.ly/packt-moodle4-9-book

Links

• Moodle plugin entry: http://moodle.org/plugins/view.php?plugin=qtype_calculatedobjects
• (Old plugin page: http://moodle.org/mod/data/view.php?rid=4143)
• Wiki: http://docs.moodle.org/en/Calculated_Objects_question_type
• Discussion: http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=156605
• Bugs: http://tracker.moodle.org/browse/CONTRIB/component/10720
• Code, Git: https://github.com/nfreear/moodle-qtype_calculatedobjects
• (Old code, CVS: http://cvs.moodle.org/contrib/plugins/question/type/calculatedobjects/)
• Demo: http://freear.org.uk/moodle

Releases

Note, the version number 2.1.x-1.0 indicates that this is version 1.0 of the plugin for version 2.1.x onwards of Moodle (this follows the Drupal model).

There are currently two branches of development:

• MOODLE_21_STABLE - for Moodle 2.1.x onwards, including Moodle 2.2.x - active development;
• MOODLE_20_STABLE - for Moodle 1.9.x and Moodle 2.0.x - bug fixes only.

Releases Notes

14 June 2012 / 2.1.x-1.1-beta:

• Added to README 'install' section; fixed $plugin->requires.

5 June 2012 / 2.1.x-1.0-beta:

• Added support for the Moodle 2.1+ question engine [CONTRIB-3684];
• Added HTML5 form validation to the student interface [CONTRIB-3687];
• Improvements to the popup help for authors.

13 December 2011 / 2.0.x-0.96-rc:

• Fixed requires bug in version.php [CONTRIB-3301].

24 April-7 May 2011:

• Moving to Github.
• Adding Moodle 2 support [CONTRIB-2888];
• Initial French language pack [CONTRIB-2924].

27 August-2 September 2010:

1. Renamed language string file, for auto-include (from CONTRIB-2308).
2. Renamed help file, for auto-include.
3. Added 2 missing language strings.
4. Verified that styles.css is being auto-included.
5. Simplified install instructions.
6. Fixed missing % modulo operator bug (CONTRIB-2308)
7. Added support for 'like' objects, eg. {apples_1} + {apples_2} http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=156605)
8. Added support for arbitrary single-character wildcards, eg. {apples} / {n}.
9. Support for more textual questions.
10. Improved layout/styling.

Install

1. Download and uncompress the archive. The resulting directory may look something like nfreear-moodle-qtype_calculatedobjects-1234567.
2. Copy the it into the directory {MOODLE}/question/type/ on your server and rename it calculatedobjects (no underscore).
3. Visit the administrator 'notifications' page, http://moodle.example.org/admin/ - there are no database changes for this question type.

(Note, English language strings, help file, and styles will be auto-included.)

Upgrade

To upgrade from previous versions:

1. Delete the question/type/calculatedobjects directory.
2. Delete {MOODLE}/lang/en_utf8/help/quiz/calculatedobjects.html (Moodle < 2.0)
3. Follow the install instructions above.

Notes

TODO/ limitations:

• Add support for multiple operators (currently only 1 supported).
• Test with browsers.
• More testing of backup and restore.
• Work on validation functions (qtype_calculatedobjects_find_formula_errors).
• Tidy up.
• If there's demand, add ability to use custom icons/images.
• If there's demand, translation.

Credits

Calculated Objects question type. Copyright © 2010 Nicholas Freear.

• License: http://gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html GNU GPL v2 or later.

Images. Various,

• See, pix/acknowledgements.txt

[End.]