The Math Department within the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences and Innovative Learning (FLA) has recently relaunched IMathAS as IDEAS (Instruction Delivery Environment & Assessment System).
This system enables students to take their math tests/evaluations via an interactive and secure online format. The tool enables faculty members to code test questions into the system or select from existing question banks. Questions will be randomly generated for each student to complete, thereby supporting academic integrity. These tests are auto-graded by the system.
The platform’s hosting services were brought to Humber in early 2021. The Humber-hosted system was piloted during the Summer 2021 semester with 500 math students and faculty members. Student and faculty feedback was overwhelmingly positive. More than 4,600 Fall 2021 students across Humber’s Faculties will be taking their math tests/evaluations via IDEAS.
While the system is intuitive, discussions are underway to develop how-to guides and other resources to help students and faculty members maximize their experience while using IDEAS.
To cover the cost of the IDEAS hosting fees on AWS servers, $7 per semester is charged from each student enrolled in a math course as part of their ancillary fees. This type of evaluation service typically costs $40-50. Humber students are only charged a small fee to cover the costs of hosting the system, resulting in significant savings for students. The cost may be further reduced as more programs and students use this system.
Interested faculty members that would like an IDEAS account can visit the IDEAS webpage for more information.
Please contact me at mona.nouroozifar@humber.ca if you have questions or would like to learn more about this innovative system.
Thank you again to all staff and faculty members who have helped us throughout the development process of IDEAS.
All the best this fall semester,
Mona Nouroozifar
Associate Dean, Math and Research Skills & Analytics
Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences and Innovative Learning