When you often use the same feedback rule (either the feedback text or the Definition or both), you can create a feedback template for it, so this feedback rule can be easily added to any exercise.
Creating a feedback template
New feedback templates can be created by going to the Feedback tab of the author environment and then clicking the blue button under “New”.
Feedback templates are coupled to author groups. When creating a new feedback template, you should decide on the name of the feedback template and (optionally) a small description of what it can be used for, as wel as the author group that the template should be added to.
After creating the feedback template, you should choose whether you want to be able to use it in positive feedback, in negative feedback or in both, by checking the appropriate boxes.
Per feedback type, you get to fill in some fields.
The text field. Here you can write the feedback text that should be displayed to the student when the feedback rule is hit. You can use names of variables in this field by using the dollar sign ($) and then the name of the variable. If this feeld is left empty, the system will try to generate automated feedback.
The evaluation type. Here you can select the evaluation type that you want this rule to have. If you choose “don’t overwrite” (which is the default), then the evaluation type of the feedback rule is not overwritten after selecting this feedback template.
The definition field. The contents of this field depend on the evaluation type that you chose. You can use names of variables in this field by using the dollar sign ($) and then the name of the variable.
Parameters. Using the blue plus button, you can add parameters. All variables (preceding the dollar sign) that you used in the Text or the Definition field should be added here.
An example of a feedback template that only uses the Text field is the following:
An example of a feedback template that uses the Text field and an evaluation rule is the following:
Using a feedback template
When you use a feedback template that only uses the Text field, like “differentiation chain rule” that we saw before, it looks as follows:
You need to choose the evaluation type and (if applicable) fill in the Definition field yourself, but the feedback text of your feedback rule is now the feedback text of your feedback template.
When you use a feedback template that uses both the Text field and an evaluation type, like “wrong sign” that we saw before, it looks as follows:
You can see that in the Definition field, the variable $solution is used. It can happen that in your exercise, this variable is actually named something different, like $sol. In this case you can change the parameter name of $solution to $sol:
When using a feedback template that also has an evaluation type, the box next to “inherited” is checked by default. This means that most fields of the feedback rule are blocked and cannot be changed. If you do wish to change something, for example change the Precision from 0.1 to 0.2, you can uncheck this box and all fields will be editable again. The feedback text can be overwritten regardless of whether “inherited” is checked or not.
❗ Important note: If someone makes an exercise and uses a feedback template that is in an author group that you don’t have access to, it can happen that this feedback rule shows wrong information or does not work properly. We are working on solving this problem. In the meantime, you can try to make sure that the feedback templates that you use in your exercises are in the same authoring group as the exercises themselves. That way, no problems will occur.
Translating the feedback text
To translate the feedback text of a feedback template, you can follow these steps:
Go to edit the feedback template.
Change your platform language to the language to which you want to translate your feedback text.
3. Fill in the Text field in the new language and click Save.
It is not possible to translate the description of your feedback template.