Discover how UNED transformed online math learning with Wiris' solutions in order to advance assessments and STEM education. Read their success story now!
Breaking Barriers in Online Math Learning with Wiris
In the ever-evolving landscape of online education, ensuring that mathematical and scientific content is easy to create, share, and evaluate is a challenge.
Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Spain’s leading distance-learning university, recognized this challenge early on. With thousands of students across various disciplines, UNED sought a robust solution to enhance its teaching and evaluation processes, particularly in mathematics and science-related subjects.
To tackle these challenges, UNED turned to online math learning with Wiris, integrating WirisQuizzes and MathType into their educational workflow. Having been a valued client of Wiris for over 15 years of the company’s 25-year journey, UNED has continuously trusted in Wiris’ math solutions to support its evolving digital education needs. We sat down with Mari Carmen García Llamas, a professor in the Economics and Tourism Bachelor’s Degrees, and Raúl Morales Hidalgo, Head of the E-learning Platform at UNED, to understand how these tools transformed their math teaching and assessment methods.
The Challenge: Teaching Math in a Digital Environment
Before implementing Wiris’ solutions, UNED faced significant obstacles in creating and communicating mathematical content effectively in an online setting.
From a technical perspective, their biggest challenge was integrating a math-editing tool into their custom learning platform. Faculty members struggled with writing mathematical formulas in forums, assignments, and quizzes resulting in a poorer learning experience for students.
From a teaching perspective, professors required an intuitive solution to easily insert mathematical expressions into quizzes and ensure smooth interaction with students.
Carmen explains:
“Without a tool to write mathematical symbols, explaining calculations was a big challenge. Whether it was an integral or an algebraic equation, it was always difficult to pinpoint where a student had made an error.”
Additionally, UNED needed an assessment tool that allowed mathematical expressions throughout a quizz, from problem statements to answer options. The absence of such a tool limited quiz and assignment creation.
The Solution: Enhancing Online Math Learning at UNED with Wiris
To overcome these challenges, UNED explored available solutions and found WirisQuizzes and MathType to be the most comprehensive and well-integrated tools for their needs. Their decision to implement Wiris’ solutions was based on several key factors:
Seamless integration with OpenLMS that they use in-house
UNED initially discovered MathType through faculty recommendations and was particularly drawn to its integration with Microsoft Office. However, since they had a custom in-house platform, they needed a solution that could be fully embedded.
Wiris’ technical team collaborated with UNED to integrate MathType and WirisQuizzes into their platform, ensuring a smooth transition and enhanced functionality.
User-friendly for professors and students
With online math learning with Wiris, professors could now write and edit formulas effortlessly across various platforms, including forums, quizzes, and assignments. This eliminated previous barriers in math-based communication between students and teachers.
Carmen highlights the impact:
“We needed a tool that was just as easy to use for the teacher as it was for the student. Wiris makes it possible to create math-rich quizzes where every question is fully customizable.”
Encouraging Active Learning by Breaking Away from Memorization
One of the standout features of WirisQuizzes is its ability to introduce randomized mathematical expressions into quizzes. This ensures that each student receives a unique version of an exercise, discouraging memorization and promoting active learning. This was highlighted by Carmen when she stated:
“WirisQuizzes allows us to create quizzes where every exercise is unique. The level of flexibility it provides is amazing.”
A welcome surprise: the power of WirisQuizzes
While UNED initially focused on MathType, they soon discovered that WirisQuizzes offered additional benefits. As they expanded their digital assessment strategies, WirisQuizzes proved to be an unexpected but valuable tool in enhancing student engagement and practice opportunities.
Raúl shares his excitement:
“When we started making changes to our platform, we were pleasantly surprised by WirisQuizzes. It felt like an unexpected gift, and it has been an incredibly powerful one.”
The Implementation Process: A Collaborative Approach
To successfully integrate online math learning with Wiris into their learning environment, UNED, along with Wiris’ technical team, followed a structured implementation process:
Understanding institutional needs
UNED’s faculty and technical teams worked with Wiris to assess their specific requirements, particularly the need for platform integration and math-based assessments.
Customization and integration
Wiris’ technical experts customized the tools to align with UNED’s platform requirements, ensuring a smooth user experience. Furthermore, the team at Wiris assisted in resolving any doubts as well as providing tips and training on how to use WirisQuizzes efficiently.
Deployment across OpenLMS
The integration was successfully implemented on OpenLMS, allowing professors to seamlessly create and edit formulas within quizzes and discussion forums.
Learning Math Online with Wiris – The Results
Following the implementation of online math learning with Wiris, UNED experienced measurable improvements in teaching efficiency and student engagement:
- Greater flexibility for teachers in math-based quiz creation.
- Improved student engagement through randomized exercises.
- Seamless math communication in forums and assignments.
- Quick technical support ensures smooth day-to-day usage.
Carmen notes:
“Wiris allows us to create diverse quizzes with distinct options, making every assessment dynamic and interactive.”
Students also benefit from interactive, dynamic learning experiences, where every exercise is different, allowing them to practice multiple problem variations in a single topic.
Future Plans: Looking Ahead with WirisQuizzes
After experiencing the benefits of WirisQuizzes, UNED is eager to see how the tool evolves and continues to support its online math learning needs. While it is currently used for continuous self-evaluation, faculty members appreciate its capabilities and will continue integrating it into their teaching workflows.
Carmen shares:
“More than one of my colleagues has reached out to me about the potential of Wiris’ solutions. I believe we are only beginning to explore what’s possible.”
Rounding Off: UNED’s Endorsement of Online Math Learning with Wiris
With over 15 years of using Wiris products, UNED strongly endorses WirisQuizzes and MathType for their ease of use, powerful assessment features, and seamless integration.
Raúl emphasizes:
“We have always recommended Wiris. That’s why we’ve been with you for 15 years already.”
Try Wiris for Your Institution
UNED’s success story showcases how online math learning with Wiris can revolutionize digital math education.
If you’re looking to improve math-based assessments in your institution and want a seamless math-writing experience for students and teachers, don’t delay—contact us today.
