Org-edu-HTML

[Marcin Borkowski <mbork@wmi.amu.edu.pl>]

Hi all,

as I mentioned some time ago, I started working on a custom exporter
from Org to HTML for educational materials.  My vision is that there
will be (some kind) of syntax in Org (most probably, I'm going to
(ab)use the existing syntax) for specifying various kinds of exercises.

The project page is on GitHub: https://github.com/mbork/org-edu-html .
It is currently in a *very* early stage, when it should be consider more
of a proof-of-concept rather than anything useful.  The only thing that
(kind of) works is SCT (single choice tests).

The design goals are:

- simplicity: users should be able to leverage Org's syntax and editing
  to quickly create educational materials (most of what is needed is
  provided by Org itself – the only thing that is lacking is activities
  like choice tests, cloze tests and other types).

- configurability: the result should be clearly separated into HTML
  (with all the content), JS/jQuery script responsible for executing
  tests (if possible, completely generic – all the content and markup,
  like which answer is correct, will be in the HTML), and CSS
  responsible for visual presentation.  Currently, there is *no* CSS
  whatsoever, so it looks rather plain; I plan to create a default,
  non-appalling theme.  (The problem is that I'm rather new to the CSS
  and JS/jQuery parts, so I'm learning while coding – this means that
  it's not a fast process.  But I'm patient.)

  A side effect of putting everything in HTML is that C-u in the browser
  will reveal all the correct answers.  I consider this a feature, not a
  bug, since the aim of the tests is not to grade, but teach.  AFAIU the
  web (though I may well be mistaken), there is no way to overcome this
  problem with HTML and JS alone.

- two backends: I plan to create also a LaTeX variant, so that it would
  be easy for users to create printed copies for e.g. exams, with
  the choice tests, cloze tests etc. typeset nicely.  Again, the LaTeX
  exporter would do the bulk of the job.

- hopefully, a SCORM exporter, so that the users will be able to put
  everything in an LMS of their choice.  (This is the main reason I
  started hacking the org-one-to-many project, which is currently
  dormant – but I will come back to it one day.)

As of now, the project just has everything in one directory, together
with the example Org file (jQuery v2.1.1 minified also needs to be
present there, or the variable org-edu-html-jquery-address should be set
accordingly).  If anyone is interested in such a project, any feedback
(like bug reports/feature suggestions) is welcome.  I would especially
like to hear about what syntax might be a good idea on the Org side.
Currently, for the choice tests I abused lists with checkboxes (which
mark the correct answers).  Also, any comments on the quality of the
code (both on the Elisp and jQuery sides) are more than welcome – while
I feel quite confident writing (at least simple) Elisp functions (though
have yet much to learn from more experienced hackers), my jQuery experience
is next to none.  And last but not least, I'm curious whether there is
any demand for such a thing (I assume yes, since many Org users come
from academia).

Thank you for your attention;-)

-- 
Marcin Borkowski
http://octd.wmi.amu.edu.pl/en/Marcin_Borkowski
Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science
Adam Mickiewicz University