From Traditional to Tech-Driven Education: A Deep Dive into MATLAB Grader

All universities face the same ongoing, parallel challenges: maintaining academic excellence while efficiently managing resources within higher education, an environment in continuous flux. One particularly daunting quandary lies in teaching technical engineering skills, as instructors must grade masses of student submissions while maintaining consistent and high levels of teaching. The need for individualized feedback and interaction to support student achievement makes things even more complicated.

Amidst these challenges, changing pedagogical approaches have shifted the focus from traditional lecture-based teaching models and paper-based homework/exams to more student-centered and interactive learning methods. Collaborative projects, experiential learning, and technology integration are gaining prominence, reflecting educators’ doubts about the effectiveness of traditional methods. Additionally, there’s a growing realization for flexible learning options to accommodate diverse student needs, including remote learning, part-time programs, modular courses, and lifelong learning opportunities. This shift aligns with the ongoing digital transformation of higher education, where technology integration, online learning platforms, digital resources, and virtual classrooms are becoming increasingly prevalent.

Amidst these changes and advancements, MATLAB Grader stands out as a practical and helpful solution that automates the grading process, offers immediate feedback, and encourages interactive learning to improve how MATLAB programming and other technical engineering skills are taught.

Next, let’s take a look at how this innovative tool can transform a university’s engineering curriculum methodology, enabling the success of both educators and students.

What is MATLAB Grader?

MATLAB Grader is an effective response to the difficulties faced by educators in academia. An auto-grading tool designed for lecturers who teach MATLAB-related subjects, it is tailored for assessing homework and assignments. MATLAB Grader offers both hosted and integrated versions, so it can be accessed from a web browser, or integrated with the most common LMS systems, such as Moodle, Blackboard, or Canvas. Through a straightforward integration process that takes around 10-15 minutes, educators can combine the functionalities of MATLAB Grader with their LMS system’s capabilities. Additionally, MATLAB Grader is part of the MATLAB Campus-Wide License, providing institutions with open access to MATLAB, Simulink, and academic toolboxes.

How does MATLAB Grader support higher education goals?

As a lecturer, have you ever had 150 students slap down MATLAB-coded sheets of paper on your desk on a Friday afternoon? Did it force you to work overtime in order to provide timely grades and feedback to them?

How many times have your students had to wait more than two weeks for their graded homework? How easy was it for them to understand your grading/feedback?

In our fast-paced world, educators and students alike need assessment methods that are efficient, scalable, and consistent. Traditional grading methods struggle to keep up with the pace of new technologies, leading to an increasing gap between educational objectives and how they are implemented in practice.

Transformative solutions, such as MATLAB Grader, bridge this gap and fundamentally transform the way educators approach assessments. With its full auto-grading capabilities, MATLAB Grader streamlines the process of creating assignments, automates the grading process, and ensures consistent evaluation. The tool effectively addresses the challenges faced by educators in the digital era. Additionally, it can quell academic dishonesty (a common issue when assessing students’ homework) by randomizing the parameters of a problem.

Given that 99% of engineering and scientific problems can be formulated using MATLAB syntax, MATLAB Grader can perform an evaluation automatically within seconds. Additional information, helpful suggestions, and expert tips and tricks can be gleaned from these videos from Ákos Koppány Kiss PhD, our expert who possesses extensive practical experience working with educators in our region.

Benefits of using MATLAB Grader

Benefits for lecturers

Efficient assignment creation:MATLAB Grader offers educators the ability to create assignments in two ways:

1. From scratch by creating a blank problem, allowing them to give students a unique and tailored task;
2. By selecting complete assignments from a large database that includes a stack of examples from various disciplines, such as calculus, digital signal processing, numerical methods, or symbolic math. Undoubtedly, putting together assessments in MATLAB Grader requires initiative, but that effort saves a lot of time in the long run.

The tool’s intuitive interface enables instructors to create tests effortlessly, allowing them to concentrate on crafting engaging and challenging content rather than navigating complex grading procedures.

Automated grading and consistent evaluation: The automated grading capabilities of MATLAB Grader not only save time for educators, but also ensure a consistent evaluation process. By removing subjectivity from manual grading, educators can provide fair and impartial assessments, fostering an equitable learning environment.

Customizable assessments:Educators enjoy the flexibility to be able to tailor assessments to meet specific course objectives.

Real-time feedback:Using the system’s pre-testing feature, learners can receive immediate insights that they can understand and learn from, as the material is still fresh in their minds. Thus, it can facilitate a continuous learning cycle.

Analytics and insights for scalability: The analytics and insights feature provides instructors with a comprehensive overview of student performance and the ability to download a report in a tabular format. This not only helps in understanding individual progress, but also allows for the effective management of large groups of students, guaranteeing scalability without compromising educational quality.

Benefits for students

Interactive learning: MATLAB Grader transforms learning into an interactive and engaging experience. With hands-on assignments, students get the opportunity to apply theoretical knowledge in a practical setting, thereby reinforcing their understanding of complex concepts.

Immediate feedback: One of the key advantages for students is the instant feedback provided by MATLAB Grader. This feature empowers learners to identify and address misunderstandings promptly.

Self-paced learning accessible anytime, anywhere: Students are able to use the system at any time and from any location, allowing for flexible learning and accommodating various schedules and learning preferences.

Conclusion

In conclusion, MATLAB Grader can significantly contribute to integrating technology into higher education. By addressing the challenges associated with homework and assignments, this auto-grading tool is priceless towards achieving the goals of digital transformation, flexible learning paths, and developing pedagogical approaches.

Featured products

MathWorks® products:

• MATLAB Grader Assessment Content
• MATLAB
• Simulink
• MATLAB Campus-Wide License

Learn more

• On-Demand Webinar: The Benefits of the MATLAB Campus-Wide License – Focusing on AI Applications
  Watch this video to get acquainted with all the tools and opportunities provided by the MATLAB Campus License, including artificial intelligence applications with MATLAB.
  Watch the webinar
• User story: Engineering Undergraduates at BME Using Symbolic Math Toolbox to Learn Symbolic Computation
  Learn how BME uses the Symbolic Math Toolbox and its Live Script format in the curriculum to provide first-year engineering students with the basic knowledge of how to use symbolic computation in engineering mechanics problems.
  Read the User Story
• MATLAB Campus-Wide License Page
  Unlock the full potential of your institution’s academic pursuits with the MATLAB Campus-Wide License, providing access to a comprehensive suite of tools for computational analysis, modeling, and data visualization.
  Visit the page