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Exercises are an essential part of learning university-level mathematics. Automated assessments provide an easy and flexible way to create new exercises for students. Moreover, students’ performances may be monitored in real time. In 2012, we started to test a mathematical exercise creation system originally created in Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT). The functionality of this system was jointly piloted by LUT and the National Defence University (NDU). The system was tested in the NDU basic mathematics course with 137 cadets. We show in this article that students who used the automated exercise system scored better on examinations than the students from the previous and following year who could not use the system. A statistical summary of the students’ results is presented at the end of this paper to support this conclusion. We will also compare this system to the other systems in the market and consider whether it makes sense for universities to develop this kind of system or whether it is simply a waste of time and money. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This short paper attempts to show a preview of the process in the development of a sustainability digital game. The purpose of this game is to be available in mobile devices to be used in the classroom so the students can learn about sustainable development and mathematic concepts such as rate of change. The technical strategy for this goal is the use of Responsive Web Design or RWD and the mobile first principles. This technique can speed up the development and maintenance of the project, and it is currently one of the best practices in Web Design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Failure in US high school courses is common, but little is known about its effects. This paper investigates the extent to which course repeaters in high school mathematics courses exert negative externalities on their course-mates. Using individual and school-specific course fixed effects to control for ability and course selection, it shows that increasing the share of repeaters in a given course results in a moderate, significant increase in the probability of course failure for first-time course-takers. Results suggest that the negative effect is only evident when the share of repeaters reaches a threshold of five to ten percent of the total number of course-takers. The possibility that grading to a curve generates the effect cannot be ruled out, but is not fully supported in the data. Evidence is also presented that course repetition externalities may be distinct from low-ability peer effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]