semester 0.1.1

Tools to help with running a semester based course

A package of scripts and tools to make running a class or lab easier.

Description

This package contains several tools that greatly ease starting a new semester. It was written for a lab course at the University of Texas at Austin, but most of the components should be general enough to use for other systems. Contributions to generalize the system are welcome.

Installation

This is a standard python package and can be installed using pip. From PyPI, this is pip install semster, and from the repository, simply use pip install -e . to install (will still be editable). The requirements.txt file contains the Python requirements, like plumbum. The easiest way to get the requirements on Mac, Linux, or Windows is to install Anaconda. If you are familiar with Conda’s env tool, you can use the environment.yml file to prepare a virtual environment for semester.

Other requirements: this needs pandoc (for creating different output formats) and ImageMagick (for the figure conversion). Currently these are required. Optional components include PyQT (for some of the GUIs).

Tools

The main program is a command line launcher for the scripts. Simply run semester or python -m semester to see a list of the programs. All the programs have a shortcut, too, so this is just for convenience. Shortcuts are added to the python path for the programs (or the python -m runnable module syntax can be used).

Assignments

This can be run as semester assignments or semester.assignments. Makes assignments from markdown files using Pandoc. Processes all *.mkd files if no file given. Options include -a to make an answer key, -o to set the output format(s), and -p to prepend a file to each markdown file. Will try to prepend prepend.rst if no file given.

The format of the .rst files should be as follows:

• A numbered list indicating questions

• A stared sublist denoting answers, with values in parenthesis

For example:

1. First question
    * First part of answer (2)
    * Answers can have multiple parts(3)

The prepend file goes at the beginning, and can contain {name}, which will be based on the filename. If you name your files postlab1.mkd or homework1.mkd, they will be nicely typeset here.

Figures

The problem with these assignments, while they support latex math and markdown formating, putting images in can be hard. The semester figures command allows you to create the required copies of a .tex image written in Tikz to insert into an assignment. See the examples folder.

Roster

This allows you to take a CLIPs roster and make a printable roster that you can use to grade with.

A gui.roster option allows simple usage from a GUI.

Init

A package for creating new semester files, such as syllabi, teaching guidelines, schedule handouts. Has an optional GUI.

Note

Coming soon!

Grades

This allows you to grade a set of canvas classes (1 or more) with a powerful GUI. Download the file(s) from Canvas export and then open them with this program (if you open the program without an argument, it will ask you for a file with a GUI).

Once open, you can drag to set grades and there are buttons to save files in different formats.

Canvas

A small utility to assist grading in Canvas when yo set a 0 point question (for just in time teaching style, for example).

Note

Coming soon!