Using patterns in the automatic marking of ER-Diagrams

This paper illustrates how the notion of pattern can be used in the automatic analysis and synthesis of diagrams, applied particularly to the automatic marking of ER-diagrams. The paper describes how diagram patterns fit into a general framework for diagram interpretation and provides examples of how patterns can be exploited in other fields. Diagram patterns are defined and specified within the area of ER-diagrams. The paper also shows how patterns are being exploited in a revision tool for understanding ER-diagrams

Automatic assessment of sequence diagrams

In previous work we showed how student-produced entity-relationship diagrams (ERDs) could be automatically marked with good accuracy when compared with human markers. In this paper we report how effective the same techniques are when applied to syntactically similar UML sequence diagrams and discuss some issues that arise which did not occur with ERDs. We have found that, on a corpus of 100 student-drawn sequence diagrams, the automatic marking technique is more reliable that human markers. In addition, an analysis of this corpus revealed significant syntax errors in student-drawn sequence diagrams. We used the information obtained from the analysis to build a tool that not only detects syntax errors but also provides feedback in diagrammatic form. The tool has been extended to incorporate the automatic marker to provide a revision tool for learning how to model with sequence diagrams

Personalised feedback with semi-automated assessment tool for conceptual database model

The increased presence of diagram-type student work in higher education has recently attracted researchers to look into the automation of diagram marking. This paper introduces web-based diagram drawing and marking tools for a new (semi-automatic) assessment approach. The approach reduces the number of diagram components marked by the human marker and provides individualised and detailed feedback to students. The tools which have been used in tutorials of a first year database module in the Computer Science department at Loughborough University are described together with findings from the usage of the tools

A multi-touch ER diagram editor to capture students' design rationale

The increased presence of diagram-type student work in higher education has recently attracted researchers to look into the automation of diagram marking. Research into the semi-automatic diagram assessment at Loughborough University has identified the requirements of a diagram editor in order to capture the students’ design rationale. To fulfill these requirements, several experimental diagram editors have been developed. This paper introduces an ER diagram editor which uses multi touch technology. The initial experiments and findings for the editor are described in the paper

The role of labels in the automatic assessment of graph-based diagrams

The ability to draw diagrams in free-form is rarely found in e-assessment systems. This paper examines one crucial area which needs to be well understood if automatic marking of diagrams is to be feasible: the analysis of labels. Graph-based diagrams include geometrical elements of differing shapes connected by lines to carry the semantics of the domain being modelled. Some diagrams also use the relative location of elements to express information. Labels play a central role in providing meaning both as identifiers, distinguishing between geometric elements, and the values of attributes of elements. Such information is central to the process of comparing two diagrams when marking student-drawn diagrams. Student-drawn diagrams likely to contain errors – they are imprecise. The aim, therefore, is, in the presence of imprecision, to match a student diagram with a model solution and award a mark which is close to that which an expert human would give. This paper explores the specific problem of determining the similarity of labels in diagrams which has been successfully employed in marking student diagrams in a formative environment

Semi-automatic assessment of students' graph-based diagrams

Diagrams are increasingly used in many design methods, and are being taught in a variety of contexts in higher education such as database conceptual design or software design in computer science. They are an important part of many assessments. Currently computer aided assessments are widely used for multiple choice questions. They lack the ability to assess a student’s knowledge in a more comprehensive way, which is required for diagram-type student work. The aim of this research is to develop a semi-automatic assessment framework, which enables the use of computer to support the assessment process of diagrammatic solutions, with the focus of ensuring the consistency of grades and feedback on solutions. A novel trace model, that captures design traces of student solutions, was developed as a part of the framework and was used to provide the matching criteria for grouping the solutions. A new marking style, partial marking, was developed to mark these solution groups manually. The Case-Based Reasoning method is utilised in the framework to mark some of the groups automatically. A guideline for scenario writing was proposed to increase the efficiency of automatic marking. A prototype diagram editor, a marking tool and scenario writing environment were implemented for the proposed framework in order to demonstrate proof of concept. The results of experiments show that the framework is feasible to use in the formative assessment and it provides consistent marking and personalised feedback to the students. The framework also has the potential to significantly reduce the time and effort required by the examiner to mark student diagrams. Although the constructed framework was specifically used for the assessment of database diagrams, the framework is generic enough to be used for other types of graph-based diagram

Platform Architecture for the Diagram Assessment Domain

Using e-learning and e-assessment environments in higher education bears considerable potential for both students and teachers. In this contribution we present an architecture for a comprehensive e-assessment platform for the modeling domain. The platform – currently developed in the KEA-Mod project – features a micro-service architecture and is based on different inter-operable components. Based on this idea, the KEA-Mod platform will provide e-assessment capabilities for various graph-based modeling languages such as Unified Modeling Language (UML), EntityRelationship diagrams (ERD), Petri Nets, Event-driven Process Chains (EPC) and the Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) and their respective diagram types

Ludo: A Case Study for Graph Transformation Tools

In this paper we describe the Ludo case, one of the case studies of the AGTIVE 2007 Tool Contest (see [22]). After summarising the case description, we give an overview of the submitted solutions. In particular, we propose a number of dimensions along which choices had to be made when solving the case, essentially setting up a solution space; we then plot the spectrum of solutions actually encountered into this solution space. In addition, there is a brief description of the special features of each of the submissions, to do justice to those aspects that are not distinguished in the general solution space