[Using Sakai] fMath or MathJax? Why I'm thinking MathJax...

[Keli Sato Amann]

Hi
I was going to write this just for our local team, but I figure it might be useful to post here to spark comment. We would like to support equation creation within the CLE, but particularly in Tests & Quizzes. We have been talking about MathJax, then more recently fMath, but now I'm leaning back to MathJax. Here is why, in the context of Tests & Quizzes:

Installing MathJax on our instance would allow anyone to write an equation into CKEditor, so long as they know LaTeX (or MathML). Most instructors and grad students do;  intro-level undergrads don't but in theory, they could get an external editor that has a wysiwyg editor that would help them if they needed to respond. The equation is stored as code and therefore travels with the rest of the text that it is embedded in and can be reedited easily (again, assuming you know LaTeX). There are some performance hits, but this can be mitigated by limiting use of MathJax to Samigo using skin manager (https://confluence.sakaiproject.org/display/SM/Home)

fMath is a Flash plug-in for CKEditor. It brings up a WYSIWYG editor that lets you create an image of your equation, which maybe handy for intro students who don't know LaTeX. However, once that image is saved, if edits need to be made, it needs to be erased and redone--you can't open an image in fMath editor. Also that image is stored in Resources at the top directory, which means that students can see all equations that their instructor is creating within an exam. Finally, while undergrads may be able to more easily use it due to it's WYSIWYG interface, for essay responses in both T&Q and Assignments, it currently doesn't save these equation images in a way that they can be displayed--only a generic image icon shows, not the equation.

Here are 3 JIRAS that would need to be addressed for fMath to be viable for use with T&Q (I didn't write the equivalent to SAK-23768 for Assignments tool):
SAK-23686 (fMath plugin should store generated images in a configurable subfolder) 
SAK-23044 (Ability to hide a folder while allowing access to files inside it)
SAK-23768 (When student responds to SAMigo Essay Question with an equation using fMath, equation images don't show up)

So in general, I'm wary of using images, especially since they don't travel well with the questions, or with the student responses. I haven't tested what happens when you want to import questions that have fmath image references into a new course, either directly or via Common Cartridge, but I suspect there are complications there as well. Granted, all those images still exist for embedded images as well, and there are reasons you might want to embed non-equation images like photos, into a question, but I think these are often attached, so those concerns don't exist. 

I will be conferring with our local developers to see if some of my concerns can be overcome, but in general, I'm now leaning toward MathJax. I'd welcome any thoughts, though.

Keli Amann
User Experience Specialist
Academic Computing Services, Stanford University