I have been thinking about how to allow more flexible prompting for my #Moodle #AIText question type. At the moment the prompt entered into the editing form is “wrapped”, which limits what a question author can do. I have created a github wiki page that proposes a “raw” mode to allow full flexibility for more experienced developers.

You can see the description here
https://github.com/marcusgreen/moodle-qtype_aitext/wiki/Raw-prompt-mode
Feedback appreciated
#EdTech #Education #AI #LLM

I have been experimenting with how my #Moodle #aitext question type which uses an external AI/LLM to process students responses can process questions that the Regular Expression Short answer question type was designed for, see

https://docs.moodle.org/500/en/Regular_Expression_Short-Answer_question_type

I think the answer is "quite well". It deals with mis-spellings and similar issues without having to learn regex or anticipate every permutation on an answer.

An academic paper has been published that uses my #Moodle #AIText #question. AIText uses an external #AI #LLM system to evaluate free text responses to questions.

The paper is called
“Exploring AI to automate EFL corrective written feedback in the first language”
And covers use for English Language learners in Japan.

You can read it at
https://www.castledown.com/journals/tltl/article/view/tltl.v7n1.2208

Matt Bury @matbury has written a summary of a paper that highlights weaknesses in recent studies & outlines principles for conducting research that focuses on real learning outcomes using #AI This bit jumped out at me.

“No-intervention” control groups (comparing AI to doing nothing) show only that AI is better than no support, offering limited insight into its instructional quality compared to alternative methods.”

https://matbury.com/wordpress/index.php/2025/05/09/position-paper-issues-principles-for-ai-in-learning-research/

My #AIText #Moodle question type uses an external AI/LLm to evaluate student responses. I have developed a branch which allows the creation of multiple test responses for use when editing a question. You can see the branch and test it out at
https://github.com/marcusgreen/moodle-qtype_aitext/tree/response_test

It is beta code but I am fairly confident it works as expects and I intend merging it into the main branch in the near future. Feedback would be apprciated

I have briefly tested my #AIText #question type with #Moodle 5 and it appears to work as expected. It gives feedback and (optionally) marks to a student response based on prompt to the #LLM. In this case it was OpenAI with gpt-4.1 With thanks to @PhilippMemmel who gave me an essential hint about the code.

My next stop will be to test against
https://github.com/mebis-lp/moodle-local_ai_manager

Which is the Mebis-lp (Bavaria) AI back end which is a good alternative to the core Moodle AI subsystem.

I have been working on a feature for my #aitext quesiton type that allows multiple sample answers to be tested within the question editing form.

#AIText is a #moodle question type that uses an external LLM/AI system to give feedback to quiz quesitons.

A user of my #Moodle #AIText question type (free text with #LLM feedback) was telling me how they supplied as much as possible of the answers in the #prompt to improve the quality of responses. This reminded me that no matter how interested I am in how my code is used, there is no substitute for it being used “in anger” by a real #teacher.

(*anger is used as a metaphor in this context, I prefer it if teachers are not actually angry using my plugins)

https://github.com/marcusgreen/moodle-qtype_aitext

I have been working on updating the question editing interface of my #Moodle #AIText question type, which uses an external Large Language model such as #ChatGPT or #Ollama to give feedback on student responses. It is mainly a visual tidy up rather than additional functionality. The video shows before and after.

I now need a translation into German of the string

“Sample answer evaluation”

You can see the branch with this code here
https://github.com/marcusgreen/moodle-qtype_aitext/commits/responserunjs/
#edtech #education #ui #llm

One of the delights in creating free software is when I receive code contributions. A great example is the prompt test functionality of my #Moodle #AIText question type. This was provided by Justin Hunt of poodll.com.

Poodll is a suite of software aimed at language learners, you can find them here
https://moodle.org/plugins/?q=Poodll

Many are subscription based services (i.e. cost money) and are well worth the price.

I have been downloading Large Language Models for testing with #ollama and #openwebui I am evaluating them specifically for my #Moodle #AIText question type, which is available under the #GPL from

https://github.com/marcusgreen/moodle-qtype_aitext

You can experiment with it here
https://examulator.com/cg/
I want to see how they deal with #translation and language evaluation. The question type is popular with #TEFL, or teaching english as a foreign language

If you are interested (and concerned) about the use of #AI in education such as with the #Moodle #AI Subsystem and the things similar to my #AIText question type, Jon Fila has an online course available called
Inclusive AI Strategies™

I have followed his output for a while and I like his approach.

Find out more at
https://inclusiveaistrategies.com

#Moodle #AIText

The JALTCALL Podcast, recorded live on January 25th at the Sojo University SUTLF conference in Kumamoto, Japan features Professor Rob Hirschel explaining how he uses the AI Text #Moodle plugin which I created.

Programmer and JALTCALLwebmaster Luc Gougeon adds specific details to the conversation about Open Source #AI and #Ollama (large language models).

I met Rob and Luc in Japan in February last year and I find them inspiring.

https://soundcloud.com/jalt-call/jaltcall-robert-hirschel-interview-at-sutlf-2025?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

Rather than purely generative #AI I consider my #Moodle #GPL #AIText question type to be "Evaluative AI". By this I mean that rather than refining and summarising text, or generating new text it breaks down text it is given and then evaluates it. This might be seen as a Marketing difference rather than a technical difference, but I am fine with that if it helps understanding…..

https://github.com/marcusgreen/moodle-qtype_aitext/wiki/Evaluative-AI

I have been compiling a list of countries where I know people are running my Moodle AIText question type with students. So far I have

Australia
Germany
Japan
Vietnam
Turkey
Israel
Ukraine
Taiwan
Spain

Can anyone add to that list?
#AIText is a #Moodle question type that uses an external LLM e.g. #ChatGPT to give instant feedback to student responses.
You can find the (GPL) code here
https://github.com/marcusgreen/moodle-qtype_aitext
And you can try a live example here
https://examulator.com/cg

The main branch of my #Moodle #aitext question type now contains code to allow it to work with two additional “back ends”, which are the Moodle 4.5 AI Subsystem and the Mebis Local AI Manager
See release notes here
https://github.com/marcusgreen/moodle-qtype_aitext
The former main branch has been renamed to “classic”

Mebis-lp have a fascinating alternative to the AI subsystem that shipped with #Moodle 4.5. It has a nice interface and features that make it well worth trying out. I like it enough that I have been adapting my #aitext question type to work with both “back ends”. I have had a huge amount of help from the Mebis people who look after the Moodle systems in schools for the German state of Bavaria.

https://moodle.org/plugins/view.php?id=3424
I also recommend their other plugins
https://moodle.org/plugins/view.php?id=3424

I have a branch of my #Moodle #AIText question type that merges in the significant contributions from #mebis

https://github.com/mebis-lp

They have used it with large numbers of students. The branch is here, please test and give feedback.
https://github.com/marcusgreen/moodle-qtype_aitext/tree/405_core_ai

It offers a choice of two additional “back ends”, which are the Moodle 4.5 AI Subsystem and the Mebis Local AI Manager

See release notes here https://github.com/marcusgreen/moodle-qtype_aitext/blob/405_core_ai/changelog.md

Test against #ChatGPT 4o here
https://examulator.com/cg

I was re-reading a thread about my #Moodle #AIText question type on the Moodle question type here

https://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=455612#p1830283

Where I wrote

“There is a world of people who have to manage finance who would like to automate away teachers. They need to be constantly reminded that no technology can do this. The history of education technology has looped through this issue, and will continue to do so.”

Here is a link to that specific post
https://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=455612#p1830649

It is a long and interesting thread

#Moodle 4.5 stable was made available today

https://download.moodle.org/

The headline new feature is the #AI subsystem.

I have been working on updating my #AIText question type so it will work with the new system, but also with previous versions of Moodle. Early tests are promising.