CarmenCanvas STEM content best practices
Carmen offers a few options for entering equations.
In the sections that follow, you’ll gain a brief introduction into where to find these tools and a summary for using them.
Equation Editor and LaTeX
Canvas has an integrated tool for math and science formulas based on LaTeX. The LaTeX Equation Editor is built into the Rich Content Editor (RCE). You’ll be able to find this in several locations, including Announcements, Assignments, Discussions, Pages, Quizzes, and Syllabus.
To use this tool:
- Open the RCE when creating or editing an announcement, assignment, discussion, page, quiz, or syllabus.
- Click on “Insert” from the menu at the top of the RCE, then from the drop-down menu that appears, select “Equation.” Note: You can also access this by clicking on the equation icon that appears after you click on the three-dot more options menu. This icon looks like a square root symbol with an x under it.
Once this is open, you have a couple options:
- The Equation Editor provides a toolbar for inserting various operators and symbols. By default, the toolbar displays the Basic tab. To access other operators and symbols, click any of the following tabs:
- Greek
- Operators,
- Relationships,
- Arrows,
- Delimiters, and
- Misc.
- You can enter expressions in the equation field directly. You can view and edit or hide the LaTeX code behind an expression by toggling “Directly Edit LaTeX” to the on position. Note: if you are looking for a guide to using LaTeX, there is a link to one that includes specific advice for use in CarmenCanvas.
Be sure to click the “Save” button when you are done.
Note about special characters:
To have characters #, $, &, ^, and _ appear in the Rich Content Editor when your equation is inserted, you must type a backslash (\) before the character. The ~ character can be inserted by typing \~~.
LaTeX in the Rich Content Editor
LaTeX can now be put anywhere there is a RCE in Carmen, including titles, calendar events, etc. It also works in New Quizzes and converts over from Classic Quizzes seamlessly. Equations can appear either inline or as display equations. Inline equations will appear within a line of text such as a sentence or paragraph, while display equations will appear one a separate line of their own with white space surrounding so that they stand out..
Basically, "\(EquationCodeHere\)" makes an inline equation and "\[EquationCodeHere\]" or "$$EquationCodeHere$$" makes a display equation. Here are examples of basic code you could now type directly in a text box in Canvas:
- Inline: \(A = \int_{a}^b f(x)dx\)
- Display mode (option 1): \[\frac{1}{x}]\
- Display mode (option 2): $$\frac{1}{x}$$
Note:
There is one minor limitation in Carmen to be aware of as you are composing LaTeX. If you are used to writing LaTeX using $EquationCodeHere$ to make an inline equation, this will not work in Carmen since it does not recognize single dollar signs for inline math mode. For example, when attempting to insert $\frac{5}{x}$, this will not compile. Instead, you need to enter \(\frac{5}{x}\).
Note:
Whether you are using the Equation editor or entering LaTeX directly in the RCE, you can modify or resize your equations easily if you are a Mac user (resizing equations will not work for PC/Windows users). To resize or edit a math expression, enter edit move and click on the equation to view the edit controls. To resize the expression, hover the cursor over a resize handle (which appears at the edges of a light blue box around the equation), click, and drag to a new size. To re-open the Equation Editor and make edits, click the Edit Equation link that appears when you click on the equation.
WIRIS Equation Editor
Here at Ohio State, you also have the option to access the WIRIS Equation Editor in Carmen. Using this tool, you can type mathematical notation in Canvas with the MathType plugin. Additionally, ChemType is a version of MathType designed to help you work with chemical notation. It includes a personalized toolbar with the common chemical symbols, as well as a different user experience adapted to chemical notation needs.
To access the MathType or ChemType equation editors:
- Open the RCE when creating or editing an announcement, assignment, discussion, page, quiz, or syllabus.
- From the RCE’s top menu, click on the small plug icon. A single drop-down item will appear reading “View All.”
- This will open a pop-up box. Scroll until you see “Insert Math Equation – WIRIS editor” or “Insert Chemistry – WIRIS editor.” Click on whichever option you need.
These equation editors offer many options to explore and use. Once you have built your equation, be sure to click “Ok” to insert the equation.
Note:
Once you have opened the MathType or ChemType editors once, these will appear in the drop-down menu when clicking on the plug icon in the future while using the RCE in any item in Carmen.
Classic Quizzes
There are some additional items to be aware of if you are still using Classic Quizzes in Carmen. When creating a question, equations inserted using LaTeX don’t render in edit mode but do render in Preview mode within Student View.
Further, some question types in Classic Quizzes do not support the equation editor, such as answers in the Multiple Dropdowns question type.
This means that you should test in Preview and Student View to ensure your equations are displaying as you expect.
Additional Resources
More information about supported LaTeX and specific guides for basic and advanced equation editor tips can be found using the links below:
- Canvas Equation Editor Tips: Math Equations
- Canvas Equation Editor Tips: Chemistry
- MathJax: TeX and LaTeX support: MathJax is an open-source JavaScript display engine for LaTeX, MathML, and AsciiMath notation that works in all modern browsers.
- Overleaf: Additional LaTeX support: Overleaf is a collaborative cloud-based LaTeX editor used for writing, editing and publishing scientific documents.
Microsoft Word
- Position the cursor where you want the formula to display.
- Click on Insert.
- Click on Equation. Note: You can also use the keyboard shortcut “Alt” + “=” for PC or “control” + “=” for Mac to bring up the Equation Editor.
- This will create a bounded text box and display the Equation tab.
- From this point, you can choose from a wide array of pre-formatted equations and elements, or
- You can click the LaTeX button in the Conversions area of the Equation tab if your preference is to write LaTeX.
Important Note for Word:
If you are using an earlier version of Word from 2018 or before, the Equation Editor (Microsoft Equation 3.0) has been replaced with a new equation editor. Users who try to edit an equation created in Equation Editor 3.0 will receive the error message "Microsoft Equation is not available." Equation Editor 3.0 objects will still display normally if you have MT Extra font installed. However, users can edit these equations only by downloading the MathType software tools that are provided by WIRIS. NOTE: This is a software integration that has not been reviewed for use in Microsoft products at Ohio State. If you are interested in pursuing review for WIRIS in Microsoft products, you can learn more about this process by referencing the article linked here.
Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint
If you follow the steps 1-3 above from the Microsoft Word guide, you will have the ability to input some preformatted equations and formulas and edit as you need from there.
Select the dropdown heading concerning “LaTeX equation editing examples.”
Microsoft OneNote
- Selecting Insert from the top menu, then Equation (in the desktop app) or Math Assistant (in the browser version) from the ribbon (or access via the keyboard shortcut “ALT” + “=” for PC or “control” + “=” for Mac).
- Type or write your equation on a page.
- Select the equation using your keyboard or cursor and click the Math button to convert your equation to a digitally accessible version.
More information about using the Math Assistant in OneNote is below under “Tips for Increasing Accessibility.”
