The case for WeBWorK
tl;dr - use WebWork as an easy way of giving students as much practice solving problems as they can handle. Learn by doing lots of problems with a tight feedback loop. It engages the game-playing, obsessive nature in us.
Main use case - Homework engine
The two biggest features of a VLE/LMS are the presentation of materials and facilitating assessment. WebWork was specifically developed to provide formative and summative assessment for mathematics in a way that eases the burden on the instructor and allow the student to attempt problems as many times as they wish before the deadline. By immediately seeing which answers are incorrect while the problem is still fresh in their minds, students can try multiple approaches until they find the correct solution.
- it has a library of ~30,000 math and over 1000 physics questions and includes such textbooks as Stewart's Calculus
- it randomizes problem parameters (different numbers, drawing from question pools, MCQ ordering) so that each student gets an individual question which:
- hinders copying
- promotes student collaboration
- immediate feedback and configurable number of attempts
- allows the instructor to re-assign a problem set and students get new numbers
- understands derivatives
- hints and solutions available after cut-off dates
- Student statistics shows you current state of progress. i.e. 19 attempts signals difficulty with a particular problem which could benefit from intervention
- email student/instructor buttons (is this a good thing in your use case?)
- LaTeX typesetting makes the Hardcopy version of problems look good on the page for those who cannot always work online.
- 25 years of development with a good community
- backing of MAA, wide adoption in the US
Content delivery
It has the basic delivery mechanism for presenting course content as webpages or PDF, but it would be better suited to pairing with your existing LMS/VLE environment, Blackboard and Moodle, either as a weblink or through the LTI bridge.
Extensible
Integrates with GeoGebra and other tools.
Open source
You can run this on your PC providing your IT networking team will allow it through the firewall. It has a Docker image which could be run from the cloud. There might be hosting options available
Examinations
To answer Stephen's comment below:
If you consider an examination as a problem set completed under a time limit with only one submission, have a look at the documentation for Gateway Quizes . The access restrictions should let you set out a decently administered exam, given that the answers will be different for each student reducing the problem of copying, eg. you have 2 hours to complete the quiz which must be finished before the deadline.
If you have more determined cheaters and need to verify their identity, the proctored quiz options permit you to require students to enter an examination center, suitably distanced in time and space, where a masked Proctor will enter the online key to allow the student to begin their exam.