DragMath equation editor

Introduction

DragMath is an applet-based WYSIWYG equation editor created by Chris Sangwin and Alex Billingsley at the University of Birmingham as part of the STACK project. DragMath allows students to build mathematical expressions in a traditional two-dimensional way using a graphical drag-and-drop interface. DragMath can output the finished expression in any of several computer-oriented linear syntaxes, including LaTeX. Since Moodle already supports LaTeX (with the TeX filter) LaTeX was used as the "bridge" for Moodle integration.

You can see a demo of DragMath here. The DragMath interface is highly intuitive and anyone can be using it productively after a few minutes of trial-and-error. If you have questions about the editor, there is a short manual here.

DragMath is integrated with the Moodle HTML editor through a new "pi" button on the editor toolbar. Say you're typing some text and you reach a point where you want to insert some mathematical notation. Push the "pi" button to launch DragMath editor in a small popup window. Create the math expression in DragMath and click the "Insert button" when you're finished. The editor will disappear and the LaTeX markup (complete with $$ at both ends) will be inserted into your text at the current cursor position.

Installing Dragmath