XYZ Homework has preferences that change how math and graphs are shown and how you enter answers. They are saved to your account, so you set them once and they apply in every course.

Open your preferences

From your LMS

Open any XYZ Homework assignment from your LMS and start or resume it. At the top of the questions, select the ⋮ More options button, then User Preferences.

At xyzhomework.com

Select User Settings at the top of the page, or in the menu under your profile icon. The preferences are in the section Accessibility and Display Preferences. The User Settings link at the top of the page (shown only on wider screens) opens a window over the page you are on. The one in the profile-icon menu opens a full page, and after Update Info it takes you to your Home page, so open your assignment again from there.

  1. Change the settings you want (see below). The default for each setting is marked with a *.

  2. Select Update Info.

  3. Reload the page you are working on. Your changes are saved right away, but an open page shows them only after a reload. In an assignment you see “Preferences saved. Your new preferences will go into effect when you visit a new page or reload the current page.”

The settings

Drawing Entry: graph with the keyboard

The graphing tools work only with a mouse or touch. Choose Keyboard and text-based drawing entry alternative to type your graph as a list of points instead. The other choice is Mouse-based visual drawing entry. See Graphing on number lines and coordinate grids.

Math Display: how math is shown

Most students can leave this setting as it is. If you use a screen reader, see Screen readers below for which choice to pick.

  • MathJax 3 - screen readers get the full MathML to explore. Screen readers can move through an expression piece by piece.
  • MathJax 3 with spoken math - screen readers get one spoken description of each expression instead of the MathML; adds about 0.9 MB to a first page load
  • MathJax 4 - STIX Two fonts
  • Katex - faster display
  • Image-based display
  • Calculator-style linear display, like x^2/3. Math is shown as typed text.

Graph Display: how graphs in questions are shown

  • SVG in browser - highest quality
  • Imaged-based - visual alternative
  • Text alternatives - tables or charts in place of graphs. A graph is replaced by a text description where one is available.

To answer graphing questions without drawing, change Drawing Entry too. Graph Display alone doesn’t change the graphing tools.

Math Entry: how you type answers

Equation editor with entry palette gives you a math editor with buttons. Calculator-style text entry gives you a plain text box. Some answer boxes also have a Preview button to check how your answer was read. See Typing math answers.

Live preview

Show live preview of answer entry as I type or Only show a preview when I click the Preview button.

Text Editor

Rich text editor with formatting buttons or Plain text entry, for written answers and messages.

Course styling and contrast

Choose High contrast, dark on light or High contrast, light on dark in place of your instructor’s course colors, or keep Use instructor chosen course theme.

Time Zone

Shows dates and times in your browser’s time zone, or in a time zone you choose. To keep a chosen time zone, pick Always show times based on a specific timezone. Use a specific timezone for this session only is not saved to your account: the next time you sign in or open an assignment from your LMS, times go back to your browser’s time zone.

Screen readers

  • When your instructor shows scores as you work, each answer box gets a mark after you submit: a check for a correct or partly correct answer, an X for an incorrect one (an orange X when the answer is equivalent but in the wrong format). Screen readers read the mark as “Correct”, “Partially correct”, “Incorrect” or “Incorrect, wrong format”.
  • To explore math piece by piece, use the first Math Display choice. To hear one spoken description of each expression instead, use the choice that starts MathJax 3 with spoken math.
  • For graphing questions, set Drawing Entry to the keyboard alternative.

Note

XYZ Homework’s accessibility statement is at www.xyzhomework.com/policies/accessibility.

Need more time on tests?

Extra time is an accommodation your instructor sets. See Extra time and other accommodations.