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QUIZZES/ SURVEYS:
Enhancements Fall 2006
New Question Types Fall 2005
Quicker Quiz Creation
Timed Exams
Editing My Quiz After Deployment
Getting Anonymous Feedback
Instructor Manual
Question Completion Status
Randomize Multiple Choice Answers
Retaking Quizzes/ Surveys
Quicker Quiz Creation
Q:
Creating quizzes / surveys through the Blackboard interface is
rather tedious and time consuming. Isn't there a faster way?
A:
You can purchase an inexpensive desktop copy of a Blackboard-compatible quiz generator such as Respondus or Questionmark, or you can create
quizzes / surveys off-line in a text editor (or in a word processing
program, saving them as plain text) and upload them to Blackboard. This later choice is a bit more labor-intensive, but it is free. Instructions follow.
Overview
Instructors
may import files containing questions into an Assessment. After
selecting the Upload Questions question type on the Test Canvas
the Upload Question page appears.
The
questions in the uploaded file must match a specific file structure,
which is explained below. The file may include Essay, Ordering,
Matching, Fill in the Blank, Multiple Choice, Multiple Answer and
True/False questions, or any combination of these.
When
questions are imported they automatically default to the point value
set in Creation Settings. If a default value has not been chosen
in Creation Settings questions will automatically have a point value
of ‘0’ and Instructors must enter a point value for each
question.
Note:
Files with questions may be imported into Pools and Surveys. Survey
question that are imported may not include correct and incorrect
answers.
Find
the Upload Questions Page
Follow
the steps below to open the Upload Questions page.
Step
1 Select Test Manager in the Assessment area of the Control
Panel.
Step
2 Click Modify next to an existing Test.
OR
Step
1 Select Add Test, complete the Add Test page and select
Submit.
Step
2 Select Upload Questions in the Add Question: drop-down
list and click
Go.
The
upload page looks like this:
Function
Click Browse
and locate the file that is to be uploaded to this Assessment. All
of the questions in this file will be added to the Assessment. Instructors
may not choose specific questions within a file to be uploaded.
Point
Value
Setting a default point value for uploaded questions must be done
before the questions are uploaded from Test Creation Settings. If
a default point value is not set before questions are uploaded,
then Instructors must go into each question and set a point value.
If a point value is not set before the Assessment is deployed the
questions will default to a 0 point value.
Tips
and Tricks
The
following information is important to note when importing Assessment
questions:
- Once uploaded, questions
will function and can be manipulated like other questions created
within the Assessment.
- If there is an error
in a question within a file, only the question with an error will
fail to upload. Questions without errors will upload successfully.
- The system does not
check for duplicate questions. It is up to the Instructor to manage
this aspect of the Assessment questions.
File
Structure
Questions
in the file must conform to a specific structure in order to be
uploaded to an Assessment successfully. The image below is a sample
of how each type of question must be formatted in the file. Each
field in the file is separated by a tab.
Multiple Choice questions
are structured as follows:
‘MC’
tab <question text> (tab <answer text> tab ‘correct’
or ‘incorrect’)
- Text within () may
be repeated for each of the answers that are part of the Multiple
Choice question. The maximum number of answers is 20.
Multiple
Answer questions are structured as follows:
‘MA’
tab <question text> (tab <answer text> tab ‘correct’
or ‘incorrect’)
- Text within () may
be repeated for each of the answers that are part of the Multiple
Answer question. The maximum number of answers is 20.
True/False
questions are structured as follows:
‘TF’
tab <question text> tab ‘true’ or ‘false’
Essay
questions are structured as follows:
‘ESS’
tab <question text> tab [<rubric text>]
- Text within [ ] is
optional. The Instructor may choose to add a sample essay question
or leave this blank.
Ordering
questions are structured as follows:
‘ORD’
tab <question text> (tab <answer text>)
- Text within ( ) may
be repeated for each of the answers that are part of the Ordering
question. The maximum number of answers is 20.
- The order entered
in the file is the correct order. The system will randomly order
the answers.
Matching
questions are structured as follows:
‘MAT’
tab <question text> (tab <answer text> tab <matching
text>)
- Text within ( ) may
be repeated for each of the answers that are part of the Matching
question. The maximum number of answers is 20.
- The system will randomly
order the answers and their question.
Fill
in the Blank questions are structured as follows:
‘FIB’
tab <question text> (tab <answer text>)
- Text within () may
be repeated for each of the answers that are part of the Fill
in the Blank question. The maximum number of answers is 20.
© 2003 Blackboard Inc.
Timed Exams
Q: Can
tests administered via Blackboard be timed; i.e., students
are allowed a specified time to complete the test once they
have
begun?
A: Yes,
there are two ways to administer timed tests through Blackboard.
If you do not wish to create the test in Blackboard through the Assessment feature, preferring to have students download a Word document and then upload their responses, read this pdf document.
Another route is to create the test through the assessment feature.
One of the options you will be presented with when
you deploy the test through a content area is to set the timer.
If the assessment is timed, the students will see a message when
they begin the quiz:
This survey has a () hour () minute time
limit.The elapsed time appears at the top right of the windowr. A
1 minute warning
will be displayed.
If a student exceeds the time limit, Blackboard
accepts the submission (unless you use a special script that is available to force submission), but notes the overage on the receipt
that is displayed to the student:
Time
Elapsed: 1 hour, 5
minutes and 30 seconds out of 1 hour allowed.
An
exclamation mark is produced in the Grade Center for that assessment
item. When
you view the student's assessment results, you will
see the same message regarding the time that the student saw.
The assessment must be graded manually.
Force Submission of Blackboard Assessments at Time-up
Warning: you cannot use essay or short answer-type questions with this solution.
From the Test Manager, click “Add Test”. Give it a name and description.
In the instructions section, make sure you select HTML below the text box. Do not use the Visual Text Box Editor. (To turn off the VTBE, under the My Blackboard tab, on the left column, select Personal Information from the module labeled Tools.) Paste the following in the text box:
<P>insert your instructions here</P>
<SCRIPT language=javascript src="/webapps/assessment/counter_endtime.js" type=text/javascript></SCRIPT>
Type your instructions where it says "insert your instructions here" between <P> and </P>
Click OK. Finish creating the test.
In the “Modify the Test Options” section, just make sure you set the timer.
Ten-Second Issue
This script is written to cause the test to submit 10 seconds before the actual time is up, to allow time for the submission process -- though you will encounter some cases where it takes longer than 10 seconds to submit, resulting in a "Needs Grading" message. I would suggest have students use Durham University's Browser Tester building block or something similar, as it has an Alert Test to make sure the 1 minute warning will appears. Sometimes a test will go minutes over the time limit because the student did not see or click away the alert -- but they cannot work on the test during this time either.
We suggest you include this message to students:
If you do not submit the test at least 10 seconds before the time is up, the test will submit automatically. So if the test has a 60 minute time limit, you actually only have 59 minutes, 50 seconds to complete the test, as the time it takes to complete the submission process, which can take up to 10 seconds, is figured in the time.
The test will not submit automatically until student clicks away the 1-minute warning pop-up, though the timer keeps ticking -- so if the student waits 2 minute to click the pop-up, the test will show that the student went 1 minute overtime. However, the student cannot continue working on the test while the pop-up is displayed -- nor after it has been clicked away, if the time limit has elapsed.
Editing My Quiz After Deployment
Q:
There are some typos in my quiz that I'd like to correct, but
I have already made it available and some students have taken it.
Can I fix them?
A:
Blackboard
now allows instructors to make come changes to a quiz once it has
been deployed, without erasing the scores of students who have already
taken it. To
make such changes, locate the quiz through the Control Panel
in whichever content area you have placed. Click the Modify
button, then click the Modify the test link. You will be
present with this warning:
You
are about to modify an assessment that students have already taken.
Only textual changes to existing fields are allowed, for example
to correct a typo or reword a confusing question. Note that after
you make textual changes, existing assessment attempts (tests that
students have already taken) will show the new text, not the original
text.
- Do
not change the number of points for a question.
- Do
not add or remove questions.
- Do
not add or remove answers or feedback.
- Do
not change settings.
- Do
not change attached files
If
you need to make any changes other than textual changes, you should
create a new assessment. Any changes other than textual changes
to existing fields will invalidate existing assessment attempts
and could corrupt the entire assessment and its Gradebook entries.
Click
the Continue
button at the bottom, then, when presented with the Test Canvas,
click the Modify button.
Getting Anonymous Feedback
Q:
Is there a way I can ask the students to evaluate the course
so far and have them respond anonymously?
A:
Yes. The Survey feature handles just such needs.
- Go
to the Control Panel and select "Survey Manager" under
the "Assessment" heading.
- Choose "Add Survey."
- Follow the instructions
provided to enter basic information about the survey (name, directions,
etc.) and individual questions.
- Student responses
to the online survey will be anonymous. You will be able to tell
only if a student took the survey or not. The answers will be
listed anonymously when you click on the name of the survey in
your online Gradebook.
- Student also can be
allowed to respond anonymously to threads in the Discussion Board,
but that format does not lend itself so readily to questionnaires.
Retaking Quizzes/ Surveys
Q:
One of my students was taking a survey, but lost his data when
he re-sized the browser window. He tried to start over, but the
system would not let him. It remembered that he had tried to take
the survey before, but didn't remember any of his answers! Is there
any way to let him take the survey over?
A:
The instructor has the option of clearing the survey or quiz results
of a student by clicking on the Clear Attempt button in the
grade
book (click on the student's actual quiz grade or whatever symbol
may appear where the grade should be, then click the View button
to access the Clear
Attempt button). This is done on a student by student basis.
New Assessment Question Types Fall 2005
Q: Are there any new options for question types ?
A: Yes. As of fall 2005, Blackboar dhas 10 new question types. Additionally, when creating Multiple Choice questions, instructors may select the option, Show Answers in Random Order. When creating a test, one must first make this option availablel in Creation Settings.
Below are some videos (with Transcript option) to show you how to create the new types of questions.
Patrick Crispen's CSULB Training Movies
This temporary, working index contains high media training movies designed for the faculty and staff of the California State University, Long Beach.
Make sure your audio is on, as the movies are accompanied with spoken instructions.
How to Create Calculated Formula Questions [04:13]
Movie | Captioned Movie | Transcript
How to Create Calculated Numeric Questions [02:28]
Movie | Captioned Movie | Transcript
How to Create Either/Or Questions [02:35]
Movie | Captioned Movie | Transcript
How to Create File Response Questions [02:47]
Movie | Captioned Movie | Transcript
How to Create Fill in Multiple Blanks Questions [04:00]
Movie | Captioned Movie | Transcript
How to Create Hot Spot Questions [04:35]
Movie | Captioned Movie | Transcript
How to Create a Jumbled Sentence Question [04:02]
Movie | Captioned Movie | Transcript
How to Create Opinion Scale/Likert Questions [02:31]
Movie | Captioned Movie | Transcript
How to Create Quiz Bowl Questions [04:36]
Movie | Captioned Movie | Transcript
How to Create Short Answer Questions [03:11]
Movie | Captioned Movie | Transcript
Question Completion Status
Q:How can students keep track of their progress while taking a test in Blackboard?
A: The Questions Status Indicator is a tool to provide users with a quick up-to-date look at their progress (complete or incomplete questions) in an assessment at all times. The Save button next to each question provides a visual reminder to save your progress periodically.
Completion status of assessment questions is displayed at the top of the page when taking an assessment.
The status of which questions have been answered is displayed at the top of the page, just below the Instructions.
When answering a question and moving on to the next question in a question-by-question assessment, the status box will be updated on the next page to show that the previous question was answered. If you do not answer a question and move on to the next page in a question-byquestion assessment, the status box will show on the next page that the previous question was not answered. Navigate between questions by clicking on the question number in the status indicator.
When taking an all-at-once assessment (an assessment where the questions all appear on the same page), use a Save button to the right of each question to save a specific question without scrolling to the bottom of the page to save. Saving either a single question or all of the questions that have been answered (with the Save button at the bottom of the page) changes the status indicator to show which questions have been completed.
Assessment Enancements Fall 2006
(See also Gradebook Enhancements Fall 2006)
Multiple Attempts
Assessments may now be set to allow unlimited attempts or a specific number of attempts. The Gradebook displays all of the attempts. The Gradebook item is scored based on grading option: last attempt, first attempt, highest score, lowest score, or average of scores. Additionally, an Override field has been included so that the instructor can override the score independent of any attempts.
Now that all attempts are visible in the Gradebook, the clearing options have been enhanced as well. The instructor may choose to clear (or delete) the last attempt, first attempt, highest attempt, lowest attempt, or all attempts within a specified date range. This action may be performed by item (for all students at once) or by user (for a specific user).
Self-Assessment Options
The deployment of tests has been enhanced to permit Self-Assessment in two forms: allow the instructor and student to view the grade, or only allow the student to view the grade. In each case, the grade is not included in the final score for the student.
When deploying a test in a course, the instructor should uncheck the option called Include this test in Gradebook score calculations to allow students to take the test without affecting their overall score. Both the instructor and the student will still be able to review the results of the test. This option was previously only available through the Gradebook but is now also available in the course content area when deploying a test.
The second self-assessment option, called Hide the score of this test from the Gradebook will allow the student to take the test without displaying the results to the instructor.
Test and Survey Import/Export
The Test and Survey Managers have been enhanced to allow for importing and exporting, much like the Pool Manager in Release 6, to facilitate re-use. Users can export the test or survey package to their local computers.
The ability to export and import tests and surveys assists with content reuse and collaboration. When a test (or survey) is created, creation settings are determined, questions and answers are developed, and metadata is associated. Now, all of that information can be reused simply by exporting the entire test to the local computer and then importing it into another course’s Test or Survey Manager. Once the test or survey has been imported, any modifications may be made to customize it for the
other course.
Extra Credit
When creating a test, questions may now be marked as extra credit only. This means that the points possible for the entire test will not include the points possible for that question. If the question is answered correctly, the question points will be added to the points correct, but if the question is answered incorrectly, there is no score penalty.
Customized Feedback
Feedback options were previously organized into four groups: score only, score + detailed results, all of the above + correct answers, and all of the above + detailed results, all of the above + feedback. These options have been ungrouped so that users may select any combination of the score, submitted answers, correct answers and feedback to be displayed to the student at the end of an assessment.
Enhanced Submission Reports
The submission report for assessments now includes the following user information: First Name, Last Name, Course Name, Username, Course ID, name of the Assessment, and date/time of submission. This may be used as verification by the student that they have indeed submitted the assessment. Some instructors may require students to print this as a permanent record of the activity.
August 20, 2008 |
