Creating or Importing Questions for Quizzes
The most important part of the Quiz Module is, of course, the questions that are a part of it! You can create questions within Academy of Mine to be added to Quiz Modules, as well as import questions via Excel if you have created them externally.
This guide will show you the ways you can create your questions, prepare them to be added to a Quiz Module, as well as how to use Question Categories.
Be sure to check out our related guide, Using Quizzes and Exams in Your Course
In this article
Bulk Importing Questions
Many of our clients tend to have vast number of questions ready that they'd like to import into a quiz in one go, instead of having to manually set up every single individual question. This is why we created our question bulk import functionality, which allows you to quickly import those questions from an Excel file into your platform and quizzes. In this section, we'll go over how the file must be formatted for import, as well as the steps to import the file of questions.
File Format for Bulk Import
Let's first go over how the questions will need to be formatted:
- The file must be in .xlsx format, and must only have one worksheet. If you would like, a sample file is available to download on the Bulk Upload Questions page.
- There is a limit of 500 questions that can be uploaded per file. If you have more than 500 questions, please separate them into multiple files and upload each sequentially.
- The file must be formatted with the following header/first row values:
- Question_Type
- Question_Title
- Question_Content
- Question_Category
- Answer_Hint
- Answer_Explanation
- Correct_Answer
- Option_1
- Option_2
- Option_3
- Option_4
- It is possible to add an Option_5, etc. if you require additional columns.
If a row of your file has an error, it will be skipped during the upload process. You will receive a report of the errors, and you can try to upload those specific questions later.
Importing Questions
Now that the file is formatted, we can move on to importing. First, it is important to note that there are two places where we can import these quiz questions in bulk but they use the same functionality. One is while creating a quiz, and another is by uploading them from the Questions tab which can be found under Courses -> Questions in the Sidebar of the Admin Dashboard.
When importing while creating a quiz, the questions will automatically be added to the quiz in question. Or, if you use the general import option via the Questions tab, you can either load them into a quiz or quizzes of your choice, or you can upload them into the platform without necessarily linking them to a quiz (you can then select these later when creating a quiz).
With the steps below we are assuming you are either in the Questions table of the Admin Dashboard or you are on the Edit Quiz page.
- To start from the Questions tab (to add the questions to the account in general, or specific quizzes that already exist) select Courses from the Admin Dashboard, then choose Questions
- You can also bulk import if you are creating a quiz module from scratch or on the Edit page of a specific quiz module
- Regardless of how you start, click Import Questions via Excel
- Read the General Instructions carefully (similar as above in the formatting section) so you can ensure a smooth upload process. You may also download the sample file.
- Build out the sample file with the content of your quiz questions as per the instructions that are provided, or ensure your file matches the parameters. Besides the first row of the file which will be the header with the title of the columns, each subsequent row will represent one questions with all the information needed. WARNING: Make sure you final import file has 1 worksheet only. You cannot have multiple worksheets in the file otherwise upload may fail.
- Upload the file using the specified field.
- If performing a general upload via the Questions tab, you can specify an existing quiz or quizzes to upload the questions to, or create a new one in the process. You can also leave these fields blank if you just want to upload them into the platform and want to make them available for later use. The options are:
- Create a New Static Quiz with These Questions: This option allows you to upload your questions and create a brand new Quiz Module all at once. Just give your new Module a name and you will find it in the Courses > Quiz Module page. The questions will also be added to the Questions page.
- Add These Questions to Existing Quiz: This option will immediately place the newly uploaded questions into one or more existing Quiz Modules that you have selected. They will also be added to the Questions page.
- Or, if you simply want to Add Questions Independently to the Questions Page: Choosing Add These Questions to Existing Quiz and leaving the field blank will upload the questions unassociated with any quiz. They will only be found on the Questions page.
- Create a New Static Quiz with These Questions: This option allows you to upload your questions and create a brand new Quiz Module all at once. Just give your new Module a name and you will find it in the Courses > Quiz Module page. The questions will also be added to the Questions page.
- Click Upload Questions to upload the file. If you are working on a quiz, do not forget to save/update the quiz module.
Creating a Question Inside a Quiz Module
When making a Static Quiz, you have the option of creating a question directly inside the Quiz Module.
- From the Admin Dashboard, select Courses, then choose Quizzes to create a new module or edit an existing one. Learn more about creating a Quiz module and the question types here.
- Create a question title and choose the question type, then select Add Question.
- The question will then be added to the list of questions for this quiz. Drag it to rearrange its order, or select Shuffle Questions to randomize the entire quiz.
- Selecting the Edit button will open the question on the Questions Page, where you can fully customize it and add the answers etc.
Creating a Question on the Questions Page
The Questions page will house all the questions for the account. You can bulk import questions here, as discussed above, or you can add individual questions as well. Once your question has been created on the Questions Page, it can be added to any Quiz Module in the Search Existing Question field.
- To add individual questions to the Questions page, go to the Admin Dashboard and choose Course, then Questions.
- Click + Create Question
- Set a Title: the Title of your question is used primarily for administrative reference when organizing your questions and creating your Quiz Modules. The Title will be visible on the sidebar of the course player as the student navigates through the quiz.
- Add Your Question & Content: the Question & Content section is where the actual question is asked. This field allows custom HTML, which means you can insert images, videos, or anything else you would like to embed.
- Choose a Question Category type or create a new one if you wish. This is used to group questions for a Dynamic Quiz type, as those types of questions will draw their pool of questions from a selected Question Category to allow for a different quiz experience each time.
- You may also view, add and edit Question Categories from the Admin Dashboard by going to Courses > Extra > Question Categories.
- Choose your Question Type: there are three distinct question types that can be asked in a quiz. Let's take a closer look at each of them in the steps below
- Multiple Choice questions can have one correct answer. You can add as many possible answers as you'd like with the Add Option button. Then select Is Correct for the right answer. Choices can also be rearranged by dragging them up or down the list.
- Multiple Correct questions are similar to Multiple Choice, but can have more than one correct answer. You can add as many possible answers as you'd like with the Add Option button. Then check Is Correct for all the answers that apply. Choices can also be rearranged by dragging them up or down the list.
- Short Answer questions are similar to Multiple Choice, but instead of selecting an answer from a list, the student is required to type the answer themselves. You can add as many possible answers as you'd like with the Add Option button.
Note: You may want to include multiple variations of the same answer, to account for possible typos or differences in your students' typing.
- Matching allows you to have multiple items that the students match possibilities to. The student will drag the matches into the order of the items in order to match them. You can also add additional match possibilities if you want to add distractors (so there are more options then items).
- Choose to provide an Answer Hint: the instructor has the option of providing a text hint for your question. It will appear for the student on the quiz, to the right of the question.
- Choose to provide an Answer Explanation: the Answer Explanation is also optional. If the instructor chooses to supply one, it will be displayed on the scorecard after the quiz has been completed.
If you have selected to never show the correct answers in the scorecard, your Answer Explanation will not be displayed. - Click Save Question when you're done!
Question Categories
The Question Category is used to easily group together a series of questions, and is essential for creating a Dynamic Quiz. Dynamic Quizzes will draw their pool of questions from a selected Question Category.
Question Categories can be found in the Admin Dashboard, under Courses > Extra > Question Categories. From there, you can edit your current Question Category's name by clicking the three-dot menu to the right of the category, or create a new one.
Once the category has been saved, you can add questions to it when creating a question, or you can bulk add questions to a category by following these steps:
- From the Admin Dashboard, choose Courses, then Questions
- Select the questions you want to use in a category by clicking the checkboxes on the left
- Click Bulk Actions
- Choose Quick Edit
- Choose a Category from the dropdown menu, and confirm