My wife is a language teacher and she just raised an interesting challenge. If she wants to do a comprehension test, where can she put the passage before the questions?
Perhaps the Quiz module may need to be enhanced a bit for this.
Well, you could put it in the Introduction to the quiz, or as a separate resource in the same topic/week.
Hi, I'm also a language teacher and I can see what Abdul means. Putting the reading in the introduction or as separate resource does not serve its purpose well, because in reading comprehension tasks the students will often need to see the text alongside the question(s).
I can see two approaches here:
1/ an option to add a reading text to a question; the drawback is that more often than not a reading text is used as the basis for a number of questions, not just one;
2/ an option to add a textblock to the quiz; it would be inserted in the quiz the same way as the questions, could be edited using the moodle wysiwyg html editor; it would be treated as a kind of gradeless question (ignored in scoring); I personally like this solution more, as this would also let teachers use the textblock to divide the test into a few tasks, each with different rubrics.
Will you consider adding this option in a future release of moodle?
I can see two approaches here:
1/ an option to add a reading text to a question; the drawback is that more often than not a reading text is used as the basis for a number of questions, not just one;
2/ an option to add a textblock to the quiz; it would be inserted in the quiz the same way as the questions, could be edited using the moodle wysiwyg html editor; it would be treated as a kind of gradeless question (ignored in scoring); I personally like this solution more, as this would also let teachers use the textblock to divide the test into a few tasks, each with different rubrics.
Will you consider adding this option in a future release of moodle?
I've just realised that the first of my two options in the previous message does not make sense. Of, course, we can add a reading text to a single question - by just typing it in the question field and using html tags for formatting. But it is still only a reading text for one question.
The other option is much more flexible - allows teachers to add a reading text to be usid in a number of questions and could have other uses as well. I think it would be a very useful enhancement of the quiz module
A thought that occurs to me is an option to "group" a number of questions, and add a text at the beginning of the group ...
In some cases you could duplicate this now by just having more quizzes, one for each reading text. ie several smaller quizzes instead of one long one.
In some cases you could duplicate this now by just having more quizzes, one for each reading text. ie several smaller quizzes instead of one long one.
... to "group" a number of questions, and add a text at the beginning...
Great. I would even expand on this and add the possibility to have "pages" in a quiz. This would prevent the quizzes from getting too long (download/display problems). Each "group" of questions (or "exercise") would be displayed on a separate page. Upon attempting the quiz, the student would enter the first "exercise", where there would be links to the other "exercises".
... having more quizzes, one for each reading text...
Personally, I'd rather not do that. In some of my courses this would result in having tens/hundreds of small quizzes. Imagine the gradebook... Besides, if I have quizzes with several tasks and divide them into smaller quizzes (1 task per quiz), I'd have to create additional columns in the gradebook that would calculate the total score for the whole quiz. With so many quizzes this becomes almost unmanageable.
Great. I would even expand on this and add the possibility to have "pages" in a quiz. This would prevent the quizzes from getting too long (download/display problems). Each "group" of questions (or "exercise") would be displayed on a separate page. Upon attempting the quiz, the student would enter the first "exercise", where there would be links to the other "exercises".
... having more quizzes, one for each reading text...
Personally, I'd rather not do that. In some of my courses this would result in having tens/hundreds of small quizzes. Imagine the gradebook... Besides, if I have quizzes with several tasks and divide them into smaller quizzes (1 task per quiz), I'd have to create additional columns in the gradebook that would calculate the total score for the whole quiz. With so many quizzes this becomes almost unmanageable.
Hi,
I need that grouping of questions with introduction text very much. Is someone working on that feature?
Is there a possibility that it will be realized in the next two months?
Ursula
Probably not from me - too many other priorities before then.
But, I have an idea that might help someone else implement this feature.
Rather than implementing question groups, it might be much simpler to create a new question type called "Description" or something. It wouldn't be a real question as such, and wouldn't carry any marks - all it would do is print out some HTML text on the quiz.
You could then create these 'questions' and insert them into the question list anywhere you please.
But, I have an idea that might help someone else implement this feature.
Rather than implementing question groups, it might be much simpler to create a new question type called "Description" or something. It wouldn't be a real question as such, and wouldn't carry any marks - all it would do is print out some HTML text on the quiz.
You could then create these 'questions' and insert them into the question list anywhere you please.
Cool, Ursula! Well done!
I'll integrate it in CVS as soon as possible ... can you also send or post the description.html file?
I'll integrate it in CVS as soon as possible ... can you also send or post the description.html file?
Thank you very much Ursula Raab!
I am also a language teacher, so what I wanted too. I had put my comprehension text into the quiz description.
This description questions is better.
It is less fiddly than putting a description into the quiz description box on the first screen,
It does not appear on the first screen so if you want to do a timed quiz, using Chris's timer, where the comprehension text is not visable until after learners enter the quiz, it is very useful. In my own case, I am happy (indeed want) the learners to read the text before they attempt the quiz. I could advise them to see a particular resource on the main course page.
One thing I am not entirely sure about is whether it is pegged to the top, even after a shuffle, so that it always arrives as question 1. No I don't think that it is. So
A) If I use question shuffling then the description may not be at the top.
B) If I use random questions then the description may appear twice at the expense of one of the real questions.
C) Unless C, I make a seperate category of questions called "Comprehension texts," add that at the top and then add random questions from the real questions category.
However I have been asked to have the text of a text comprehension question as a pop up window so that learners do not need to scroll up and down as they read the questions. So It would be very nice to have the option of having the description as a link to a pop up.
Or alternatively, even better, it would be great to have the option of adding resources, as files in the file area perhaps? to either or both of the entry screen and quiz screen. (These may be one and the same. I am not sure).
For the time being I will try copying the code that links to the resource in the main quiz description and so that students have the option of a pop up, and use the this description question in the manner described above.
Tim
To get a popup "Description Question"
I viewed source of the course page, found the resource I wanted (the comprehension text),
Removed the two <Font> tags,
added target="popitup" (or could be most anything)
and then added the resultant link to the description of the quiz
I have also added a description question but the fact that it is a popup, and that it is viewable both before and after the learner attempts the quiz, is a plus as far as I am concerned.
<img src="http://mydomain/resource/icon.gif" height=16 width=16 alt="¥ê¥½¡¼¥¹"><a title="¥ê¥½¡¼¥¹" href="http://mydomain/mootim/mod/resource/view.php?id=6" target="popitup">This Week's Text</a>
But, I am not sure what will happen when Chris U or I start messing with browswer back buttons to prevent people from going in and out of quizes.
And it would be great to have some sort of resource insterting function.
Tim
Until we have a Moodle modul with two colums (or two rows) where we can choose two "resources" and/or activities I use this kind of standalone activity sheets..
The minor side of this approach is that Moodle does not show the results in the activity overviews...
(this example has a Dutch text on the right and 12 questions on the left and it was created with hotpotatoes, then a little cripled for layout reasons..)
you can hack this kind of resources, the difficult part - if you want to change this resource - is the use of the / like in <br />
Several professors that I'm supporting are having difficulty with the description option. They'd like to use it and also use the shuffle questions feature. However, when "shuffle questions" is enabled, the descriptions shuffle, too. I have even tried putting questions in their own categories, but it doesn't seem to make any difference.
I can dream up a solution, but my feeble knowledge can't implement it . . .
When shuffle is enabled, allow questions to shuffle only between description questions. They would serve as bookends for sections of the quiz.
Has anyone given thought to adding an option to the quiz module that would allow for constant sections of a quiz? I'm open to the multiple-quiz option, where sections of a quiz are just made into separate quizzes; but it would be very helpful to have the option of sections inside one quiz--it would solve several problems mentioned earlier in this forum topic.