I don't know if there are Fronter users on the quiz forum, but better to ask people.
I am in the process to create a new question import format to import questions created in Fronter and exported as an XML file into the Moodle question bank.
See this forum thread : https://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=231544
If you can help by uploading sample files or providing advices...
Here is a first version on a question import format Moodle add-on to import questions from an xml file exported from fronter.
There are a lot of limitations in this first version
I hope that I kept it general enough, and it will be easy to expand it once I have more sample files exported from fronter.
short instructions
unzip, rename the folder to just "fronter" and upload this fronter folder to your Moodle server in the question/format subfolder. You should see format.php, version.php files and lang and tests subdirectories in question/format/fronter.
Go to Site administration -> Notifications and install like any other Moodle plugin.
Go to the Question Bank -> Import, Verify that a new import format "Fronter" is appearing in the list, choose this format and upload an xml file generated by Fronter and click on Import button.
If you have a file with questions that aren't imported successfully, send it to me so that I can release a new version.
Thanks very much for investing the time to look into this. This add-on will be extremely helpful to anyone looking at importing tests to Moodle.
I'm attaching a sample export file from Fronter which contains an example of all the current question types available (except the Matching question type which does not export). I have deliberately mentioned the question type used in the body of each question to help identify what is being used.
The question types available to export are:
Single select: Radio buttons, can only select one option from the list.
Drop-down select: Same as above, but the answer options display in a drop-down menu.
Yes/No: Same as above, but the options yes/no are pre-selected.
Multiple select: Almost same as above, except these are check boxes where the student can select one, more or all alternatives and one, more or all can be correct.
Short text answer: The students type in the answers which will be displayed as one line.
Long text answer: Same as above, but the text box will expand, suitable for long answers.
Although some of these may not be compatible with Moodle I've also included various permutations of question settings (such as mandatory, limited characters, text recgonition) and used the additonal field in the question description to indcate what's been used.
I have found this support page on Tests provided by Fronter which may be of use also.
Hope this is useful, let me know if I can help further and thanks again for your effforts.
Hello Jean-Michel,
I just wanted to say that I finally got access to trying out the Fronter XML import plugin that you wrote .. And it works perfectly for all my simple quiz questions !!! THANK YOU SO MUCH
I did notice one minor problem .. when there are multiple options and the points are set to decimal eg. 0.33 for some of the options the plugin does not import the quiz.
Also it does not import my images from the questions.
FYI Fronter it self are actually not able to export all its questiontypes - so a complete automatic transfer is not really possible. BUT then again I think this plugin, capable og importing the most common questions from Fronter into Moodle will be a great help for all who do this migration (and have used Fronter quiezzes)
Lars Bjorstrup
PS: For your information our school has an external company to setup moodle and we have to ask them to copy the plugin to the server. And now they have .. and it is not an option under "Import" with our "Question Bank".
Regarding the fractional grades, the importer probably needs to do some conversions like 0.33 -> 0.3333333 (Moodle works to 7 decimal places here.)
Hello Lars,
Thanks a lot for your feedback.
Can you post here a Fronter export file with a question containing decimal grade like 0.33 that is not imported correctly ?
I had no sample file containing question with images so I was unable to code anything in that area (and I was in fact doubtful that Fronter was able to export images ) so here also a sample file would help.
As I said numerous time, working on Moodle import formats is a thing I like because for most formats (Blackboard, Webct, Examview, Fronter, ...) I don't have access to the software used to create the files so I only work from sample files people send me and this is that "detective work" that interest me.
But the drawback is that I am dependent on sample files people send me !
The more sample file and the more files imported correctly.
If "Fronter" is no displayed in the list of available formats when you click on "Import" in the Question bank, then most likely the plugin has no been installed correctly. what do you see when you go to Site Administration -> Plugins -> Plugins overview ?
Is the plugin listed in the "Question import export formats" ?
Thanks. Ha ha .. detective work. Thats great!
Yes "Fronter" is in our list in the Questionbank > Import (in Moodle). I do not have administrator rights I asked for your plugin to be installed and it is there now:
Aiken-format
Blackboard V6+
Examview
Fronter
Gift-format
Indlejrede svar (cloze)
Learnwise-format
Manglende ord-format
Moodles XML-format
WebCT-format
I have made another example export from Fronter with the 0.33 values in a multiple choice question that I will test now and attach to you i a moment.
Lars
I think you are right - Fronter does not export the image but somehow there are still the information about an empty image inside Fronter.
Here (attached) is an example with the 0.33 values (and all other of Fronters question formats that it can export).. the plugin stops with the message:
Grades (0.33,0.33, 0.33) do not match grade options - question skipped.
And for some reason it seems to quit the entire import not only the question with these grades (as far as I can tell).
Thanks, Lars Bjorstrup
PS. Tell me if there is any other specific export from Fronter that you need and I will do my best to create examples.
Hi Jean-Michel, I am showing /demoing your plugin to my collegues here at Niels Brock Business School
Thanks again,
Lars
Thanks Lars,
Don't forget to report bugs or improvements ideas.L
There is now a github repository here: https://github.com/jmvedrine/moodle-qformat_fronter
I will submit it to the Plugins directory after making some adjustments discussed in the previous messages of this forum thread.
Hello,
Just a note to report that I have updated my github repo of the Fronter question format import plugin.
https://github.com/jmvedrine/moodle-qformat_fronter
I think that now fractional grades as 0.33 are correctly imported, and I have corrected the import of Fronter's "dropdown select" questions as multianswer cloze questions.
Hello,
I am pleased to report that the Fronter question import format is now available in the Moodle plugin Directory at https://moodle.org/plugins/view.php?plugin=qformat_fronter
Great - now if we can get all those schools with teachers unhappily using Fronter to move over to Moodle.......
Thanks Mary,
Well when you discuss with teachers and show them all the wonderful things they could do with Moodle, very often one of their first questions is "Will I lost all my work if I switch to Moodle ?"
So this was my first motivation when working on question import formats: help teachers to become Moodlers.
I should also mention that IMSCC is very useful when migrating content and that import of questions via IMSCC has improved in Moodle 2.7 and 2.8 with Mark Nielsen work in MDL-44630.
I have come to really appreciate the variety of ways that Moodle can import questions. Without a doubt, Moodle is the most flexible LMS for importing questions!
I got to wondering if Moodle can import the D2L format? It would be interesting if Moodle does a better job at importing the D2L format than D2L, wouldn't it. Jean-Michel, might you be able to look at this D2L format (attached) and see if any of the Moodle import tools could bring this quiz library into Moodle? (Incidentally, this attached file began as a Blackboard test bank, imported into D2L's "Question Library," then exported from D2L). Just as Moodle now supports the Fronter quiz format, it would be nice if Moodle also supported the Desire2Learn format.
Hello Rick,
Thanks for sharing this sample file.
The format used by D2L for export is just another variant of QTI2. So it should be easy to do a parser for this one starting with the one I have used fro BB6, Canvas and Fronter and doing slight modifications to accommodate for particularities of D2L format.
It is quite comical to see how each LMS interpret the QTI2 "norm" ! The result is that there is not 2 LMS producing compatible files.
The D2L format is easier to interpret than some of the other I have worked on because they have used metadata to store the question type so we don't have to "guess" the question type looking at answers and responses.
When I find some time I will produce a first version of a D2L importer
Just looking at the file, I see True/False, Short answer, Multiple choice, and "Long answer" questions. Are there any other question types in D2L ? Also can you try to export a question with images in all the places you are able to embed an image so that I can see if and how images are exported ?
Jean-Michel, I will work on this for you this weekend. Yes, D2L has the following question types, shown in my graphic. Some of these I have never used, but I will try to configure a question bank with all of these types, including graphics, and maybe also including equations and other question features. I am not sure if Moodle has a one-for-one mapping of D2L's question types, but maybe this is what we will discover.
I have done a first draft of a D2L question format importer. You can see it at https://github.com/jmvedrine/moodle-qformat_d2l. Currently it has quite a lot of limitations.
Jean-Michel.
Attached is a graphic showing how a T/F question can be configured in D2L. I am also giving you an exported quiz that contains three different T/F questions: a simple one that I filled out, one with a picture as an attachment to the question, and one with a figure embedded as a picture in the question text.
I thought that this is a start to helping get this file conversion working, and removing the limitations.
As you look at how a D2L T/F question can be configured, let me know if you need me to create some more for you with different options being changed.
I tried installing your current version of this importer, and I am getting an error message "There are no questions in the import file". I wonder what I might be doing wrong?
The file D2LExport_2362451_2014111649.zip (above) was not correctly exported.
I tried your importer on the file below (only T/F), and it worked. Here is what I discovered:
D2L's fields in T/F questions that are not translated: Question Hint, Style (Vertical versus Horizontal), and Enumeration.
When I added picture in question text, it did not get into Moodle. I am not sure if this is because D2L does not include it in the export.
A picture added in D2L as an attachment does not show up in Moodle. Moodle doesn't allow files to be added as attachments. Hmmm.
Jean-Michel, I think this is a good start. See what you can do with this file below, and getting the graphic in.
I am going to have to start keeping notes so that we can document this importer.
Jean-Michel (or Tim or others),
I have another question for you about import/export of questions.
How "solid" is Moodle's own XML export/import format? For example, if I develop questions on an experimental moodle, export them as "Moodle XML", and then import them back into my production moodle as "Moodle XML format", is there anything at all that is lost? Anything that doesn't translate, like pictures, equations, etc.? Or is this Moodle XML solid (or robust)?
Also, do "categories" get messed up? In other words, is it important to have the questions category names match?
Moodle XML format should be completely solid, and is supported by most add-on question types.
Any ways in which it is not solid should be reported as a bug. I just had a look, and there are a few known issues. In summary:
I hope that gives you an indication of the obscureness of the bugs that remain.
Tim, thanks for your response.
I want to work hard on a new set of questions for two of my courses. I just recently got MAMP working on my Mac, it is real fast, so I am planning on developing my questions in this environment, and then moving them over to my production Moodle.
Yes, I know, I can prove this myself, but I thought that I would get your thoughts.
I don't think I will encounter the problems that you kindly pointed out.
Well, I can actually work through this chapter by chapter, and if I run into any snags, switch over to my production moodle (and let you know.)
Thanks again.
If you are curious, attached is Desire2Learn's only "direct" import file format. "Direct" means imported directly into the Question Library. D2L's ability to import Blackboard is in the "Import Course Components" webpage.
Jean-Michel, just wanted to make sure you saw https://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=231544#p1011971.