Using the QuizMaker

QuizMaker makes it easy to create interactive quizzes on the Internet. No knowledge of Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is necessary. The information contained in this document explains how to use the QuizMaker. Print this page out for future reference.

Step 1: Quiz information

Here you will enter info about the quiz structure as well as some file storage information

Name of quiz file

You are asked to enter the quiz file name. This is the physical name of the quiz file which will be stored in the quiz directory after you create the quiz. The file name can be any combination of letters and numbers. You will be notified if a file with the same name already exists. Then you can decide whether you want to overwrite the existing file or enter a different file name.

Number of questions

This is the number of questions that the quiz contains. Your quiz MUST contain at least one question.

Quiz method

There are four options which dictate how the answers will be handled when they are submitted: self test, retry test, mail-in test, and correct & mail test. In a self-test, the answers are corrected on-line, and the results are immediately displayed for the student along with the correct answers for those questions which the student got wrong. The retry test acts like the self test, but doesn't show the correct answers. A mail-in test simply sends the students' answers to the teacher's email address without checking an answer key. (For obvious reasons, essay tests MUST be mail-in tests). Correct & mail tests are a combination of mail-in tests and self-tests. An answer key is generated and the quiz is corrected on-line, but the results are mailed to the teacher and not displayed for the student.

Quiz type

You may select from among five options under quiz type: short answer (i.e. fill-in), true-false, essay, multiple choice, and mixed type. For fill-ins, QuizMaker will generate a simple form with the question and a blank space for the answer. For true-false it will generate a form with the question and radio buttons for selecting true and false. For multiple choice, QuizMaker generates a quiz that lists the answer and all of its alternatives selectable by radio buttons. For essay, QuizMaker generates a quiz with the question and a text area for each answer. (If you select essay, QuizMaker will assume you are creating a mail-in test. Mail-in tests are described above). Mixed type quizzes allow you to combine all these quiz types into one quiz.

Default choices

This is the number of answer alternatives that each multiple choice question will have. QuizMaker also enables you to choose the number of answer alternatives for a specific question, but the number you enter here will appear as a default value so that you don't have to type in the same number for every question. If you're not creating a multiple choice or mixed type quiz, you can ignore this option.

Step 2: Question Attributes

On this page you will enter more specific information about your type of quiz and about each question.

Email address

This is required only if you're making a mail-in test or a correct & mail test. It is the email address of the instructor. Make sure you enter a valid address; QuizMaker does not know how to detect bad email addresses. Below this space is a checkbox which lets you choose whether or not you want to cc (carbon copy) the student. If you put a check in this box, the student will get a copy of whatever is sent to you. This will be an email containing his/her answers, but it will also contain the results if this is a correct & mail. If you don't want the student to get a copy of their answers and results, don't put a check in the Cc box.

Question Type

If you are creating a quiz with a mixed type, you select the type for each individual question here. You can choose from among true-false, short answer, multiple choice, and essay (for mail-in tests). For multiple choice questions, you can also enter how many answer alternatives that question will have.

Inline graphics

Inline graphics are simply images, or pictures, that you want to insert into your quiz. You must specify how many inline graphics to include for each particular question. Then you will have to enter the complete URL and an optional description for each graphic which will appear side-by-side above the associated question when the quiz is finally put together.

URL:

QuizMaker imports graphics residing on a remote server by contacting the image's web location. You need to enter the complete URL, including the "http://" (e.g. http://motted.hawaii.edu/et_tools/edtech.gif). QuizMaker won't double-check your input, so be sure you enter it correctly or you may get a broken image. Also, make sure that the image does in fact exist at that location. The best way to do this would be to bring up the actual image in your browser, copy the location, and then go back and paste the location into the appropriate space.

Description:

This is an optional text description of what the image is (e.g. Ed Tech Tools logo). It appears in place of the image when the browser's auto image loading is turned off, and some browsers (like Netscape 4.0) display it when the mouse pointer is moved over the image.

External links

These are links to other documents elsewhere on the web. They may be hypertext pages, sound files, video files, or any other instructional aid that relates to a particular question. You must specify how many links to attach to the question. You will then enter the link URL and an optional link description. The list of links will appear directly underneath the associated question when the quiz is finally put together.

URL:

You need to enter the complete URL, including the "http://" (e.g. http://www.whitehouse.gov/). QuizMaker won't double-check your input, so make sure you enter it correctly or you may get a broken link. The best way to do this would be to bring up the actual document in your browser, copy the location, and then go back and paste the location into the appropriate space.

Description:

This is an optional text description of what the link is, or where it goes to (e.g. "White House Home Page"). It appears as the hyperlinked text we're so used to seeing on the web. If you leave this blank, the URL will appear as the hyperlinked text instead.

Step 3: Questions and answers

After submitting the previous information, QuizMaker will ask you to enter your instruction set, and all of your questions and answers. (If you're making a mail-in test, you won't be asked to enter answers.) Aside from that, some other input is requested:

Title

This is the title of the quiz. It will appear at the top of the quiz that is generated (and in the subject field of the message sent to the instructor if you're making a mail-in test). Any value is acceptable here.

Quiz Author

The name of the person making the quiz. This will appear just below the quiz title on the final quiz page.

Next URL link

After the student submits their answers, they will be linked up to another web document. Here you can enter a description of the document and its URL. For self tests and retry tests, this link will appear at the bottom of the answer page. For mail-in and correct & mail tests, this link will be loaded into the browser automatically. The option is here if you want to point the students to some other location after they finish answering the quiz. You may also leave these fields blank if you wish.

Depending on the question type, QuizMaker may need additional information:

Randomization

For multiple choice questions you must supply values for the answer alternatives and choose whether or not you wish to randomize the alternatives. "Randomize" (the default) is the most common selection. It uses a random number generator to mix all the alternatives up. "Order as shown" is useful for questions that have "all of the above" or similiar choices. It lists the alternatives in the same order as what you specify. In either case you need to indicate which answer is the correct one by clicking on the radio button next to it (except for mail-ins, which don't use answers).

Display

To take advantage of web page formatting, you may also choose whether you want to display your answer alternatives as HTML or as plain text when making multiple choice questions. This is handy for quizzes that use special formatting for emphasis. For example, if you are making a chemistry quiz and want to use subscripts in your answer alternatives, you can include the subscript tags right in the answer and choose "Display choices as HTML" to apply the format. On the other hand, if you are making a quiz about web page design, and use HTML tags as actual answers, you would choose "Display choices as plain text" to make sure the browser treats the answers literally. This is an advanced feature; 9 out of 10 quizzes don't need HTML formatting for multiple choice answers, so "display as text" is a reasonable default. However, if you do choose to use HTML formatting, please use it responsibly (close off your tags and spell them correctly). Failure to do so may have an adverse effect on quiz appearance. This feature only affects how the choices are displayed in the browser. Although the formatted answer will appear on the quiz, QuizMaker still stores the HTML tags along with the rest of the answer when it makes the key. So, if you use them in a correct & mail quiz, know that any HTML tags embedded in an answer will also be shown in the email that is sent to you. This might look a little strange if you use a text-only mail program like Pine, Eudora, or Microsoft Exchange.

Match type

For short answer (fill-in-the-blank) questions contained in quizzes that are corrected online, you need to tell QuizMaker how specific you want your answer matches to be. There are three options: exact, inexact (the default), and advanced. For exact matches, the student's answer is considered correct only if it is identical to the answer in the key (ignoring case). For inexact matches, the student's answer is correct if it merely contains the answer in the answer key. The advanced match type is for those questions that can have one of several possible answers, or have more than one required answer. Details on this feature are described in this document. In fact, it is advisable that you read this document anyway, because it will enable you to take full advantage of Quizmaker's answer correction features.

Once you are done entering all the information, click on "Make quiz file" and voila! QuizMaker will create your quiz and tell you where to locate it. Working in conjuction with the CorrectQuiz program, this quiz will be able to collect your students' answers, correct them, and/or email them to you.

QuizMaker 2.0 for QuizServer © 1998, University of Hawaii. Developed for the University of Hawaii Office of Technology Transfer and Economic Development in cooperation with Maui Community College. All rights reserved. Any copying, distribution, or preparation of derivative works is strictly prohibited.