What is the Text Quiz Builder?
This online tool will allow you to create Canvas Quizzes and Question Banks using a specially-formatted text entry that will be converted to a QTI file for you to import into Canvas. Using this tool will allow you to upload a set of quiz questions with correct answers instead of needing to manually enter each question into Canvas and its associated answers one at a time.
Only the basic text of your questions and answers can be entered. If you need to add an image, file attachment, or special formatting, you must edit the question in Canvas after importing the quiz.
Required Question Formatting
Each question must be separated with a single blank line.
*In the "Text Quiz Builder" settings below is a field called "Same Points Per Question." If you select "No," you must enter a point value for each question in the quiz text box. The point value must be entered on the line above the question text by entering the word "Points" followed by a colon, space, and then the point value (only whole numbers allowed).
Point value examples:
Points: 10
1. Write an essay about the history of the Old Well.
####
Examples:
Multiple Choice: Each choice needs to start with a lower case letter, a, b, c, d, etc. with a close parenthesis. The correct choice is designated with an asterisk.
1. In what year was UNC established?
a) 1887
b) 1636
*c) 1789
d) 1838
Multiple-answers: Each choice uses [] or [ ] to make the incorrect answers and [*] for the correct answers.
1. Which of the following libraries are located on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus?
[ ] D. H. Hill. Jr. Library
[*] Davis Library
[*] Wilson Library
[ ] Perkins Library
Short-answer (fill-in-the-blank): The correct answers will use an asterisk followed by one or more spaces or tabs followed by an answer.
1. What is a commonly used name for the University?
* UNC-Chapel Hill
* The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
* UNC
* Chapel Hill
* Carolina
Essay: This type of question is indicated by a sequence of three or four hashtags.
1. Write an essay about the history of the Old Well.
####
File-upload: This type of question is indicated by a sequence of three or four carets.
1. Upload a photo of the UNC-Chapel Hill campus.
^^^^
True/False: True and False statements needs to start with lower case a) and b). The correct choice is designated with an asterisk.
1. Rameses is the UNC mascot.
*a) True
b) False
Numerical questions: Use an equals sign followed by one or
more spaces or tabs followed by the numerical answer. Acceptable answers can
be designated as a range of the form [<min>, <max>] or as a correct answer
with a specified acceptable margin of error <ans> +- <margin>. When the
latter form is used, <margin> can be either a number or a percentage.
<margin> can be omitted when the answer is an integer and an exact answer is
required. In this case, scientific notation is not permitted, but the
underscore can be used as a digit separator; for example, 1000 and 1_000
are both valid, but 1e3 is not. An exact answer can be required for
floating-point numbers, but this requires an explicit +- 0, since a range is
typically more appropriate for floating-point values. Numerical questions
have the limitation that the absolute value of the smallest acceptable answer
must be greater than or equal to 0.0001 (1e-4).
1. What is the square root of 2?
= 1.4142 +- 0.0001
2. What is the cube root of 2
= [1.2598, 1.2600]
3. What is 2+3
= 5
Additional features
Question groups: A question group contains multiple questions, and only a specified number of
these are randomly selected and used each time a quiz is taken. A quiz may contain multiple question groups.
*All questions within a Question group must be worth the same points. In the "Text Quiz Builder" settings below is a field called "Same Points Per Question." If you select "Yes" in this field, follow the Question group format under "For same points per question." If you select "No" in this field, follow the format under "For different points per question" for the Question group and set the point value to assign to the questions within the Question group. Only whole numbers for points allowed.
For same points per question:
GROUP
pick: 1
1. A question.
*a) true
b) false
2. Another question.
*a) true
b) false
END_GROUP
For different points per question:
GROUP
pick: 1
points per question: 1
1. A question.
*a) true
b) false
2. Another question.
*a) true
b) false
END_GROUP
Question feedback: Feedback is created by a line that starts with a sequence of three dots ... or plus sign + or minus sign - followed by one or more spaces or tabs followed by the feedback.
... Question-level general feedback.
+ Question-level feedback for correct answer.
- Question-level feedback for incorrect answer.
... Answer-level feedback for this specific answer.
Notes:
* Question feedback is optional. Question feedback must be set immediately after the question line. Feedback for the particular answer must be set immediately after the answer line.
* Question-level and answer-level feedback allowed: Multiple Answer, Multiple Choice, True/False.
* Only Question-level feedback allowed: Essay, File-upload, Numerical, Short Answer.
1. In what year was UNC established?
... General question feedback.
+ Feedback for correct answer.
- Feedback for incorrect answer.
a) 1887
... Feedback for this particular answer.
b) 1636
... Feedback for this particular answer.
*c) 1789
... Feedback for this particular answer.
d) 1838
... Feedback for this particular answer.
2. Upload a photo of the UNC-Chapel Hill campus.
... General question feedback.
^^^^
3. Write an essay about the history of the Old Well.
... General question feedback.
####
Text Quiz Builder
Steps on uploading the QTI file to Quizzes in your course:
- Go to your Canvas course.
- Click the “Import Existing Content” button on the home page or select the “Import Course Content” link on the course settings page.
- Under Import Content and next to “Content Type,” select “QTI .zip file” from the drop-down menu.
- Click the "Choose File" button and select the zip file downloaded from this website. Note: Only new question banks can be created. Questions cannot be added to an existing bank.
- Click the "Import" button.
Notes
- - Create your questions in a Microsoft Word document and paste them into the text box instead of typing in the tool directly.
- - Start by creating short, easy quizzes with all the same question type. Then try longer, more complex quizzes with different question types, points, and groups.
- - Review your questions for spelling, accuracy, and correct responses. The tool only checks syntax and will not detect other types of errors.
- - If you notice multiple errors after importing the quiz, it may be quicker to delete the quiz and do a fresh import with the errors corrected in the tool rather than editing multiple questions manually inside Canvas.
- - Duplicate questions are permitted. Review your quiz for duplicates, especially if you copy and paste example questions.
- - Having issues? Do a hard reload of the page (Shift + browser reload icon) and try again.
- - Points per question must be a whole number greater than zero. If you would like to make a question worth 0 points or use decimal values, edit the question in Canvas after importing.
- - Prefer New Quizzes to Classic Quizzes? When using Groups, use one of these two options: 1) Follow the steps above to import the QTI file as a Classic Quiz and then manually migrate it to New Quizzes in Canvas. OR 2) Follow the steps above to import the QTI file but check the box to "Import as New Quiz" instead. The total point value of your quiz assignment may be incorrect and you will need to adjust it in the assignment settings in Canvas.