From Question Banks to Item Banks

[ProfessorBeyrer]

I started using online quizzes in my in-person classes as reading checks. I want my students to demonstrate they understand and know the material in the text. I usually make those quizzes due before we meet because my lectures tend to cover a topic with more depth than can be done in the text for a survey class. For my asynchronous online classes, I do something similar for the lecture recordings. Quizzes help my students confirm their understanding and teach me whether they have learned the things I want them to learn. 

The quizzes are more effective when each attempt presents a different set of questions, and with Canvas I use Question Banks to facilitate this. When my college switched to Canvas, I was pleased to learn that I could link a Question Bank to a Quiz. My previous LMSs had this feature, so I was able to continue my practice. If students see different questions on each attempt, their cognitive investment is increased and (I hope) they learn more.

In addition to teaching, I am the distance education coordinator for my college and hence help my colleagues use the available technology effectively. Using new tools in my classes helps me do better at that job, so my students get to be among the first at our college to use tools like New Quizzes. 

As I made this transition, I discovered how an unresolved issue with Classic Quizzes persists to New Quizzes. This challenges how I use Question Banks and I initially despaired that it would be a lot harder for me to advocate for New Quizzes. I found a workout and have successfully used New Quizzes for my lecture and reading checks the past few semesters. I dance with students on the bleeding edge of instructional technology, and so far I’ve saved my students from getting cut.

The problem that Classic Quizzes has with Question Banks is when they are linked to a Quiz (How do I create a quiz with a question group linked to a question bank?) and that Quiz is exported or included in a limited copy to another course. The linked Question Banks are not included in that export or limited copy, which makes an awkward realization when an instructor views the imported/copied quiz. It’s no surprise that this same thing happens when a Classic Quiz is migrated to a New Quiz. That Question Bank does not become an Item Bank, and the New Quiz created during migration misses those questions. Yikes!

I found a workaround that requires a bit of editing in the Classic Quiz before migration, and luckily it is easy if a bit tedious. Instead of a Question Group that is a link to a Question Bank, I copied the questions from the bank into a new group within the same Classic Quiz. Thus edited, the Classic Quiz migrated successfully to a New Quiz with a corresponding Item Bank. It works exactly as I expect, and the new Item Bank serves the same purpose as the Question Bank does for Classic Quizzes - changes I make will go into effect for any subsequent New Quiz attempts.

This change from a linked Question Bank to a Question Group was an unexpected task as I began to use New Quizzes, and I have included it in the professional development that I provide. That way my colleagues’ path will be a little less sharp than mine, and they can focus more on the improvements to the quizzing process that come with New Quizzes. The ease of extended time, sophisticated options for the fill in the blank, and variable points for multiple choice questions have all made the transition worthwhile for me and my students.

[JeffW]

Hi @ProfessorBeyrer 

I understand that classic quizzes with groups pulling from banks don't translate the questions when the user it was shared with implements it in their course. I did some testing and insured the same thing happened when migrating to a New Quizzes quiz. Your workaround of adding the question from the bank directly to the group instead of linking the bank to the group does appear to be the only method that works. 

I would highly suggest submitting your idea to the community so that Instructure can gauge the need (I agree with making changes to this functionality). 

[lalee24601]

I initially had this question, too - and found my own work around as I used AI to create questions from text content for quick reading quizzes. For whatever reason, the utility I was using to convert text generated by AI to QTI format uploaded just fine into Classic Quizzes but refused to upload as a New Quiz. When appeals to the Community and Instructure support failed, I eventually found my own work around. 

1. Upload all QTI files from the utility I've been using as a CLASSIC quiz. Each of those is what I actually want to convert to a New Quiz Item Bank eventually. Those QTIs work fine in importing into Classic though they don't work to import into New - no idea why, and no one I've been corresponding with even tried to offer a reason for that.
2. Create a Classic Quiz. Create Groups of questions - each group linked to a Classic Item Bank that is the Classic Quiz I just created from QTI.
3. Migrate the Classic Quiz into New Quiz format or Export to QTI then into another course as a new quiz. The migration process appears to correctly convert question groups into New Quiz Item Banks. I still need to experiment to see if the Item Banks are actually linked to the original once copied to a new course or not. 

[JulieEller]

I've been following a similar process. I export the classic quiz individually and then upload directly to an item bank rather than a new quiz. 

[lalee24601]

P.S. I now have the Classic Quizzes and New Quizzes that I want for each unit's multiple sections of reading quizzes. (One question group linked to a Classic Quiz bank or New Quiz Item Bank.) I thought I'd be able to export/share either format of the quiz with other users/courses and have the banks share correctly, but that didn't work for me.

I wanted to be able to share with other teachers in a way. that gave them their OWN copy of the banks so that they can modify them without affecting the original banks. What eventually seemed to work was to go into the New Quiz version (I couldn't get Classic to work - the item banks don't appear to copy/transfer - but maybe I'm doing something wrong.), use the Export utility from the build menu to create the QTI then upload to another course/user from Settings/Import as a NEW Quiz.

[lalee24601]

🙂 That's the first way I tried it, but having to export 60+ quizzes individually wasn't at all appealing. 🙂 Loading them first into a single Classic quiz streamlined the process for me.