Moodle 4.0 Resources for Faculty

Quizzes created with Moodle's built-in Quiz tool can be used to administer assessments and evaluate student understanding of course material.  A Moodle Quiz consists of a Quiz activity that contains one or more questions from the course's Question Bank. 

Quizzes can be used for a wide range of assessments - from simple knowledge checks to comprehensive exams.  Based on the question types, timing options, and visibility settings you choose, a Moodle Quiz can fill a variety of assessment needs. 

The Three Components of Quiz Development

Quiz Activity

A Quiz Activity, which can be added from + Add an activity or resource menu, serves as the container for the assessments. It allows you to control vaious aspects of the assessment, including its availability and structure.  In Quiz Settings, you can:

• Set a time limit for the quiz.
• Allow for single or multiple attempts per student.
• Determine when points and correct answers are displayed to students. 
• Adjust question selection and behavior.
• Customize additional options to fit your assessment needs.  

Managing the Question Bank in Moodle 

All questions created or imported into a course are stored in the course's Question Bank.  This centralized repository allows you to retrieve and reuse questions for Quiz Activities within the same course.  Each Moodle course has its own Question Bank where all questions are stored for review, editing, and reuse. 

Questions in Moodle 

Questions form the core content of a Quiz. Moodle offers a variety of question types to suit different assessment needs, including multiple-choice, matching, and calculated questions.  Most of these question types are designed for automatic grading and come with specific parameters for both questions and answers.  However, Essay questions require manual grading. 

Directions for adding an override to any assessment or quiz in Moodle to add extra time or change a due date:
1. Navigate to your Moodle course page
2. Click on the assignment or assessment activity where you want to apply an override
3. Select the More menu  
4. Select Overrides
5. Click Add user override
6. Enter the student’s name in the Search box
7. Select the student’s name from the list of search results
8. Adjust the settings you want to override. You can adjust the following:

• Submission date
• Due date
• Cut-off Date
• Time limit

9. Click Save (or Save and enter another override)

Note: The current instance of Moodle does not include the Drag-and-Drop Matching question type. For similar functionality, consider using alternative question types such as:

• Matching Questions: Allows students to pair items from two lists, providing a comparable matching experience.
• Multiple Choice Questions: Offers flexibility in testing knowledge with selectable answer options.
• Cloze (Embedded Answers) Questions: Enables embedded answer options, such as drop-downs or short answers, directly within a text.

Quiz Settings in Moodle 4

When you add a Quiz activity from the resource menu, you can adjust the following settings:

General

• Name: Enter a clear, unique name to identify the quiz.
• Description: Provide instructions or details about the quiz. You can choose to display this on the course page.

Timing

• Open and Close Dates: Set the start and end dates for the quiz. This is important to ensure students have access at the right time and to use all Review Options effectively.
• Time Limit: You can set a time limit for the quiz to help students stay focused and complete it within a set period.

Grade

• Category: Assign the quiz to a grade category, if categories have been set up.
• Grade to Pass: Set a passing score. Scores below this will appear in red in the Grader Report, while passing scores will appear in green.

Layout

• Questions per Page: Choose how many questions appear on each page.
• Navigation Method:
  • Free: Students can skip questions and return to them later.
  • Sequential: Students must answer questions in order and cannot return to previous ones.

Question Behaviour

• Shuffle Questions: Choose whether answers in multiple-choice questions should be shuffled.
• Question Feedback: Set when students receive feedback on whether their answers are correct and if they can make a second attempt.
  • Deferred Feedback: Students must answer each question and then submit the entire quiz before anything is graded or they receive any feedback. 
  • Adaptive Mode: Allow students to have multiple attempts on a question before moving on to the next question.  This type of quiz requires that the "whether correct" box is selected under During the attempt in the Review Options section. 
  • Immediate Feedback: Students can submit their response to a question immediately during the quiz attempt and get it graded.  Students can only submit one response. 
  • Interactive with Multiple Tries: Students will receive immediate feedback on their responses and a chance to try again if they answer the question incorrectly.  This choice includes the option to add hints and can include a retry penalty. There is also an option to allow students to try a different question when they get a question incorrect. 

Review Options

• These options control what students see after completing the quiz and when reviewing their attempts.
• Note: Ensure Maximum Marks and Marks are checked to make the quiz visible in the Gradebook.

Managing Quiz Email Notifications

If you find receiving an email notification every time a student complete a quiz overwhelming, you can easily turn them off.  

1. Select the notifications tray from the course header.

2. Select the gear icon to open your notification settings. 

3, Find the section for Quiz Notifications and set it to Off.. 

This will stop email notifications about students completing quizzes, helping to keep your inbox clear. 

Quiz Visibility 

If you're having trouble with quiz results appearing in the gradebook, check the settings under Review options. Ensure that Maximum Marks and Marks are selected.

Managing Moodle Quiz Questions

Moodle offers a robust system for creating, organizing, and managing quiz questions. You can build question banks independently of any specific quiz activity. This feature allows you to create a reusable collection of questions for quizzes and other assessments. A large question bank also enables you to use randomized question selection, which helps deter academic dishonesty during quizzes.

How to Access the Question Bank

1. Navigate to your course in Moodle.
2. Select the More tab, then click on Question bank.
3. From the Question Bank screen, use the dropdown menu to:
   • View questions
   • Export questions
   • Import questions
   • Create and edit categories

Creating a New Question

1. On the Question Bank screen, select the Create a new question button.
2. Choose the desired question type from the list.
3. Follow the prompts to configure and save your new question.

Adding Categories

Categories help you organize and manage questions effectively.

1. In the Question Bank dropdown menu, select Categories.
2. Click Add category.
3. On the next screen:

• Choose a Parent category for the new category (optional).
• Enter a Name for the category.
• Optionally, add Category information, such as the assessment or unit of study associated with the questions.

4. Click Add category to save.

Managing Categories

On the Categories screen, you can:

• Delete a category.
• Edit a category’s details.
• Move a category using the directional arrows.

Adding Questions to a Category

1. Navigate to the Question Bank page in Moodle.
2. From the dropdown menu, select Import.
3. On the Import screen:
   • Choose the correct File format for your questions.
   • Under General settings, select the appropriate Import category.
   • Under Import questions from file, click Choose a file and upload your question file.
4. Click Import to process the file.
5. On the confirmation screen, review the number of successfully imported questions.
6. Click Continue to complete the process.

Tips for Organizing Your Question Bank

• Use descriptive category names to make it easier to locate and reuse questions in future semesters.
• Regularly review and update categories to keep your question bank organized.
• Consider tagging questions with relevant topics, units, or difficulty levels for added clarity.