Introduction

This document is designed to provide a brief overview of new features or characteristics of the assessment tools in WebCT 4.x. This document is organized by the type of tool as follows:

• Quizzes/Surveys

• Assignments

• Self-Test

Quizzes/Surveys

Among assessment features, the Quizzes/Surveys tool has undergone the most revision.

Quizzes/Surveys Page

The Quiz/Survey and Database Management Index page has been replaced by a Quizzes/Surveys page, with a toggle link to the Question Database. Upon entering the Quiz/Survey tool and clicking Designer Options, the Quizzes/Surveys page displays:

Figure 1: Quizzes/Surveys page

The Quizzes/Surveys page has been improved. Now there are icons to indicate how many quizzes are available, which ones are due soon, and each quiz is clearly marked as such. Users also have the option to view all quizzes, only currently available quizzes, or only quizzes that are due soon. In order to select these different views, users click the down arrow to select from the Display drop-down menu, highlight the appropriate choice, and click Go.

Question Browser

WebCT 4.x now has a Question Browser that facilitates the addition of questions to quizzes. The Question Browser opens in an external internet browser window after you select either Add questions or Add question set. An advantage of this is that the question browser immediately tells you which questions you already have added to this quiz. However, the Browser will not tell you whether the questions are used on another quiz, as the Questions Database itself does.

Figure 2: Question Browser

Sort Questions

You can sort by various criteria, as previously, but now the improved interface simplifies this process. Instead of having to click the word Sort in the appropriate column, you merely click the name of the column by which you wish to sort. In the screen capture below, for instance, questions are now sorted by title.

Figure 3: Quizzes/Surveys Page

Other Changes

• As elsewhere in the tool, a number of actions available in the Quiz Editor have been simplified: you no longer have to select an action and click Go. Now, you can click the button for each action, and WebCT performs it in one step.

• The Questions Database no longer has the words Select All and Select None available. Instead, there is a checkbox in the header row of the question table. If you position your cursor over it, the text “Select all, select none” appears.

• Hyperlinks appear in blue, but are no longer underlined. This is most apparent with question and quiz titles in the Quiz Editor.

• Instructors may also notice minor wording improvements throughout. For instance, in the Questions Database, Edit Columns is now Manage Columns.

Assignments

The Assignments tool in Version 4.x, aside from cosmetic differences, functions in much the same way as previous versions. A few notable changes are as follows:

• As in the Quizzes/Surveys area, instructors will find that now there are indicators as to how many assignments are available and which assignments are available, due soon or late. Each assignment is marked as such, with easily interpreted icons. Users also have the option to view all assignments, only available assignments, or only assignments that are due soon.

• In the Edit Assignment Settings area, Availability options are easier to configure.

• From the assignments page, you now have the option to edit the assignment titles. To edit assignment titles, click Edit Titles in the Actions menu. Type the appropriate name in the textbox and click Update.

Self Test

This tool functions much as it has in previous versions of WebCT, aside from some basic cosmetic improvements similar to those found in Quizzes/Surveys and Assignments. Two main improvements:

• While instructors may still enter questions one at a time, the interface for adding answers and feedback for self tests has been streamlined, and actually functions in a manner closer to that of the Quizzes/Surveys tool. Now, instructors do not have to manually click to add a question and then repeat the process to add an answer; questions, answers, and feedback are all entered at the same time, using the same form.

• The overall control menu for the Self Test has been rendered much more concise and user-friendly.