How do I Upload questions to Blackboard? You can upload questions directly into Blackboard by using a special format in a text document. Uploading questions: Creating your exam 1. Go to the Control Panel 2. Click on Course Tools. 3. Click on Tests, Surveys, and Pools (alternatively, in a content area, you can click on Create Assessment > Tests, Create Test, to get to the same area. 4. Click on Tests 5. Click on Build Test 6. Fill out the boxes for the Name, Instructions (optional), and Description (optional). 7. Click on Submit 8. OR While in the Test Area you can find an exam you have already created. Click on the Option button, choose Edit Test. 9. Click on Upload Questions. Instructors and Leaders may import files containing questions into an Assessment pool, survey, or test. All of the question types except for Calculated Formula and Either/Or type questions may be included in the file. When uploaded to a Survey, the correct/incorrect answer assignment is ignored, but the file must follow the same format as described for Tests and Pools. Question Format: 1. The document must be saved as a Text file (extension.txt). This document can contain multiple questions of different types in a single file. 2. Each question must be on a separate row. 3. Each piece in the question must be separated by a TAB. TIP: For the more advanced question types, it may be easier to just input them directly into the Test Manager. Another alternative is to use assessment creation software, such as Respondus and Questionmark, either of which your campus may license.
Each question type must be formatted in one of the following ways: 1. Multiple Choice a. MC Question text Answer1 incorrect Answer2 correct Answer3 incorrect MC Which planet is closest to the sun? Earth incorrect Mecury correct Mars incorrect TAB). There can be up to 20 answer selections for each question. There should be only one Answer that is indicated as correct, all others should be set to incorrect. 2. True/False a. TF Question text true TF El Paso is the capital of Texas. false TAB). Only indicate true or false, not both. 3. Multiple Answer a. MA Question text Answer1 correct Answer2 correct Answer3 incorrect MA Which of the cities are in Texas? Dallas correct Atlanta incorrect Austin correct TAB). This question type follows the same format as the Multiple Choice question with the exception that more than one Answer can be indicated as correct. 4. Matching a. MAT Question text Answer A Match A Answer B Match B Answer C Match C MAT Match the car model with its manufacturer. Fusion Ford Sebring Daimler- Chrysler Altima Nissan TAB). The system will randomly order the answers and the matching text. When building Matching questions in a text file, there must be an equal number of answers and matches. 5. Fill in the Blank a. FIB Question text Answer1 Answer2 Answer3 FIB The capital of Montana is. Helena Helana Hellena Hellana TAB). You can have multiple correct answers for a fill in the blank question. TIP: This format with multiple possible answers may produce a parsing error when uploaded but the question should still upload ok. 6. Essay
a. ESS Question text Example answer TAB). The Example answer is an optional piece of information. 7. Ordering a. ORD Question text First Second Third TAB). Place all answers in the correct order as the system will randomly select the display order. 8. Fill in Multiple Blanks a. FIB_PLUS Question text Variable1 Answer1 Answer2 Variable2 Answer3 TAB). The format consists of a list of variable-answers where each variableanswer is composed of the variable name and a list of correct answers for that variable. Variable-answers are delimited by an empty field. 9. File Response a. FIL Question text TAB). 10. Numeric Response a. NUM Question text Answer tolerance TAB). The tolerance is optional. 11. Short Answer a. SR Question text Sample answer TAB). The Sample answer is an optional piece of information. 12. Opinion/Likert Scale a. OP Question text TAB). 13. Jumbled Sentence a. JUMBLED_SENTENCE Question text Choice1 Variable1 Choice2 Choice3 Variable2 TAB). The format consists of a list of choices-answers where each choice-answer consists of the choice followed by the list of variables for which that choice is the correct answer. An empty field indicates the end of a choice answer. A choice immediately followed by an empty field indicates that that choice is not the correct answer for any variable. 14. Quiz Bowl a. QUIZ_BOWL Question text Question_word1 Question_word2 Phrase1 Phrase2 TAB). The format consists of a list of valid question words followed by an empty field and a list of valid answer phrases.
Here is an example text file with a few questions in one file: Upload Process: 1. Prepare your file per the structure above. 2. Go to the Control Panel. 3. Under Assessments, click Test Manager. 4. If the test already exists, click the Modify button to the right of the test. a. If the test does not exist, click the Add Test button and complete the add process. 5. Step 5: In the Test Canvas, select Upload Questions from the question type drop-down list. Click Go. 6. On the Upload Questions page: a. Browse for your file to import. i. Optionally enter the points (if blank) or change the default value (which is defined in Test Creation Settings). For example: 7. Click the Submit button. a. You will receive a confirmation page if the upload succeeded or failed. If you receive any Parsing errors, check your file carefully against the structure to ensure all of your question formats are ok.
Here is an example of what the questions look like once imported into the Test Canvas: Notes: 1. Once uploaded, questions can be manipulated like other questions created within the Assessment. Later, you can enter any feedback, keywords, etc. 2. If there is an error in a question within a file, only the question with an error will fail to upload. Questions without errors will upload successfully. 3. The system does not check for duplicate questions. It is up to you to manage this aspect of the Assessment questions.