- Access the Question Library
- Organize Your Question Library
- Add Questions to Your Question Library
- Import Questions From the Question Library to a Quiz
The Question Library is a repository for storing and managing quiz or survey questions in D2L Brightspace. As a best practice, we recommend creating and organizing all of your quiz question in the Question Library. Questions that are stored in the Question Library can be easily imported into a Brightspace quiz or survey.
TIP: To create a quiz in Brightspace, we recommend following these three steps:
→Review the Quiz Question Migration Guide
→Find out more about the benefits of using the Question Library
Access the Question Library
- Log into Brightspace with your MyCarletonOne credentials.
- Select your course under My Courses.
- Find your course using the Course Selector Icon in the mini-navbar
- In the navbar at the top of your course page, select Tools.
- In the drop-down menu, select Quizzes or Surveys.
- The quiz or survey homepage page will open. Select Question Library.
Organize Your Question Library
Questions can be organized into sections and subsections in the Question Library. Organizing your questions in sections helps make your questions easily findable when you are creating a quiz.
Add a Section to the Question Library
NOTE: A best practice when using the Question library is to create a section, then add your quiz questions to the section. This will allow you to seamlessly import your questions into a quiz.
- Log into Brightspace with your MyCarletonOne credentials.
- Select your course under My Courses.
- Find your course using the Course Selector Icon in the mini-navbar
- In the navbar at the top of your course page, select Tools.
- In the drop-down menu, select Quizzes.
- The Manage quiz page will open. Select Question Library.
- Select New, then select Section in the drop-down menu.
- Enter a Section Title.
TIP: Enter a title that will help you easily identify your question section when importing your questions into a quiz.
- Enter Section text (optional) if you want to add a description or additional information relating to your section.
NOTE: You can select Hide section text from learners if you want the text to be visible to you only.
TIP: If you are creating a section for a randomized quiz, select Shuffle questions in this section.
- Select Save.
You will now see a section folder in your Question Library (see example below).
Add a Subsection to the Question Library
NOTE: Once you have created a section in your Question Library, you can create a subsection to further organize your quiz questions.
- Log into Brightspace with your MyCarletonOne credentials.
- Select your course under My Courses.
- Find your course using the Course Selector Icon in the mini-navbar
- In the navbar at the top of your course page, select Tools.
- In the drop-down menu, select Quizzes.
- The Manage quiz page will open. Select Question Library.
- Select the section in which you want to create a subsection. Sections are identified with a folder icon
- Select New, then select Section in the drop-down menu.
- Follow steps 8-10 in the Add a Section to the Question Library instructions above.
Add Questions to Your Question Library
There are multiple question types that can be added to your Question Library, including multiple choice, true or false, short answer, and fill in the blanks. You can create questions within your Question Library, import questions from an existing quiz,
NOTE: A best practice when creating a quiz in the question bank is to first create a section in your Question Library. Sections help organize your Question Library and make your questions easier to find.
- Create a New Question in the Question Library – Create new questions that can be imported into a quiz.
- Import Questions from a Quiz – Import questions from a quiz you have already created in Brightspace.
See the video tutorial below for an overview of all question types available in Brightspace:
Overview of Question Types in the Question Library
The table below is copied with expressed permission from the Memorial University of Newfoundland.
Question Type | Description | Benefits | Challenges | Tips |
True/False (T/F) | True or false is a type of question where the question-creator indicates whether a statement is truthful or not. | Automatically graded. Easy to create simple low level recall questions. | Learners have a chance of guessing the correct answer. Difficult to create challenging questions. Without e-proctoring, learners could cheat. | Works best if you create a Question Pool by selecting a sub-set of questions from the Question Library. [:30] |
Multiple Choice (MCQ) | Multiple choice questions give users multiple possible answers to a question and asks them to select the correct or best answer | Automatically graded. Easy to create simple low level recall questions. Options can be randomized. | Difficult to create challenge questions. Without e-proctoring, learners could cheat.
NOTE: If using “All of the Above” or “None of the Above” as options, the options should not be randomized. |
Works best if you create a Question Pool by selecting a sub-set of questions from the Question Library. [:30] |
Multi-Select (MS) | Multi-select is a type of question where the user selects one or more correct answers from a group of possible answers. | Automatically graded. Easy to create simple low level recall questions. Can enable students to receive partial marks. Options can be randomized. | Difficult to create challenge questions. Without e-proctoring, learners could cheat. | Works best if you use a question pool in the library. Better than multiple choice for higher order items. [1:00] |
Written Response (WR) | In Brightspace Learning Environment, written response (formerly know as long answer) is a type of question that is more than a few words long. It is an open-ended text response. You can allow learners to upload files to this question type, as well. | Easy to create. More challenging questions can be asked. More difficult for learners to cheat/copy. | Automatic grading is not possible, although an answer key is available. Students do not have time to polish their response. | A rubric would help with marking. Useful for Math or Science as students can solve problems on paper, take a picture, and upload the image in the question response. [10:00-30:00] |
Short-Answer (SA) | A short answer question is a type of question where the user responds to a prompt with a short, one or two-word text response. Traditionally, many people think of a short answer question as a sentence or two in length, but for the short answer question type in Brightspace Learning Environment, it can be automatically graded, and for this reason, is shorter. | Can be graded automatically. Easy to create. More challenging questions can be asked. Part marks are possible. | Automatic grading is more challenging. Learners need to have correct spelling. | Good for 1-2 sentence responses. [2:00] |
Multi-Short Answer (MSA) | Like the short answer question, multi-short answer is a few short-word text responses. It is well-suited for situations that require an answer in the form of a list | Can be graded automatically. Easy to create. More challenging questions can be asked. Works well if the answer comes from a pool of possible answers. | Automatic grading is more challenging. Learners need to have correct spelling. | Good for 1-2 sentence responses per space. [4:00] |
Fill in the blanks (FIB) | A fill in the blanks question is a question type where the user has to insert the correct response into a blank space in order to complete a sentence. You can have more than one blank in this question type, and it can be automatically graded. | Can be graded automatically. Easy to create. More challenging questions can be asked. | All correct/acceptable answers need to be included. Learners need to have correct spelling. | Good for lower level skills, knowledge. [1:00] |
Matching (MAT) | Matching questions ask users to pair correct items together for points. For example, users may be asked to match a term to its proper definition or a date to its event. | Can be graded automatically. Easy to create. Options can be randomized. Can have a 0:1 match, 1:1, 2:1, or a combination. | Directions need to be clear. May take longer for students to complete. | Good for lower level skills, knowledge. [:30 per response] |
Ordering (LA) | An ordering question is a type of question where the user places the answers in the correct order. | Can be graded automatically. Easy to create. Options can be randomized. | There has to be one linear sequence. | Good for lower level skills, knowledge. [:30 per response] |
Arithmetic Questions (2+2) | An arithmetic question is a question type in which numbers can be randomly chosen for each variable. The numbers used for each variable in the question are based on specific number ranges. | Can be graded automatically. Easy to create. Arithmetic symbols embedded in the software. Supports unique question generation using variables. | It may take students time to orient themselves to the function of inserting symbols. | Good for basic arithmetic problems. [varies] |
Significant Figures (x10) | The significant figures question type is most applicable to science and math related questions. Users are able to enter their answers in scientific notation format. | Easy to create. Can be auto graded. Equation Editor and Sig Fig symbols embedded in the software. Supports unique question generation using variables. | It may take students time to orient themselves to the function of inserting symbols. | Great for introductory science courses. [varies] |
Likert Question (LIK) | The Likert question is unique to the Survey tool. Likert questions are a way to gather feedback by creating questions with answers based on one of the six scales available. | Used in Surveys only. | Ungraded. | Great for conducting surveys for people’s perceptions, attitudes, and preferences towards a topic. [varies] |
For more information on how to use the Brightspace question library, you can visit the D2L support page Creating Question Library questions.
Create a New Question
- Log into Brightspace with your MyCarletonOne credentials.
- Select your course under My Courses.
- Find your course using the Course Selector Icon in the mini-navbar
- In the navbar at the top of your course page, select Tools.
- In the drop-down menu, select Quizzes.
- Select Question Library.
- Select the section that you want to add a question to. Sections are identified with a folder icon
NOTE:A best practice is to use sections to organize your questions, but you can also use the New button on your Question library page to add an uncategorized question. To add a new section for your quiz, follow the Add a Section to the Question Library instructions above.
- Select New, then select a question type from the drop-down menu.
- Enter the required and optional fields for your selected question type, which may include one or more of the following:
- Question Text: This is the text that is displayed to students.
- Points: The default is 1 point for certain question types. This is the point value for your quiz question.
- Answers: This is where you enter the answers for a multiple choice question, or select true or false for a true or false question.
- When you are finished entering your question details, select Save.
You will now see your question listed in your quiz section.
Import Questions From a Quiz
- Log into Brightspace with your MyCarletonOne credentials.
- Select your course under My Courses.
- Find your course using the Course Selector Icon in the mini-navbar
- In the navbar at the top of your course page, select Tools.
- In the drop-down menu, select Quizzes.
- Select Question Library.
- Select the section that you want to add a question to. Sections are identified with a folder icon
- Select Import.
- In the drop-down menu, select Browse Existing Questions.
- Select the Source drop-down menu and select an existing quiz.
- Select the checkboxes to select the quiz questions you want to import.
TIP: You can preview a question by selecting the magnifying glass icon
- Select the Import button.
You will now see your imported questions listed in your quiz section.
Import Questions From the Question Library to a Quiz
NOTE: A best practice is to create your questions in a Question Library section folder before importing your questions into a quiz. Follow the instructions above.
- Log into Brightspace with your MyCarletonOne credentials.
- Select your course under My Courses.
- Find your course using the Course Selector Icon in the mini-navbar
- Locate your quiz in one of the following ways:
- In the navbar, select Tools and select Quizzes in the drop-down menu. Find your quiz on the Manage Quizzes page.
- In the navbar, select Content and select the module or submodule that holds your quiz.
- Select the arrow next to the quiz you want to add questions to.
- In the drop-down menu, select Edit.
- Under the Questions heading, select Add Existing.
- Select Browse Question Library from the drop-down menu.
- Select the checkbox next to the section or question(s) you want to import.
TIP: Select the arrow next to a section name to view and select/deselect individual questions within a section. You can preview a question by selecting the magnifying glass icon
- Select Import, or select the drop-down arrow to select one of the following import options:
- Import to bottom of Quiz
- Import to top of Quiz
- Import to Section
You will now see a list of all imported questions. Select the move icon to reorder your questions. To return to your quiz editing page, select Back to Settings for (quiz name).
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