Quiz Maker Pro Give Away

ProProfs has been nice enough to give one of our lucky readers a free copy of Quiz Maker Pro. They created a sample quiz, which if you score 100% you will be included in our drawing for a free one year copy. Below is the link to the quiz, which will give you a good feel of what can be done with Quiz Maker in addition to moving you closer to winning your free copy for one year.

How Teachers Can Use Web 2.0 In The Classroom (Quiz Maker)

The deadline is December 27, 2010. I will select a name from all who scored 100% and announce the lucky winner December 29th right here on this blog.

Good luck!

Make a Quiz on the Cloud (ProProfs Quiz Maker)

There is a new addition to the Free Cloud Apps page, it’s ProProfs Quiz Maker. Quiz Maker is a quick and easy way to build a quiz that is hosted on the cloud.  No software needed, it is completely web-based. You can easily post a link to your quiz from a blog or web page. It also has the functionality to tweet a link or add to Facebook or MySpace. Proprofs was gracious enough to give me a complimentary account (full disclosure) to test drive it. Here is a link to a simple quiz I made to test some of the features and so you can see some of what it does – Take my Rhode Island History quiz.

Although you can embed the quiz in blogs and sites, it uses iFrames, which does not play nice with my WordPress blog, otherwise I would have done so here. I was told they are working on a new widget with additional customizations for embedding the quizzes, which is expected later this week. However, it is very easy to post a link to your quizzes (like above) or share via social media.

Here is what I like about Quiz Maker:

• It is extremely user-friendly.
• It is on the Cloud, so users have access anywhere, whether taking a quiz or building one.
• You can add images,  video, and links to each question.
• You can add feedback.
• They offer a free version.
• You can track participation, including each user’s answers and quiz stats. I was impressed with how easy it was to view participants’ answers and overall quiz stats. I wish most learning management systems (LMS) made this same task so easy. FYI: Tracking is not included with the free account.
• According to a representative from ProProfs they are currently working on SCORM compatibility, so integration with an LMS is on the horizon.

What I wish it had:

• If you update/edit a quiz the stats are reset to zero. So, once you have a quiz made, make sure it is the absolute  final version.
• More question types. They have multiple choice, fill in the blank and essays, but it would be great if they had some more interactive options like hot spots, drag and drop or matching, etc. Hopefully they will expand the question types in the future.
• I am splitting hairs, but I would like to see the fill in the blank allow the blank to be placed anywhere in the sentence. Unless I missed something, it appears the blank could only be placed at the end of a sentence.
• I would have liked to be able to also add graphics, video and links to the feedback.

Regarding the free version, you cannot add the creator’s name to the certificate and it is only an ad free trial for seven days, then ads will be posted. Also the tracking and stats features are not included in the free account after seven days. You can view the comparisons of pricing plans here, including what you do and don’t get with the free account. FYI: They do have a very reasonably priced plan for educational users.

All in all, if you are looking to create and share simple quizzes with the benefits of doing so on the Cloud, it is worth your time. I will emphasize the word “simple” because if you are looking for more interactive question types (e.g. hot spots, drag and drop, graded sims, etc.), you will probably need to utilize more robust e-learning authoring tools to do so.

If you are interested in taking Quiz Maker for a spin, here is the link again – ProProfs Quiz Maker.

What I Ask During a Course Review

I just released the first draft of a new WBT course and as usual I have a slew of people reviewing the course. This includes Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) among others. In the past I have provided a general list of what aspects of the course should be reviewed (e. g. grammar, accuracy of content, navigation, technology, etc.). This time around I compiled a far more detailed list of concerns reviewers should be attentive to during their review. It is meant more as guide to what they should be looking for, but can also be used as a questionnaire.

Here is what I included:

Grammar

• Check spelling, grammar, and consistency of language.

Objectives/Learning needs

• Does the course answer your questions/concerns about the subject?
• Do you feel prepared to begin applying the new knowledge/skills learned?
• Does the course meet the objectives presented at the beginning of the course?
• Do you feel you now have a better understanding of the subject at hand?

Navigation

• Were there any links or buttons that did not work?
• Were all navigational elements marked appropriately?
• Were you able to navigate through the course with ease?

Graphics

• Do you find the graphics helpful?
• Do the graphics appear properly?
• Was text in the graphics clear and visible?

Animation

• Does the animation appear properly?
• Was text in the animation clear and visible?
• Do you find the animation helpful?

Simulations/Interactivity

• Are the soft skill simulations reflective of realistic scenarios?
• Do the simulations, interactive exercises and/or pop-ups function properly?
• Are the software simulations/demonstrations realistic and appear to reflect the actual “live” system?

Assessment

• Do the questions measure your understanding of the content presented?
• Are there questions that address content not presented in the course?
• Are the questions/answers accurate and pose no potential exceptions that could make an answer incorrect?
• Is the feedback provided helpful?
• Does the assessment provide correct scoring results?

Misc. technology

• Does the audio function properly?
• Do the videos function properly and appear professional?

I am sure as time goes on questions will be added and some will be eliminated. What would you include, eliminate or change on this list? Any input would be great.

Given this post, readers will be able to describe my perspective on course objectives to 100% accuracy

If you write clear objectives, make sure your course’s content allows participants to meet those objectives and your assessment measures whether the objectives were met, then you are doing a great job. If not, please give me a minute of your time.

Objectives have a purpose. They are NOT just to tell participants what they will learn at the beginning of a course. I think of them as a contract. It is an agreement between the content and the audience. And the assessment measures whether the contract was fulfilled.

• When writing objects be very clear and thorough of what will be learned. I prefer the ABCD format (Audience, Behavior, Condition, Degree).
• The content must provide all that is needed for the learner to meet the objectives.
• The assessment must measure whether the objectives were met. If the assessment is not tied to the objectives, then you and the learners will not be able to demonstrate if the objectives were met.

If you are writing assessment questions or content that is not “tied” to the objectives, then you must revisit the course’s objectives and determine what additional objective(s) you must add or why you are bothering the learners with irrelevant content and questions.

To be honest, I really get burnt up when there is no thought or concern when writing objectives and especially when assessments do not measure if objectives were met or if learning occurred. This is why I am ranting about it.

Objectives are your best friend when designing a course. Treat them as such.

Thank you.