Upgrade to Blackboard 7 - New question formats in surveys and quizzes

There are two main changes to quizzes and surveys in Blackboard 7:

The following 17 question types are now available in Blackboard. Contact blackboard.support@dartmouth.edu if you would like help creating these types of questions for your own Blackboard quizzes or surveys. It should also be noted that, even though the examples below have been kept deliberately simple, it is possible to present images or media files in any of these questions.

1. Multiple choice

This question type was already available in Blackboard 6. New in Blackboard 7 are these features:

Screenshot: multiple choice question

2. Multiple answer

This question type was already available in Blackboard 6. New in Blackboard 7 are the following features:

Screenshot: multiple answer question

3. True/False

This question type was already available in Blackboard 6. There are no changes for Blackboard 7.

Screenshot: true/false question

4. Ordering

This question type was already available in Blackboard 6. New in Blackboard 7 are the following features:

Screenshot: orderinh question

5. Matching

This question type was already available in Blackboard 6. New in Blackboard 7 are the following features:

Screenshot: matching question

6. Fill in the Blank

This question type was already available in Blackboard 6. Nothing is new for Blackboard 7. The blank cannot be embedded in a sentence, but follows the cue to the student.

Screenshot: fill in the blank question

7. Essay

This question type was already available in Blackboard 6. Nothing is new for Blackboard 7.

Screenshot: essay qustion

8. Short Answer

This question type is new in Blackboard 7. The format is similar to essay questions, but the answer can be limited to a specific number of rows. This is meant as a guideline for students; their answers will not be truncated, even if their answer does not fit into the text box without scrolling. In the following example, the answer field has been set to two rows.

Screenshot: short answer question

9. Opinion Scale/Likert

This question type is new in Blackboard 7. It allows the instructor to present a customizable opinion scale. This question type is especially useful in surveys. When used in a test, a correct answer has to be specified.

Screenshot: opinion scale/Likert question

10. File Response

This question type is new in Blackboard 7. It allows students to submit a file as an answer to the question. The instructor accesses submitted files via the gradebook, one by one (no batch download is available - use the Assignment Manager if batch download is needed).

Screenshot: file response question

11. Hot Spot

This question type is new in Blackboard 7. It allows the instructor to present an image and define an area which, when clicked, counts as a correct answer.

Screenshot: hot spot question

12. Fill in Multiple Blanks

This question type is new in Blackboard 7. It allows the instructor to present text with up to 10 blanks. A set of acceptable answer can be defined for each blank. This question type looks promising for language instruction in particular.

Screenshot: fill in multiple blanks question

13. Jumbled Sentence:

This question type is new in Blackboard 7. It allows the instructor to create a sentence which needs to be put in order by students.

Screenshot: jumbled sentence question

14. Either/Or

This question type is new in Blackboard 7.It is an extension of the "True/False" question, and allows the instructor to choose between various sets of binary labels (yes/no agree/disagree right/wrong true/false). This makes the question type much more flexible, especially for surveys.

Screenshot: either/or question

15. Quiz Bowl

This question type is new in Blackboard 7. This format requires the answer to be in the form of a question. The instructor can specify a number of question words or phrases to be included in the answer. Emulates the game show "Jeopardy". Partial credit can be awarded if question words are omitted, as long as the phrases are included.

Screenshot: quiz bowl question

16. Calculated Numeric

This question type is new in Blackboard 7. The answer to this question type is a number; it is possible to specify a range within which an answer is deemed acceptable. For example, in the question below, an answer range of +/- 50 million has been set. The goal is to have students get it roughly right.

Screenshot: calculated numeric

17. Calculated Formula

This question type is new in Blackboard 7. The answer to this question type is a number; the instructor enters an answer formula, and Blackboard will calculate a series of possible answer sets. This means that the problem will be presented with different numeric values and different numeric solutions every time the test is administered. Instructors can specify numeric ranges for each variable, and accept a range of answers.

Screenshot: calculated formula question