Question pools and question banks in Blackboard tests
- Aideen Gibson
- ellen bell
In Blackboard Learn Ultra, the terminology used to identify question pools and question sets has changed.
Ultra Course View | Original Course View |
In Ultra, a collection of questions from which a random selection can be displayed is called a Question pool. Question Pools ensure each student receives a different version of a test.
A Question Bank is a database of questions that can be reused in multiple assessments. These collections of questions are stored for repeated use across multiple tests.
Question pools
Question Pools can be used to present students with a different version of a test by choosing multiple questions from another test or from a Question bank.
For example, you can set a question pool to display 10 questions from a test with 100 questions.
If you edit a question used in a Pool, the edits appear everywhere the question is used.
In Course Content choose the plus icon and select Create from the drop-down menu.
This brings up the Create Items menu, scroll down to Assessment and select Test
3. This brings up the Test editor, enter the title of the test and any intro text (select + then select Add text), then select the +
To add a question pool to the test, select the plus sign and Select Add question pool from the menu.
This opens the Add Question Pool page; here you can add questions to your question pool from the other assignments in you module.
On the left, the Filter Criteria panel allows you to include select specific assessments (Sources) or specific Questions Types, on the right select the individual questions to include in your pool. Then select Add Questions
On the next screen, indicate the number of questions to display to each student and click Save.
Your question pool has been created, each student will now get a set number of questions randomly selected from the pool.
Question banks
In Blackboard Learn Ultra, a Question bank is a collection of questions that can be reused in multiple tests. You can create new question banks or import existing ones to use in your courses.
You can view, edit or add new question banks via Manage banks in the Details & Actions section of your course's main page.
If you edit a question in a Question Bank, the edits will appear in Question pools that use the question. It will not change questions in tests that have reused the questions.
Create a Question Bank
You can create a question bank from scratch, import questions from a file or auto-generate.
Select Question banks from Details and Action panel on the side of Course Content:
This opens up the question banks screen. Select the plus to open the drop-down menu.
a. To create a question bank from scratch, choose New. This opens up a new Question bank, give it a name a description and start to add questions by clicking on the + and selecting the question type from the drop-down menu.
b. Select Import from file to import a bank of questions saved as a .zip file
c. Chose Auto-generate from the drop-down menu.
This opens the AI assistant …
Define questions: either add a description or select course items e.g. presentations or journal articles to inform the question generation.
Clicking on Select course items, allows you to select items from your module to inform the AI. Use the check boxes to select the items and click on the Select Items button
Next use the drop-down to select Question type or use Inspire me! to generate a mix of types.
Use the sliders to set Complexity e.g. undergraduate to PhD level, then select the number of questions in the test and click on Generate.
A set of questions are generated, use the check-boxes to select the questions you wish to use (these can be edited in the question bank editor) and select Add to Question Bank.
This will generate your question bank, select the bank to review the questions for accuracy and bias.
Use the ellipsis to edit your questions.
Find out more about Blackboard AI tools
Reusing questions
You can reuse questions from other tests or question banks in any test that you create. When you re-use questions you are creating a copy of questions. This means that if you choose to re-use the question and edit it in a new test, edits will not be replicated in the original question.
Select + Reuse questions from the dropdown menu when you are in the test.
On the Reuse questions page, you can browse, preview, filter, and select questions created or imported into your course.
You can view the questions, but you can't make edits until you copy the questions to your assessment.
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Useful Links
Related content
Centre for Digital Learning Enhancement
ulster.ac.uk/learningengancement/cdle