Quizzes — Using the Question Library

What are sections? Sections are folders that help you organize questions. You can create sections and subsections (folders within folders) to match your course structure.

Common organizational strategies:

• By chapter or unit: “Chapter 1,” “Chapter 2,” etc.
• By topic: “Newton’s Laws,” “Friction,” “Spring Forces”
• By assessment: “Midterm,” “Final Exam,” “Weekly Quizzes”
• By question type: “Multiple Choice,” “Short Answer,” “Calculations”
• By difficulty: “Easy,” “Medium,” “Hard”

To create a section:

Watch this video:

Or follow these steps:

1. In the Question Library, click New > Section
2. Enter a Section Name (this helps you identify the folder)
3. Optional settings:
   • Message: Add introductory text that appears when this section is imported into a quiz
   • Display options: Choose whether to show the message at the beginning of the section or before each question
   • Add image: Include an image that appears with the section
   • Private comments: Add notes for your own reference (students never see these)
4. Click Save

To create subsections (folders within folders):

1. Click on the parent section name to open it
2. Click New > Section
3. Follow the same steps as above

1. Click on the section name where you want to add questions
2. Click New and select a question type from the dropdown
3. Fill in the question details
4. Click Save

Watch this video for an overview of available question types:

Available question types:

• True/False (T/F): Two-option questions
• Multiple Choice (MC): One correct answer from multiple options
• Multi-Select (MS): Multiple correct answers possible
• Written Response (WR): Long-answer questions requiring manual grading
• Short Answer (SA): Brief text responses
• Fill in the Blanks (FIB): Complete missing words or phrases
• Matching (M): Connect items in two columns
• Ordering (ORD): Arrange items in correct sequence
• Arithmetic (A): Math calculations with automatic grading
• Significant Figures (SF): Math with precision requirements
• Likert (LIK): Scale-based responses (for surveys)

For detailed instructions on creating each question type, see D2L’s guide to creating questions.

For pedagogical guidance on choosing question types, see Memorial University’s resource on Question Types.

Why import questions from quizzes? Questions created directly in quizzes are NOT automatically saved to the Question Library. Import them to create a backup and enable reuse.

To import questions from an existing quiz:

1. In the Question Library, click on the section where you want to store the questions
2. Click Import > Browse Existing Questions
3. Change the Source dropdown to the quiz containing the questions you want
4. Check the boxes next to questions or sections you want to import (or check the top box to select all)
5. Click Import
6. Repeat for other quizzes as needed
7. Click Done Editing Questions when finished

To import questions from another course’s Question Library:

Watch this video:

Brief steps:

1. Go to Course Admin > Import/Export/Copy Components
2. Select Copy Components from Another Course
3. Choose the source course
4. Select Question Library
5. Choose which sections to import
6. Complete the import

This is useful when teaching the same course in multiple terms or sharing questions with colleagues.

To move questions between sections:

1. In the Question Library, check the boxes next to questions you want to move
2. Click the Move button
3. Select the destination section
4. Click Move

To move entire sections:

1. Check the box next to the section you want to move
2. Click Move
3. Select where you want to place it (inside another section or at the top level)
4. Click Move

To delete questions or sections:

1. Check the boxes next to items you want to delete
2. Click Delete
3. Confirm the deletion

Important: Deleting questions from the Question Library does NOT remove them from quizzes where they’re already being used.

Why create variants? Multiple versions of similar questions prevent students from sharing answers and reduce memorization of specific wording.

Strategy:

1. Create a question in your section
2. Click on it to edit
3. Click Copy
4. Modify the copied question (change numbers, rearrange options, adjust wording)
5. Save the variant
6. Repeat to create 2-4 variants of each question

When you import the section into a quiz, you can set Brightspace to randomly select one variant for each student.

Question titles:

• Visible only to you in the Question Library (students never see them)
• Help you identify and organize questions
• Not required, but recommended for easy searching
• Example: “Ch3_Photosynthesis_MC_Easy_v1”

To add a title to question types without a title field:

1. When creating/editing the question, click Options
2. Click Add Short Description
3. Enter your title

Question text:

• This is what students see
• Can include formatted text, images, videos, and links
• Use the text editor to format and add media