The academic landscape is constantly evolving, and so too are the tools we use to support teaching and learning. Here at the University of Chicago, our Canvas Learning Management System is a cornerstone of our educational experience. You may have noticed a new option when creating quizzes: New Quizzes. While Classic Quizzes have served us well, it’s time to explore the enhanced features and benefits that New Quizzes offers, ultimately enriching the assessment experience for both instructors and students.
Why Migrate to New Quizzes?
Change can seem daunting, but New Quizzes is designed with improved functionality and a more modern interface. Here are some compelling reasons why University of Chicago instructors should consider making the switch:
- Enhanced Question Types: New Quizzes expands beyond traditional question formats, offering options such as ordering, formula, and stimulus questions. These can allow for more diverse and engaging assessment methods.
- Improved Performance and Stability: Particularly beneficial for large courses, New Quizzes boasts better performance and stability, ensuring a smoother experience for everyone during high-stakes assessments.
- Streamlined Interface: The New Quizzes interface is designed to be more intuitive, often requiring less toggling between different tabs when building and managing quizzes.
- More Flexible Delivery Settings: New Quizzes gives you greater control over quiz delivery with features like shuffling answer order while locking specific options (e.g., “None of the above”). You can also set cool-down periods between attempts and build upon the last attempt for certain question types.
- Powerful Item Banks: While Classic Quizzes had Question Banks, New Quizzes utilizes more robust Item Banks. These offer enhanced organization and the ability to tag questions with outcomes for better alignment with learning objectives.
- Course-Wide Accommodations: New Quizzes allows you to set student accommodations that apply across all quizzes in a course, simplifying the management of individual student needs.
- Built-in Printing Ability: Unlike Classic Quizzes, New Quizzes features a direct print option, allowing instructors to easily create paper copies of their quizzes for backup or alternative testing needs.
*Eventually, New Quizzes will replace Classic Quizzes, and there will be more communication on that transition once the timeline is fully established.
Ready to Make the Move? Here’s a Step-by-Step Guide
Migrating your existing Classic Quizzes to New Quizzes is a straightforward process. Here’s how you can do it:
- Enable New Quizzes in Your Course:
- Navigate to Settings in your Canvas course.
- Click on the Feature Options tab.
- Locate New Quizzes and ensure it is set to Enabled. This will allow you to choose between Classic and New Quizzes when creating new assessments.
- Migrate an Existing Classic Quiz:
- Go to the Quizzes section in your course.
- Find the Classic Quiz you wish to migrate.
- Click the three vertical dots (Options menu) next to the quiz title.
- Select Migrate. Canvas will create a duplicate, unpublished version of your quiz in the New Quiz format.
- Review and Edit Your New Quiz:
- Open the newly migrated New Quiz.
- Carefully review all questions and settings to ensure they have been transferred as expected. Note that some minor adjustments might be necessary depending on the question types used in your Classic Quiz. For example, Multiple Dropdown questions in Classic Quizzes will migrate as Fill in the Blank questions in New Quizzes.
- Explore the new features and settings available in New Quizzes to enhance your assessment.
Tip for Question Banks: If you have questions organized in Question Banks within your Classic Quiz, these will be migrated as Item Banks in New Quizzes, especially if they were already linked to a Question Group in the Classic Quiz.
How do I move a Classic Quizzes question bank into a New Quizzes item bank?
Supporting Your Transition to New Quizzes:
The University of Chicago’s Academic Technology Solutions (ATS) is here to support you in this transition with valuable resources and assistance. You can find more information and guides on the ATS website or reach out for personalized help with your migration process.
- UChicago-specific Canvas Support: For questions specific to UChicago’s Canvas instance, contact canvas@uchicago.edu or call 773-702-9944 during weekday business hours (8:30 am – 4:00 pm).
- 24×7 Help Using Canvas: For general Canvas support, you can call the Canvas Support Line at 833-564-8137 (for instructors) or access live chat via the “Help” menu within Canvas.
- For individual assistance, you can visit our office hours, book a consultation with an instructional designer, or email academictech@uchicago.edu. For a list of our upcoming ATS workshops, please visit our workshop schedule for events that fit your schedule.
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