Moodle Aiken Format Extensions
Moodle is a content manager designed for maintaining courses. I use Moodle for some courses that I teach at ECPI College of Technology. There are a number of formats for creating questions for quizzes with Moodle. However, one of the easiest, Aiken, is not quite as flexible as I would like.
The standard format is:
I wanted something that would allow me to copy and paste questions from other sources which might include multiple line questions or options. I also wanted the ability to allow multiple selection questions and true/false as well as multiple choice, single selection questions. Also, I wanted to have the ability to include feedback. The other data might also have a question number which I wanted to remove.Question on one line
A. Option 1 on one line
B. Option 2 on one line
C. Option 3 on one line
....
ANSWER: A
The resulting format will accept pure Aiken format but is more flexible. For example, the format will accept:
33. Select one or more of the following which represent a star topology:
A.
* --- * --- * --- *
B.
*--------------*
| |
| |
| |
*--------------*
C.
*
|
O----*
|
*
D.
*
* | *
\ | /
\--O--/
|
|
*
ANSWER: C,D
FEEDBACK: A Star topology has a hub or a switch in the center with a connection to a device.
My updated version of the Aiken format conversion routine for Moodle is attached as format.php.txt. It belongs in the moodle directory "question/format/aiken"
Labels: aiken format ecpi, moodle, php
posted by Jack's Jots @ 3:17 PM
5 Comments
5 Comments:
Good Job. Thanks, Jack.
It would be fine to have also choice feedbacks just after a choice. I did not understand your idea with [HINT].
What is that: feedback at an incorrect answer or ...?
Something similar employed in VisualCertExam (www.visualcertexam.com) import option. It's convenient.
A hint would be something that would be available if the instructor wanted it to be available during a learning session. I imagine it being hidden in JavaScript/DOM and then being displayed when the student requests the help. However, there is no such concept in the moodle question format that I see.
Individual question responses are certainly an option. The Moodle format already has this built in. I would just have to figure out a format. Example:
FEEDBACK A: If you picked A, you missed the idea of ....
FEEDBACK B: You seem to have exactly the wrong idea. Perhaps you mised the word 'NOT' in the question.
This could be added very easily.
On a different note, one thing the code currently assumes is that only the question and the options may have multiple lines. This is because of wanting to be able to take pure Aiken format files. A pure file assumes that any non-blank line after "ANSWER:" must be a new question. My only requirement is that the "question" not begin with "FEEDBACK:" or "HINT:".
I played a bit with your 'format' php and it works, but ...
instead of the GENERAL FEEDBACK field it goes to all choice's feedback fields. It would be fine to have a choice, like you said before, let say FEEDBACK A just after Choice A line (and so on) and GENERAL FEEDBACK: (or EXPLANATION:) after ANSWER:.
Sometimes these explanations are pretty wordy. It would be nice to have an option of a few lines in this field.
And did I forget...
The 'FEEDBACK:' also goes to feedback fields. Did you mean that? I believe it's unnessessarely.
I've made a couple of changes to the file. I'm going to wait a bit to add a couple of more. When I do, I will include the individual feedback option.
You are right that I am sending "general feedback" to individual questions. I need to look at the Moodle code more carefully to find out how the general feedback is set. Quick hacks are never pretty.
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