Online Quizzes & Surveys

Preparing Your PC for Online Quizzes

Here are a few tips for taking a WebCT quiz or survey. Not all of these tips will apply to every student. They are general tips intended to help you minimize potential problems.

1. Restart your computer just prior to taking the quiz.
   
2. Make sure that the only program that is open is your web browser. If you are using AOL, you may need to keep the AOL window open.
   
3. Disable call waiting if you use a dial-up modem and have call waiting for that phone line (see details below).
   
4. Make sure you save each answer before moving on to the next question. If you lose your connection, then your answers will be saved and you can pick up where you left off after reconnecting to the Internet.
   
5. If you use AOL, open an AOL chat window so that your connection will not be terminated. You do not have to participate in a chat; just keep the window open until you have completed the quiz.

Disable call waiting for dial-up modem connections

This section only applies if you use a dial-up modem to make your Internet connection and if the phone line has call waiting activated. If you are online and a call comes in, call waiting may cause your Internet connection to be dropped. To temporarily disable call waiting, you'll need to add some information to the front of your Internet Service Provider's (ISP) phone number—usually *70, but you should verify the correct information in the front of your telephone book. Here are the steps to set this up:

1. From the Desktop, open My Computer.
   
2. Open Dial-Up Networking
   
3. Locate the connection that you use to access the Internet. Place your mouse cursor over the connection icon and right-click. From the menu, select Properties.
   
4. You should see the phone number you use to make a connection to your ISP. Add “*70,,” (without the quotes) in front of the phone number. It might look like this: *70,,555-6789.

In the event of a major problem with the quiz, take note of the time that the problem occurred and contact the instructor as quickly as possible.

Taking a Quiz or Survey

1. Enter the main Quizzes and Surveys page. Although this may vary by course, the default icon for this page is the following:
   
   
   
2. Click the name of the quiz or survey.
   
   
   
3. Read the Quiz Introduction page. Even if you have read these instructions before taking a quiz in the past, it is a good idea to review the instructions. Some quizzes may include options that you have not seen before. The instructions page may alert you to these different options.
   
4. Click the Begin quiz button to start the quiz or survey. The quiz/survey will open in a new browser window.
   
5. To complete the quiz/survey, do the following:
   
   1. Carefully read a question and make your answer selection (multiple choice and matching) or type in an open-ended response (for short answer or essay questions).
      
   2. Click the Save answer button. You must do this after answering each question, otherwise your answers will not be saved in WebCT. For most quizzes, you may change an answer later (although your instructor may choose to prohibit this option).
      
   3. Continue the same process with the next question. Depending on how your instructor has set up the quiz, you may have to click the Next question button to proceed to the next question or you may have to scroll down the window.
      
   4. Check the Question Status area to make sure that your answers are saved properly (look for the blue checkmarks). In the following figure, answers to items 1-3 have been saved, but no other items have been answered.
      
      
      
      To review a previously answered item or to skip ahead to another question, click the icon beneath the item number in the Question Status area.
      
      Also in the Question Status area, make note of the timer if one is used for your quiz or survey. Once a timer has expired, you may not be able to answer any other items.
      
   5. After you have answered all items and are finished with the quiz/survey, click the Finish button.
      
   6. Click OK to proceed.
      
   7. Click OK to submit quiz for grading.
      
   8. On the Quiz Submitted page, click the View Results button to see your grade and/or detailed results if your instructor has made them available.
      
      
      
      NOTE: You should click View results even if you don’t want to see your grade immediately or if you know your instructor has not made the grade available. Clicking the View results button actually triggers the grading process in WebCT, so it is important that you click this button.

Viewing Quiz Results

As described above, clicking the View results button after submitting a quiz may reveal your quiz score and possibly other feedback. However, you may need to return to the Quizzes and Surveys page at a later time to review the results of a quiz. When quiz results are available, you can follow these steps to view the results:

1. Go to the Quizzes and Surveys page.
   
2. Click the View scores button for the quiz.
   
3. On the Scores page, click the number of the quiz attempt that you want to view. For quizzes that you take just once, only a number 1 will appear in the attempts column.
   
   
   
4. The View Results page may vary depending on the level of detail your instructor allows you to see. However, you typically will be able to see your responses for each item, the correct response for each item, and an overall score.