Frequently Asked Questions

Q:	How do I return to edit a quiz (add/delete/change questions and quiz settings) after creating it? Do I have to complete the whole quiz in one sitting?
A:	If you are using the new QuizStar at http://www.quizstarprodemo.com : 1) Login as an instructor from the main login page http://www.quizstarprodemo.com/indexi.jsp 2) Go to the Quiz Manager folder tab and click on the Edit button (the pencil), which is on the same line as the quiz title. 3) At this point you must be on the Quiz Settings page (the tab reads Quiz Editor). 4) You should see the New Question button on the right side of the screen. 5) To add a new question to the quiz, click on the Question Form tab . 6) To edit individual questions or to re-order them, click on the "Question List" tab. 7) You do not have to complete a quiz in one sitting. QuizStar will allow you to save your partially completed quizzes so you can finish them later.
Q:	I created a class and assigned a quiz to the class. My students are registered in the class but are not able to take quizzes. What is the problem?
A:	1) Check to see if you have set up your class as private. If you have, you will need to approve all students who sign up to take it. Only after your approval will the students be allowed to take the quizzes for your class. Students requiring approval will only appear in the "Pending Enrollment" list on the class roster page. 2) If your class is public, students do not need your approval to take quizzes. 3) It could be that the quiz is not active. Either you have taken it offline by clicking the "Inactivate" button on the Assignment Manager or the Class Quiz list page, or the dates and times specified for the quiz have passed. 4) Your students might have used their maximum number of attempts. You can change the maximum number of attempts by going to the Quiz Settings page. You can also give a student an extra attempt through the Quiz Report page.
Q:	The old QuizStar had a feature by which the students could get access to the quiz by typing in an access code but I am unable to find it in the new Quizstar.
A:	Instead of receiving an access code from you students just create their profiles in the new QuizStar, search for your class and then register for it. If you have a private class, students' enrollments will remain pending until you accept their registration. This way you can control the class' enrollment and all the quizzes assigned to it instead of creating a code every time.
Q:	Is there any way I can include complex math formulae in my quizzes?
A:	QuizStar does not have a built-in equation editor. In the past math teachers who have used QuizStar have created images from formulae created in equation editors and attached them to their questions or answer choices. QuizStar allows you to have a media repository which stores all your images and lets you attach them to multiple questions or quizzes. They can be reused. You can use MathType(or Microsoft Equation Editor, which comes with MS Word) to create ""gif"" images and then attach them to your questions or to answer choices (in multiple choice questions). The steps to do so are as follows: ======== 1. Create the formula you want to use in your question using MathType or any other available Equation editors such as Equation Editor within MS Word. 2. If you are using MathType, go to 'File>Save as...' and proceed with Step 3. Otherwise, if you are using MS word equation editor, after you create the formula right click on it and copy and paste it in any image editor as an image. 3. In the Save As dialog box choose ""Graphic Interchange Format (gif)"" and save the formula as an ""gif"" image on your disk. 4. Repeat this process for all the formulae you wish to attach to questions. 5. Go to http://www.quizstarprodemo.com and login. If you don't already have a profile, you can create one at http://www.quizstarprodemo.com/instructor/registri.jsp 6. Go to Quiz Manager to create or edit your quiz and go to the Question Creator form. 7. When you are on the New Question form, write in a question and click on the ""Attach Media"" button below the Question box or the answer choices to attach the formulae to either of them. You can attach a single media file (such as an image or video) to a question as well as each answer choice in a multiple choice question. 8. You should now be on the Media Repository page, from where you can upload the images that you created using MathType (the page contains further directions) and attach them by clicking Insert just above the media file which is shown as a thumbnail for easy viewing.
Q:	How can include subscripts or exponents in my questions?
A:	To add subscripts or exponents, use the html tag <sub> (subscript) or <sup> (superscript). For example, if you want ""2 to the power of 10"", you would write:"2 <sup> 10</sup>"" in the question box. If you would like to have a subscript to show the chemical makeup of water you would use the html code: ""H<sub> 2</sub>O"". When you preview your question it will render it correctly.
Q:	I am trying to set up my new classes with the new version of QuizStar. However, it tells me that I have used a student's name that already exists. How is that possible if I just started loading my student information and this is only the first student I have entered?
A:	Students in the new Quizstar have a single login for all their classes and these classes can be with different teachers. It may be possible that some other student under a different teacher has already taken the Username. In the old QuizStar you had to create new student accounts for each class and quiz. With the new QuizStar, teachers in the same school, for example, can share the same students by adding them to their own classes (by using the Add Existing Quizstar Student option in the Add Student page inside a class) . This is very useful for students, allowing them to see all the quizzes in their different classes on a single page and take them whenever one of their teachers assigns them. If you have teachers in your school who use QuizStar and share classes, please let them know about this new feature.
Q:	How does a student review his/her results after a test is submitted? How do I restrict students from seeing the answers to questions? Do I need to change any options on my quizzes to allow this?
A:	When students complete quizzes, they see a link on the confirmation page which reads ""Review This Quiz"". They can also review quizzes from the page showing all their quizzes in a single class by clicking on a button in the same row as the quiz title they want to review. The button is labeled Review and the column heading is Review Quiz. If you have specified the quiz settings, particularly ""Correct Answer Shown for Incorrect Responses"" as ""Never Show Correct Answer"", students would be able to review the quiz but would not see the correct responses. They would be able to see only the responses they marked. The quiz setting ""Feedback to students about incorrect response(s)"" controls whether students will receive feedback on their review page for incorrect responses. To change the quiz settings, login to QuizStar, go to the Quiz Manager Tab, then click on the Edit button (the pencil button) on the same line as the quiz title. You should be on the ""Quiz Settings"" page (the tab reads ""Quiz Editor"") and here you can change all the options listed.
Q:	Does the new QuizStar grade short-answer questions?
A:	This feature will probably not be added due to the subjective nature of short answer responses. The previous version of QuizStar tried to automaticaly grade short-answer questions, but students had to use the exact same words as the teacher input for the correct answer (including capitalization and spellings). This proved to be very hard for the students to do, so the feature was omitted in this version. We allow this type of question to be included in QuizStar as a way for students to practice for short-answer quizzes the teacher may give in class or as part of a state or national assessment. The teacher can provide an answer to the short-answer questions posed in QuizStar and allow feedback at the end of the quiz -- that way the student can compare his or her answer with the teacher's and see all the main points. The teacher can adjust the grade manually after QuizStar grades the other questions. Many teachers use QuizStar as a way for students to test their own learning prior to giving an in-class quiz/exam for credit, rather than as a formal testing tool. Using QuizStar this way encourages students to focus on the knowledge they need to have instead of simply the grade and also gives them an excellent way to see how the teacher words questions and which topics are covered.
Q:	What are the Web browser requirements for the new QuizStar?
A:	The following browsers have been tested to work with QuizStar. Other browsers might not be compatible for some pages. 1. MS Internet Explorer versions 5.0 and above. 2. Netscape Communicator v6 and above. 3. Mozilla v1.1 and above.
Q:	How do I change Quiz Assignment dates?
A:	1. Go to the Class Manager tab in the instructor Web site and click on the Quizzes link in the box which belongs to the class. 2. Any quizzes assigned to that class, will be listed on that page. One of the columns in the list is the ""Change Dates"" column. 3. Click on the Change Dates button (the calendar) for the quiz for which you want to change the assignment dates. Follow the directions on the next page (the Quiz Dates page) Another method: 1. You can also change the dates by going to the ""Quiz Manager"" tab. 2. Click on the ""Assignment Manager"" tab. 3. Click on the Change Dates button (has the image of a calendar on it) to select the quiz for which you want to change the assignment dates.
Q:	I keep getting redirected to the home page of QuizStar if I click on any link after logging in. What is problem?
A:	There may be a problem with how your Web browser handles ""cookies."" Cookies are pieces of information about how an individual computer user accesses information on a Web site. For example, if our Web site was offered in Spanish and the last time you used it you selected the Spanish version, the cookie on your hard drive from our site would remember that the next time you access the site the Spanish verison should be displayed. QuizStar also employs cookies to verify that you are logged in. This verification happens on every page that you visit once you log in as an Instructor. If you feel that the system is accepting your password, but then boots you out, you may be logging in using incorrect data and you will see this message: "We do not recognize this username AND/OR password. If you are a registered user, please try entering your username and password again." You may for example see a screen that says, "Welcome, (your name)", and you also see links to your Class Manager, Quiz Manager, and Reports Manager, then the system thinks you are logged in. If you try to access any portion of your Instructor Account, you may end up getting booted right back to the login page. For example, some users see that they are logged in properly, but then when they access the Class Manager, they just end up back on the login page, with no error message. This may happen when a cookie fails to remain active. If this occurs, our Web site cannot verify your login status, and will prompt you to login, or it will state that you are not the correct teacher to be accessing the selected resource. You basically end up in a loop where no cookies are being set correctly. Check your browser's cookie settings by following these instructions: 1) Netscape Navigator (Windows): [Edit] -> [Preferences] ... "Privacy & Security" -> "Cookies" 2) Microsoft Internet Explorer (Windows): [Tools] -> [Internet Options ... "Privacy" The automatic setting should be set to Medium To verify cookie acceptance, click on Advanced... Make sure the checkbox labeled "Override automatic cookie handling" is NOT checked You may need to add "quizstarprodemo.com" (not "www.quizstarprodemo.com") to the list of Web addresses that will always accept cookies. If you require instructions on that procedure, please let us know. The problem may simply go away if you log off, restart your Web browser, and log back in to the QuizStar. In many cases, software such as ZoneAlarm Firewall, McAfee, or Norton Antivirus software have also been known to cause problems. In these cases, please refer to the user manual of the software and configure it to accept cookies. If the problem persists, please us know the current browser version and operating system that you are using.
Q:	How can I print my quiz with the answers?
A:	You'll be glad to know that you may obtain a print view of your quiz, but it can be a bit complex. The Quiz Preview button only displays a quiz in the way a student sees it when he/she views your quiz. If you need to print the correct answers and quiz questions in a hard-copy format, you will need go through a few steps: 1) Login as Instructor. 2) Go to ""Quiz Manager"" (the yellow tab). 3) Click the Edit button (it looks like a pencil) for the quiz for which you want to create a paper-copy with the answers. 4) On Quiz Settings, set your quiz so the correct answers are shown After Maximum Attempts Completed. Click the Edit button if you need to change this setting on your quiz. 5) Next go to ""Class Manager"" (the blue tab). 6) Click on the ""student"" link on the class folder for the class that this quiz is assigned to. 7) Click Add Student, and create a dummy student account for yourself. 8) Logout of QuizStar. 9) Click the Student Login arrow and login using the dummy student account you just added. 10) Take the quiz and submit. 11) Click Review this Quiz. 12) Click the Print button on your Web browser.
Q:	How can I print my quiz without the answers?
A:	To print your quiz, go to your Quiz Repository. Click the Preview button (the little magnifying glass) and you will be able to view your quiz without responses. Click the Print button on your Web browser.
Q:	How can I share a quiz with another teacher?
A:	At this time the only way to ""share a quiz"" is to either print it off and have another teacher enter it into their account or create a class for the other teacher under your login and assign the quiz to that class. (The last option may tend to confuse things when more than one teacher is logged in on one account.)
Q:	How do I upload a quiz student roster using a CSV file?
A:	In Microsoft Excel, create a spreadsheet with columns labeled: Last Name, First Name and Password and fill in the rows with your student information. Please do not enter personally identifiable information for the student. You can enter the First Initial and Last name if you think it is not personally identifiable. Most teachers make up names for their students or let the students register themselves as it gives them the choice to select their own usernames and passwords. When you upload the roster, usernames for students will be automatically assigned by the system which will append a unique id to last name. A sample CSV file might look like this: Last Name,First Name,Password Berkley,Charles,p001 Schwimer,David,p002 Nelson,Barbara,p003 Mayberry,John,p004 Scherrer,Susan,p005 Garriets,Michael,p006 Branson,Richard,p007 O'brien,Elizabeth,p008 White,Jennifer,p009 Select File..."Save As", give the file a name, and select the file type to be "CSV (Comma Delimited or Comma Separated Value)" and save the file on your hard drive where you can locate it later. Now, click the Browse button to locate the file. Then click the Upload button. As mentioned previously, usernames for students will be automatically assigned by the system which will append a unique id to last name.