Quiz and Survey Tips

While it's very easy to create and administer test/quizzes and surveys, we've put together a few time-saving tips for you to consider.

1. Talk to us

There are lots of options embedded in the Quercus Quiz and Survey tools, and if not deployed correctly, some of these options can cause significant technical issues for you and your students. We can work with you to make sure your quiz/survey runs smoothly. 

2. Check scheduled maintenance information

Canvas is a very stable system, but like all technology, it can experience both planned and unplanned downtimes. Below are some links to resources that relate to scheduled maintenance periods to help with planning so you are aware of any potential conflicts or issues.  These systems are also monitored unexpected events, such as unplanned downtime. We can work with you to make sure your quiz runs smoothly. 

Please note the UTM campus scheduled IT maintenance information (usually the second or third Friday of the month between 5:00 pm - 9:00 pm). Canvas maintenance and down time will be noted on the University of Toronto system status webpage.

3. Use Quiz settings

In order to manage the number of attempts and the availability of the quiz, ensure that you have selected the quiz settings that match the assessment requirements.
Please note: Until = the date and time when students can no longer take the quiz. You may wish to make the "Until" date the same as the "Due" date to avoid issues with late quiz submissions.
As well, for enhanced quiz security, please leave the "Let students see the correct answers" setting unchecked until after the "Due" and "Until" dates.

If you have a student who has been granted an accommodation from UTM Accessibility Services, please see the Accommodations in Quercus instructions.

Note: Quiz questions are saved automatically, and the time that the responses were last saved can be found next to the "Submit Quiz" button. If students refresh the page or get disconnected from the internet during the exam, they will be able to re-join the page and keep working on what is left in the exam so as long as the time for the quiz (if it is a timed quiz) has not expired and the Until date has not been reached. The following link has additional information on taking a quiz and can be shared with the students https://utm.library.utoronto.ca/students/canvas/taking-online-quiz. 

4. Give your students a practice quiz

Before you run your first quiz, it is a good idea provide an opportunity for students to practice taking a quiz in Quercus. Since every student will be using a different computer to take the quiz, different hardware components, operating systems and web browsers can affect how a quiz appears and runs on a given machine. Rather than dealing with technical issues during or after the quizzes, share your quiz-taking tips with your students and have them complete a practice quiz at least one week before the first scheduled quiz. Finally, to motivate students to participate, consider having this practice quiz count towards participation or bonus marks. 

5. Test the Quiz using the Quiz Preview feature

When you create a quiz in Quercus you can click on the Preview button to ensure that the quiz is functioning as intended. You can also use the Student View feature to test the quiz using the Test Student account.

Note: If you have selected the "Show one question at a time" and "Lock questions after answering" options, we recommend that you deselect the "Lock questions after answering " option before previewing the quiz to prevent the quiz from becoming locked. You can re-select this option after previewing the quiz.

6. Additional help

It is recommended that you share the following link with instructions on how to take a quiz and what to do if students encounter any issues.

Taking a Quiz in Quercus:
https://utm.library.utoronto.ca/students/canvas/taking-online-quiz

If your students encounter a technical problem while submitting a quiz, please ask them to inform you as soon as possible and as well provide the information below using the Report a Problem with Taking a Quiz in Quercus for Students UTM Service Portal form.

Please note: the Canvas Student mobile app should not be used for any high-stakes activities such as submitting assignments or quizzes—important tasks and assessments should be completed on a desktop or laptop computer instead.
 

If the student experienced a technical problem while taking a quiz from a computer on campus, they should also provide the following:

  • Location of the computer (e.g., Library electronic classroom, Library information commons)
  • Number on the computer (e.g., LIBPC-12) which is located on the monitor of the computer being used

If the technical issue was related to Internet connectivity while at UTM Campus, students are asked to contact the UTM I&ITS Service Desk – https://www.utm.utoronto.ca/iits/ as soon as possible.