Settings Menu
Respondus allows you to select “settings” prior to uploading an exam or survey to the
Blackboard Learn system. Although this step is entirely optional, it does allow you to determine
settings “off line” and make an assessment available as soon as it is published to Blackboard.
(Keep in mind that students cannot take an exam or survey in Blackboard Learn until it has been
“made available” to them.) The Settings menu also provides a means to designate a “random
block” of questions within an exam.
Random Blocks
Blackboard supports the creation of "random blocks," also known as "question sets", which are
sets of questions that are randomly selected during an exam. Before creating random blocks in
Respondus, it is important that questions intended for these sets be organized and grouped
properly. For example, if the fifth question in the exam is going to be randomly selected from a
set of three questions, then those three questions should be grouped together at 5, 6, and 7 in
the file. Make sure your questions are organized in this manner before continuing.
To create a random question set, go to the Settings menu and select the "Random Blocks" tab.
Click the Random Blocks button to continue.
Then select the option "Add New Set" and enter the first and last numbers -- that is, the range --
of the questions that will comprise the random question set. For instance, if you want questions
5, 6, and 7 to be the basis of a random question set, you would enter 5 as the first question and
7 as the last question in the set.
If you want all the questions in the set to be shown during the exam, select the "All" option. If,
however, you want a smaller number of questions from the set asked during the exam, choose
the "Select Number" option and provide the desired number. For example, if you want only one
question from questions 5-7 asked during the exam, you would enter the number 1. You are
then asked to provide a point value for the question set. (All questions in a question set must
have the same point value.)
Finally, click the "Add New Set" button to finish the creation of the question set. In the list
below, a letter representing the question set will appear next to each question that is contained
in the question set. This allows you to easily see which questions are grouped together.
The letters representing each question set also provide the basis for editing a question set. For
instance, if the letter "C" appears next to a set of questions, and you want to edit this particular
question set, select the option "Modify or Delete Existing Set" and select "C" from the pull-down
list. The current settings for that question set will be displayed and several new options will
appear in the lower section of the screen: Save Changes, Cancel Changes, and Delete Set.
In order for random blocks to be included with the exam when it is published to the Blackboard
Learn course, you must select the checkbox "Apply Random Blocks to Exam" on the Publish
menu. Conversely, if you do not want random blocks included with the exam when it is
published to the Blackboard Learn course, leave this box unchecked.