Flashcards in Quizmaker

Aug 23, 2012

Laura Winkelspecht
By Laura Winkelspecht

Hi,

I'm developing some flashcards in Quizmaker, which are turning out pretty well. I wanted the flashcards to be able to be shuffled and the randomize questions feature is working for me. I have one T/F slide and then a blank slide linked with the answer. I covered up the answer selection with a box to match the background and just use the player to navigate. Then I changed a lot of settings and text labels to help make it feel less like a quiz. I have my questions separated into topics and each topic will be represented with a different color. Before I go into heavy question generating mode, I have a couple of questions.

First, I'd like people to be able to choose a topic to focus on or plow through the whole thing if they'd like. Can I do that in one quiz, or will I have create several separate quizzes?

Second, Is there a way that someone could pick questions and say they don't want to see it anymore? That would be really cool, but I can't get my head around how I would do it. Maybe I'm asking for too much. : )

Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Laura WInkelspecht

5 Replies
Diane Yamashiro
over 11 years ago08/24/12 at 7:36 am (UTC)

Hi Laura, that sounds so fun. I hope you'll be able to share what the final product looks like. For your first question, Jeannette created a screener that shows how learners can choose their own path. Here's the link:  http://community.articulate.com/blogs/jeanette/archive/2012/03/01/3-paths-in-1-quiz-possible-yes.aspx

Laura Winkelspecht
over 11 years ago08/24/12 at 9:29 am (UTC)

Hi Diane, thanks for the info. I will try to post an example for other people to use after I'm done. I can't post the actual flashcards as they're proprietary. One thing i'm worried about is that there are a lot of questions. Section 1 alone is 86 slides (front and back), and I will have seven sections. Then, I'm thinking I want one section with all the cards if people want to mix it up. But under this huge load of slides, will Articulate just let out a wimper and refuse to budge. Do I maybe need separate quizmaker files linked into Powerpoint--either two (one with linked sections and one with them mixed up) or maybe eight with each section separate?

Laura Winkelspecht
11 years ago02/11/13 at 9:27 am (UTC)

Okay, this response is way overdue. I'm finally out of our busy season and have a little extra time, so I wanted to come back and give the results of my Flashcard experiment. These cards were made to help our learners study for a credientialing exam. We used seven categories that matched the categories on the test. I did end up separating each category into separate decks as they just got too big--one category had over 100 cards (front and back each--so over 200 slides). Anyway, they were a big hit with our learners. I received lots of positive feedback about how easy they were to use, although some learners still wanted a paper version. Can't win them all.

I've attached a Quizmaker file with some sample cards.  Here's a breakdown of what I did:

Slide Design

  • The front cards are quiz slides; the backs are blank slides.
  • Front and back have to be linked.
  • I used a Uncover Left transition on front slides and Uncover Down on back slides to help simulate card action.
  • I used a simple design for all fronts and backs. On changed colors to indicate categories.
  • Use "Distribute Vertically" to center text on card.
  • Had to place a correct answer holder on the front of the card (I called it "Flip Me"). I covered it by using a shape of the same color as the background. Section name had to be inserted in front of this block, so it couldn't be on the master slide.
  • To create new slides, it's best to copy an existing slide. Just be sure to lock questions again.
  • I have a different slide master for each color of front and back. Tip: make sure to right click the design theme and choose Apply Only To This Question. Otherwise, you end up changing all the cards. I was pulling my hair out until I figured this out, so I thought I'd share.

Player Template:

I used the Articulate player to turn the cards, so I had to do some playing around with the template

  • Do not show a navigation pane.
  • For Navigation, I chose Submit all at once and Allow user to finish without answering all questions.
  • I changed a lot of the Text Labels in the Player Template. It took a lot of testing to figure out what labels showed where, so probably more are changed than need to be. I was overly cautious just in case a weird label came up somehow.
Kendra Kernen
over 8 years ago07/21/15 at 3:22 pm (UTC)

This is in reference to Laura's post (above). I replaced her in this position and am working on the 2015 version of the flashcards that she set up last year. I am opening up the 2014 quizzes and just replacing the existing text with updated text. So far, so good.

I'm having a problem with one particular file. When I opened last year's quiz, everything was fine, but sometime during my copy-and-paste, the questions that were locked when I opened the file all became unlocked and now the Lock Question button is grayed out. It is essential that the questions be locked together to function as flashcards.

Any ideas why they would become unlocked and how I can get the Lock Question button to function again? I tried restarting Quizmaker. I tried opening the original file and importing my new questions into it. Nothing. Please advise. Thank you!

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