Forum Discussion
TIP: Build a Rise Course with a Pretest
There is a way to include a pretest in a Rise course!
Rise doesn't have pretest functionality built in—at least, not yet. But it can be done using a few Storyline blocks, some button blocks, and navigation restrictions.
This demo shows how to let a user skip the content if they pass. If they fail, they have to go through the content.
Caveats: The program can't tell the LMS if the user passed the pretest or if they went through the content. And it can't tell the LMS the user's score. But it can tell the LMS that the user "completed" the course.
*** UPDATE 2024-01-17 ***
As per Ingrid Marcum's comments below, there's another caveat. If a user fails the pretest, exits the course before proceeding to the content, and then relaunches the course, the Storyline block will reset. In other words, the user would be able to retake the pretest. As Ingrid said, the Articulate staff "confirmed that the storyline blocks will always reset when revisiting the page in Rise." So, alas, this method isn't a solution if you're concerned about users doing that.
30 Replies
Greetings! I was going through a couple in-boxes I do not attend to frequently enough. Just wanted to say I applaud you for the work you put into this potential workaround. Too many caveats to be useful, particularly for any compliance courses. Also, I have learned over the last year or so, that any Storyline Quiz block that is used in a Rise course will not report the results to the LMS. So, it will work, but if you need it to factor into an assessment - it will not perform how you require. Another caveat! Cheers -
I am still trying to figure out how to embed the pre-test into the body and then set it to function as in the demo.
The "content" in the demo has my best step-by-step instructions for how to set up and publish the SL block with the pretest, as well as how to adjust things in Rise.
For more details about SL blocks, see this User Guide article: Rise 360: Use Storyline Blocks to Embed Storyline 360 Courses - Articulate Support
Is Storyline something we must add on? I do not see the same window below in Review (2nd image). I have the SL option in Review, 1st image, but I am not able to do anything with it such as building a block.
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Adam McKnight
Advanced HES Professional
Field Training Professional
Marathon Oil Company
Cell: 830.299.1602Need a new course developed or change to a course? Email us here: traininghes@marathonoil.com
That would be amazing.
Cheryl, thank you for this!! Very helpful. I'll have to add that in next time. In the version I built, the user wasn't given a choice on whether to resume or restart, it just restarted automatically. But hopefully your fix would prevent that. Thanks again!
This occurs with a pretest option in a course created in SL360 if the course publish has the option of prompt to resume or never resume because if the user is prompted, they can choose to restart, which will allow them to take the pretest again. We chose to always resume, so they don't get the choice and will bring them back to the results slide showing that they failed the pretest.
Cheryl, I've applied a "resume saved state" to every slide in the SL pre-test. However, once loaded into Rise, what I reported previously still occurs. If I take the pre-test, then close the page instead of moving on, when I re-open the course, it still resets, allowing me to re-take the pre-test. Is there a different place where I can make a change that prevents the SL block from re-setting in Rise?
Ingrid Marcum
Cheryl Powers
This occurs with a pretest option in a course created in SL360 if the course publish has the option of prompt to resume or never resume because if the user is prompted, they can choose to restart, which will allow them to take the pretest again. We chose to always resume, so they don't get the choice and will bring them back to the results slide showing that they failed the pretest.
Cheryl, I've applied a "resume saved state" to every slide in the SL pre-test. However, once loaded into Rise, what I reported previously still occurs. If I take the pre-test, then close the page instead of moving on, when I re-open the course, it still resets, allowing me to re-take the pre-test. Is there a different place where I can make a change that prevents the SL block from re-setting in Rise?
Ingrid,
As per the Rise User Guide (Rise 360: Use Storyline Blocks to Embed Storyline 360 Courses - Articulate Support), "Storyline courses in Rise 360 always start over from the beginning when learners revisit them." That's why I added the update to the original post after you discovered the loophole for retaking the pretest in Rise.
Cheryl's note is about preventing someone from retaking a pretest in a Storyline course (not a Rise course with a Storyline block).
Hi Judy, thank you so much for this valuable tutorial on adding a pre-test using a storyline block! I have successfully added this to a Rise course (getting completion through both pathways), but I am running into one issue and wondering if you have further advice?
If a user fails the pre-test but doesn't use the button to start the course, choosing instead to close the course and then re-launch, they are able to have a second chance at taking the pre-test.
I unsuccessfully tried using triggers in Storyline to prevent this, as it seems that when a user re-opens that page in the Rise lesson, the SL project starts over as if it's a brand-new user. And since the button that directs the users who pass relies on the SL block, I can't move those to a new page.
Have you come across this issue before or have any suggestions on preventing a user from having multiple attempts at the pre-test?
Thank you again and in advance of any guidance you are willing to share.
Hi, Ingrid,
Thanks for sharing your concern. Are you seeing that ability to close-relaunch-retake in an LMS? Or is that just what you're experiencing when looking at the course in Review or on another website?
- When a course is on a website, the program has nowhere to store "resume" data. Thus, the course always restarts from the beginning when the user exits and re-opens the course.
- When a course is in an LMS, the program stores "resume" data in the LMS. That allows the user to restart the course at the point where they left it.
I'd assume that Rise's LMS resume data would include the settings for the SL block. But, frankly, I've never tested that. In fact, I've never used this pre-test method myself. The courses I develop for clients are typically in Storyline. When I use Rise, it's usually for simpler courses where a pre-test isn't needed. I only figured out this pre-testing method in Rise because I saw a few posts asking about it, and that presented an interesting challenge.
So...
- If your Rise-with-pre-test course is in an LMS (with any LMS-specific relaunch functions set to resume the course), and it resets the SL block to allow another attempt whenever the user relaunches the course, then, alas, this method isn't fool-proof.
- If you've only checked your Rise-with-pre-test course on the web, check it in your LMS or the SCORM Cloud to see if the SL block will reset or not.
Hi Judy,
Thank you for the quick response.
Yes, this was testing in an LMS. I did connect with Articulate support, who unfortunately confirmed that the storyline blocks will always reset when revisiting the page in Rise — regardless of what triggers and restrictions have been set in the storyline project. Therefore this is the expected behavior. So even though the rest of the Rise content in the course bookmarks as expected, the storyline block will not.
I should add that if the user moves on from that first page, then this is not a problem. The only time this presents an issue is if the user takes the pre-test, fails, and then closes the course before using the button to go to the first content lesson. However, in our arena (compliance), we can't take that risk.
We were hopeful this would work, as we have an existing Rise course and just wanted to add a pre-test without rebuilding in Storyline or another platform. The completions both worked beautifully when set up as you demonstrated in your example, so thank you for that!
Hopefully this feature will be available in the future.
Thanks again!
Is there a way to use your shared review content as a template?
The Rise project I developed to demonstrate this pre-test function isn't available for sharing.
The "course" in Review (accessed via link in the main post) includes detailed instructions for how to set up your own project with a pre-test.
Hey, so I was having the same problem as Holly. My SL block would complete whether the test was passed or failed. Then I thought to check my publishing options. I found that my tracking options were set to complete the course when the quiz was completed. When I changed it to track by complete course trigger I got that behavior I was expecting.
Thanks for sharing your experience, Dora.
Yes, when the SL pretest file is published to Review, the Tracking needs to be "Complete course trigger" (as shown below).
I'm sorry that detail wasn't in the original version of the "course" in Review. I updated it, so it now includes that info.
It sounds like you've got it set up correctly. If the only completion trigger in the SL block is on the Success layer, it shouldn't complete if the user fails the test. Which means a Continue block that requires all previous blocks to be completed shouldn't be enabled if the user fails the test.
Since you're seeing "unexpected behavior," I suggest you contact the support staff: https://articulate.com/support/contact/360-teams
BTW, the user will only get to the Success layer if they get whatever percent is set as the passing score. So you don't need the condition on the completion trigger.
I seem to still be coming up short. In my SL results slide, on the success layer I have put a course completion trigger. When I load it into Rise, the continue button shows if I fail or pass the quiz.
Settings on Rise: All navigation settings match your demo, the continue button only shows when all blocks are completed.
Completion trigger:
