Item Import

القراءة المقدرة:8دقائق 54 سلامة

7.1 Introduction to Item Import

Use Import Items to add many items to a course item bank at once from a file, instead of writing them one by one. Import Items is on the Courses menu.

How Importing Works

An import has four stages. Complete them in order:

Download the template and fill it in with your items (section 7.3).
Import the file into a course (section 7.4).
Check the summary and save the items for review (section 7.5).
Import the items to the item bank, and correct the items with issues (sections 7.6 و 7.7).

BEFORE YOU START

You need a role with access to Import Items, and permission for the course.
The course must have its CLOs, objectives, activities and assessment settings, because imported items are classified by them (Chapter 6).

7.2 Imported Documents

Every import starts on the Imported Documents screen.

From the main menu, select Courses.
Select Import Items.

Select Import Items

The Imported Documents screen opens. It lists the files that have been imported.

The numbers below match the numbered arrows in the figure:

(1) Search by Tag: finds an imported file by its tag. Select the refresh icon to clear the search.
(2) Download Import Item Templates: downloads the template files to fill in with your items.
(3) Import Items: imports a new file of items.

Imported Documents Screen

For each imported file, the table shows the File Name, the File Tag, the Course the items were imported into, and Actions. Use Row count to set the number of rows per page.

7.3 How to Download the Import Templates

Your file must use the import template, so that the system can read each item correctly.

On the Imported Documents screen, select Download Import Item Templates.

Download Import Item Templates

Open the downloaded template.
Enter your items in the format that the template shows.
Save the Excel file, and add it to a ZIP file with the media folders of the items.

⚠ IMPORTANT: Upload the items as a ZIP file. Place the Excel file directly in the ZIP file, not inside another folder, together with the media folders of the items, for example SampleItems.zip containing mc.xlsx and its media folders.

⚠ IMPORTANT: Use the template exactly as downloaded. Do not rename or remove its columns, or the import may fail.

7.4 How to Import Items from a File

BEFORE YOU START

Prepare the ZIP file from the template (section 7.3).
If the file is password protected, you need its password.

On the Imported Documents screen, select Import Items. The Import Item screen opens.

Import Items Button

In the first list, select the file format: Excel, or QTI (Question and Test Interoperability, a standard format for exchanging items between assessment systems).

Select the File Format

In Select Course, select the course to import the items into. To find a course quickly, type part of its name in Search at the top of the list.

Select the Course

In Select Culture, select the language of the items in the file: English or Arabic.

Select the Culture

Select Browse. Select the file on your computer. The file name is shown next to Browse, for example sampleitems.zip.

Browse for the File

Only if the file is password protected: enter its password in Password. Otherwise, leave this field empty.

File Password

Select Import. The Item Bank Schema popup opens.

Import the File

The Item Bank Schema popup lists the item components that are read from the file. The compulsory components, Answer, Item Type, Assessment Type, Question and Option, are always selected and cannot be cleared. The other components, Objective, Educational Domain, Activity, Stem and CLO, are optional.

Select the check box of each optional component that your file contains.

Item Bank Schema

Select Import. To stop the import, select Cancel.

Import with the Selected Components

The message File Imported successfully. appears.

File Imported

7.5 How to Check and Save the Imported Items

After the file is read, check how many items can be imported, and save them for review. A summary is shown below the import form:

Total Scanned Items: the number of items found in the file.
Ready to import items (purple): the items that can be added to the item bank.
Items with issues (red): the items that need to be corrected first.

Import Summary

In Tag, enter a tag to identify this import, for example Sample Items.

The tag identifies this import on the Imported Documents screen. Use the same tag to filter the imported items in Manage Item Bank (see section 6.6.13) and Manage Items (see section 8.7).

Enter the Tag

Select Proceed.

The ready items and the items with issues are saved. The items with issues are kept for correction.

Proceed

The message Imported items saved successfully. appears, and the Import Item Details screen opens.

Imported Items Saved

⚠ IMPORTANT: Proceeding saves the items for review. They are not in the item bank until you import them to the bank, as described in section 7.6.

7.6 Import Item Details

The Import Item Details screen shows the items of an imported file. Use it to add the items to the item bank, one at a time or all together. The numbers below match the numbered arrows in the figure that follows:

(1) Remove Document: removes the file and deletes all its items that have not yet been imported to the item bank.
(2) Import All Items to Bank: adds all the ready items to the item bank.
(3) Tabs: Imported Items (items that are imported into the item bank), Ready To Import Items (items that are ready to be imported into the item bank without any corrections) and Items With Issues (items that require corrections before they can be imported into the item bank).
(4) Items table: the Stem and Question of each item.
(5) Actions: Import Item to Bank adds one item to the item bank; Edit Item opens the item to check or correct it.

Import Item Details

How to Import One Item

On the Ready To Import Items tab, select Import Item to Bank in the item’s row.

Import Item to Bank

In the confirmation message, select Yes. To cancel, select No.

Confirm the Import

The message Item imported to bank successfully. appears, and the item moves to the Imported Items tab.

Item Imported to the Bank

How to Import All Items

Select Import All Items to Bank.

Import All Items to Bank

In the confirmation message, select Yes. To cancel, select No.

All the ready items are imported to the item bank, and move to the Imported Items tab.

Confirm Import All

How to View Imported Items and Items With Issues

To see the items that are already in the item bank, select the Imported Items tab.

Imported Items Tab

To see the items that must be corrected before they can be imported, select the Items With Issues tab. To correct an item, select Resolve Item in its row (see section 7.7).

Items With Issues Tab

How to Remove the Document

Remove a document if the file was imported by mistake or into the wrong course.

Select Remove Document.

Remove Document

The message warns that all Ready to Import Items and Items with Issues will be discarded.

Select Ok. To keep the document, select Cancel.

The document is removed, together with all its items that have not yet been imported to the bank.

Confirm Remove Document

ℹ NOTE: Items already imported to the bank are not removed with the document.

7.7 Resolve Item

Correct an item that has issues, or check an item before you import it to the bank.

On the Import Item Details screen, select Edit Item in the row of the item.
For an item that requires corrections, select the Resolve Item link on the Items With Issues tab instead.

The Resolve Item screen opens.

Edit Item

The top of the Resolve Item screen shows the course and the item. The numbers below match the numbered arrows in the figure:

(1) Item type: the type of the item, for example Single Item – Multi Choice.
(2) Assessment Item Issues: shows the problems found in the item, if any.
(3) Item Tag: type a tag and press Enter to add it. Add as many tags as you need.

Resolve Item, Top

⚠ IMPORTANT: Your session times out after 15 minutes without activity, and unsaved changes are lost. Save your work periodically.

The Stem and Question boxes hold the text of the item. The numbers below match the numbered arrows in the figure:

(1) Formatting toolbar: bold, italic, underline, subscript, superscript, text colour and Symbols.
(2) Upload Media: adds an image, audio or video file to the text.
(3) Word count: the number of words entered and the number allowed, as set in the course Item Structure (see section 6.6.12).

Stem and Question

The Options box holds the answer options. The numbers below match the numbered arrows in the figure:

(1) Legends: label the options A,B,C or 1,2,3.
(2) Correct answer: the selected option is the correct answer.
(3) Delete (red ×): removes an option.

الخيارات

Check or correct the stem, question and options.
Under Classifications, select CLO, Activity or Objective.
Select the entries in the list.
Select Add.

التصنيفات

Optional: enter any Comments and Footnote.
In Assessment Type, select how the item is used, for example Summative.
To add an extra classification, select the green + under Additional Classification.
Select Final Save. To leave without saving, select Cancel.

The item is saved. When it has no issues, it can be imported to the bank (section 7.6).

Assessment Type and Final Save

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