Import questions

If you have questions from a textbook question bank, or if you don’t want to use the web interface to create your questions, you can import them from a text file. Moodle supports eight formats natively, and provides an easy way of creating new importers if you know a little PHP.

Once you get to know a format, it may be easier to simply type them into a text file than to use the web interface. You can just keep typing instead of waiting for new web pages to load for each question.

The formats available by default include:

GIFT

With GIFT format you can write multiple-choice, true-false, short answer, matching and numerical questions.

File:Gift.jpg

screen shot from quiz help file documentation

Aiken

Aiken format is an easy way of writing multiple-choice questions for import. It’s a very easy, readable format.

screen shot from quiz help file documentation

Missing Word

If you’re going to write a lot of missing word multiple choice questions, the missing word format is an easy way to create them.

File:Missing word.jpg

screen shot from quiz help file documentation

AON

The same as the missing word format, except it creates matching questions from the multiple choice questions

Blackboard

If you’re converting from Blackboard to Moodle, you can export your course and then import the question pools into Moodle using the Blackboard format

WebCT

Currently, the WebCT format only supports importing multiple-choice and short answers questions

Course Test Manager

This will enable you to import questions from the Course Test Manager from Course Technology

Embedded Answers (Cloze)

The Cloze format is a multiple question, multiple answer question with embedded answers. They can be a bit tricky to develop, but they are a unique way of asking questions

The help file available from the help button next to the import file button gives a lot of detail about each format.