There are several web-based programs that allow anyone to create quizzes. One very popular one is Quizlet, which is described elsewhere. In this section, we will be looking at ProProfs Quizmaker, an easy-to-use tool that produces online quizzes with a variety of question types. The basic tool is free and can upgraded to get a number of useful features, as can be seen here. http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/signup/education/
At the time of writing, the education price is $2.97 per month which is not very much to pay for the additional features and importantly in an educational environment, no advertising. On the day I created my first quiz, I received this email from them:
You have a popular quiz with over 7 attempts. Each attempt including details of quiz taker, score and answers to questions has been stored online for you. Our free account only stores 10 attempts after which we NO LONGER TRACK/STORE attempts on this quiz.
So, it is hardly free.
ProProfs Quizmaker offers four question types: Multiple choice (one right answer), Checkboxes (more than one possible answer), True False and Fill in the blanks.
Each question can contain text, hyperlinks, pictures and video. And feedback explanations for answers can be added.
There are many possible settings: result type, password, shuffling questions, time limit, as well as what quiz takers do and see before, during and after the test.
Working with this online software is so straightforward and the Help is so well-written, that there is no need to provide any further instructions here. See the Quiz Maker Tour here http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/tour.php
One of the beauties of this is the possibility of embedding your quiz into a website, as here for example. https://sites.google.com/site/landofaus/home/flora-and-fauna.
One of the great advantages of having powerful and intuitive software is that you can concentrate on the quality of your quiz. And since the quizzes you make are available not only to your students but to the whole ProProf community, it is important you ensure their quality.
In addition to making quizzes, you and your students can take quizzes that have been created by others. In many cases, they will have been created for specific courses in specific environments for specific students. Before linking or embedding such a quiz for your students, carefully check its suitability. And its quality.
Writing Good Quizzes: some do’s and don’ts
Do not call your quizzes tests.
Do not reinvent the wheel. There are many websites with simple matching exercises. Activities for ESL Students http://a4esl.org/ contains hundreds of simple questions categorized according to level and type. They are have even bilingual quizzes. Like most ESL online quizzes, none of these quizzes present genuine language or language in context. Students are only required to remember the one right answer to each question. No thinking required. They are certainly not “Activities”.
Give careful thought to the wording of questions and to the answers and feedback you provide. Make it concise and use pictures and other media where you can. For example, you might provide a link to a grammar information page or an online dictionary entry.
Links to some articles about creating test items can be found here. https://sites.google.com/site/eltmethodologies/general-aspects/testing
Here is a simple example of this quiz tool made for my Australia website.
For more sites for creating tests, see here:
Online Test: 10 Sites for Creating Free Online Tests, Quiz, IQ Tests, etc.