How do I insert a drop down list of choices in a paragraph in a Canvas quiz?

JennMergens

I am trying to create a quiz in which students will read a passage that has missing sentence parts.  Students will need to click a drop down list and choose the correctly worded sentence part and then continue reading.  Each passage would have 4-5 sentence corrections to be made within the quiz.  Is there a way for me to do this?

Chris_Hofer

Hi @JennMergens ...

Yes, this should be possible in either Classic Quizzes or the New Quizzes interface of Canvas.  I'm not sure which one you are using, but I'll try and explain procedures for both:

For Classic Quizzes, you'd want to use the "Multiple Dropdowns" question type.  When you select this question type, Canvas actually gives you an example of how to format your question.  The example is:

Roses are [color1], violets are [color2]

When you put the words in brackets like this, then Canvas detects that, and it will give you an area below your question where you can type in the correct answer choice along with any other distractors (incorrect answers).

For more information on this, you can check out: How do I create a Multiple Dropdown quiz question?

For New Quizzes, the question type to select is a bit different.  You'll want to choose the "Fill in the Blank" question type.  When you are typing in your question/paragraph with dropdowns for your students to select from, you will use the backticks character ... which is the character immediately to the left of the number 1 on your keyboard...that almost looks like a single quotation mark.  Here's an example that I've enlarged a bit so you can see the distinction:

roses are `color1` violets are `color2`

vs. this with a single quotation mark (which you do not want to do):

roses are 'color1' violets are 'color2'

When you use the backticks, you'll be able to select from a few different options for your correct answer and distractors: Open Entry, Dropdown, or Word Bank.  Select the Dropdown option, and you'll be able to add in your correct answer and any distractors/incorrect answers as needed.

Here's a Guide with further information on this: How do I create a Fill in the Blank question in New Quizzes?

I hope this information will be helpful for you for either case.  Please let Community members know if you have any other questions about this...thanks!