Copy, Share, Export, Import - Expected behaviors of banks?

[kroeninm]

Hi there,

I've been testing out New Quizzes to see if it's closer to being something we can use in more courses, with the updated functionality for item bank conversion on 2/15, I was updating my notes on how Item Banks work.

I read the guides and I might be missing it but is there a guide on how Item Banks function?  I hate to recreate something that already exists and I must admit I'm getting a bit confused.  To give you an idea of what i'm hoping for.

• Course copy - if you copy a course (with item banks) to a course that has a new instructor, what happens to banks? - The new course has "can view" privileges on the existing banks, the original author has "can edit" privileges.
• Copy to - If you use "Copy to" on a New Quiz (with item banks), what happens to the banks? - The new course has "can view" privileges on the existing banks, so if a new instructor is added to the course they can view the banks, the original author has "can edit" privileges.
• Send to - If you "Send to" on a New Quiz (with item banks), what happens to the banks?  - When imported into a new course, a copy of the banks is created, the new course has "Can edit" privileges on the copy of the banks, so if a new instructor is added they can edit, the original author has no access to the copy of the banks.
• Export quiz using NQ export - ... import as QTI
• Export entire course as .imscc - ... import course package, import selectively
• Share to commons
• Duplicate a new quiz

It seems like the permissions and whether the banks are copied or point to the same banks varies based on the actions so I'd love a guide.

Thanks for any help, I'm testing and generating my own but it would save time to have a reference.

Melanie

[kroeninm]

I haven't quite worked out how the permissions work and that might be too much to tackle with this first round of testing but hoping this is a helpful reference to get started in thinking about best practices.  I'd love any guides or references others have created around Item Banks and any confirmation that this is as designed.  I'd hate to start using these functions and then have something change because I misunderstood.  

Functions to use if there is one set of banks with one specific instructor that edits them, additional editors could be added deliberately

In using these functions, the quizzes are copied but the Item Banks point back to the globally stored banks, are shared with "This Course" with "view only" permissions - meaning Instructors only may view them and only the original author can edit. 

*Note: TAs and others in the course course could see the banks if deliberately shared with them individually as people.  (Feature request to expand "Share With Course" functionality - Allow TA access to item banks shared with course )

• Copy course (including Item Banks)
• Copy course (selectively import a quiz with a bank)
• Duplicate a quiz with a bank
• Use the "Copy to" function to copy a quiz with a bank to another course

Functions to use if a copy of the quiz (and banks it uses) should be made (no longer linked to the original banks)

In using these functions, the quizzes are copied but Item Banks are also fully copied along with the quizzes they are attached to.  

* Note: No specific user has edit privileges after using these functions, so a best practice might be to add a user as an editor to these after copying.  The course is given "can edit" privileges but I'm not sure if this might go away if the course closes and is archived later on.

* Note: I think a bug exists that if you delete a bank connected to a quiz or delete a question within the bank and then use these functions they will reappear during the import, logging a ticket

• Export Canvas Course as .imscc and import all (quiz with item bank included)
• Export Canvas Course as .imscc and import selectively a quiz with an item bank
• Export New Quiz (with bank) from within Quizzes interface as a .zip, import as QTI from within the Settings of the course.
• Use the "Send To" function to send a quiz including a bank to Shared Content, then import it to a course
• Export New Quiz (with bank) from within Quizzes interface as a .zip, import as QTI from within a New Quiz using Import Content.  *Note: You can only use the import content option when you are in an empty quiz and it adds to the quiz you are in.  It might be easier to use the Settings->Import instead.  

Melanie

[paulamiranda]

Hi, Melanie, just wanted to write and support your post. Our Canvas instance has New Quizzes disabled but unlocked so it's not the default engine and instructors can use it, if they wanted. My team has been exploring how New Quizzes Item Banks behave to try and document the behaviors ourselves. Specifically, we'd like to understand what happens to Item Banks and the questions in them once they've been copied and shared over time with various courses, subaccounts, and people, especially when courses or user accounts associated with Item Bank owners are no longer active. It requires a lot of heads down testing, so we chip away whenever we have some time. I'll share any help articles we create locally, but have asked our CSMs for this information to be included in the Guides.

We're also keeping in mind the ongoing issue when course files are added to questions in an Item Bank, and were hopeful that the Question Bank Migration on Course Copy feature release would address/fix it. However, we have yet to get it to work in Beta and were told by Canvas L2 that this feature has been delayed, again. I am not sure it will be included in the Feb 15 release this Saturday. 

-Paula

[kroeninm]

Thank you @paulamiranda , the "Question Bank Migration on Course Copy" feature works well on Beta to convert Question Banks in Classic Quizzes into Item Banks so I was hoping it would roll into production on the 15th so I could continue testing more easily.  One unexpected pro/con? is even if you aren't using a Question Bank in a quiz in the Classic Environment, it will copy over.  So good for faculty that might store banks and not use the same ones every term but a bit messy to see an "Unfiled" bank appear in each course and any old banks that are no longer used that the faculty perhaps failed to clean up.  

Thank you as well for the heads up about the ongoing issue with course files, I haven't watched that too closely as we have only a handful of courses using New Quizzes but it definitely would need to be 100% before I'd want to add files or it would be difficult to track them down later on and fix them.  

Melanie