Moodle - Problem Editor

Moodle content is organised by activities, with the quiz activity being the standard way to include questions, with a strict separation intended between assimilative content (resources) and interactive content (activities). This means that by default, questions cannot exist alongside content, only within quiz activities, though there are some non-intended ways around this that can result in a strange user experience without platform customization. Moodle offers the following question types in quizzes:

• Calculated - Allows the insertion of random variables into an equation, for example “what is {a}+{b}” with an answer of {c}, where the value of {c} is defined as a+b. This question type is extremely complex to configure with unclear syntax, and is only intended for high level maths courses.

• Calculated multi-choice - Functions similarly to the Calculated problem type, but allows learner’s input to be one of a number of preset options, with the formulae for each input being set by the teacher.

• Calculated simple - Functions similarly to the Calculated problem type, but has a much-improved editor at the cost of flexibility.

• Drag and drop into text - Allows learners to drag and drop words into blanks for Cloze-type questions.

• Drag and drop onto image - Allows learners to drag and drop words and images onto a background image, with correct and incorrect drop zones defined. This is analogous to Open edX’s Drag-and-Drop XBlock.

• Description - Not a question, simply some assimilative content mid-quiz. This is how you could theoretically replicate an Open edX-style experience, but it would be marked as a quiz for learners, which would be strange.

• Essay - Allows long, manually-graded essay input, with a simple grading description available for teachers to use to grade. This is somewhat analogous to ORA, but is less fully-featured.

• Matching - Allows learners to match answers between two lists, for example “Match the capital with the country”. 

• Embedded Answer - Also known as Gap-Fill or more formally a Cloze Test, this allows multiple different input types to be inserted within text to fill in the question, for example a dropdown, text input, or numerical input. This uses the GIFT syntax, a precursor to the markup system used in Open edX problems (in that it directly inspired the existing editor), and also allows inputs outside of the flow of text, making it more than simply a Cloze Test editor, which is likely why it is called Embedded Answer:

Open

This editor syntax is extremely complex in comparison to the Open edX editor (to the point where online editors, spreadsheets, and other community cloze question syntax generators exist) but does allow greater flexibility than the Open edX editor.

• Multiple choice - Allows the learner to select a single correct answer from a list. Includes a “penalty factor” that reduces the learner’s score the more attempts are taken at the question.

• Short Answer - Allows the learner to input a short string of text that is checked against a list of accepted answers.

• Numerical Answer - Allows the learner to input a number with an accepted error range. Fundamentally the same thing as a short answer with additional options related specifically to numbers.

• Random short-answer matching - Similar to matching, except with a randomised bank of short answer questions. This seems incredibly poorly implemented as it leans entirely on having the answers existing in a question bank category of short answer questions, rather than a simple pool of options specifically for this question type. This seems like a later addition that should’ve just been an extension of their matching question.

• True/False - Allows the learner to simply select whether the proposed statement is true or false. Seems to have little value over simply framing a multiple choice question this way.

Interestingly, the order in which these appear can be customised by the platform operator so that they appear in an opinionated order (for example, listing the most commonly used types at the top of the list).

Overall, Moodle has a broad range of question types, but the editor is clunky and follows a typical pattern of:

• Question, with HTML WYSIWYG editor

• Answer options

• Configuration settings

Any answer options that exist within the question or require additional configuration are included as complex syntax elements within the question itself, for example the cloze question above, or this example basic calculated question:

Open

There also appears to be a general amount of “feature creep”, for example, it appears Embedded Answer problems were originally designed purely for gap-fill, but can now be used as a catch-all problem editor that functions like a less user-friendly version of Open edX’s simple problem editor. Similarly there are multiple versions of computed problems, and true and false questions are functionally identical, just with all the multiple choice options removed, likely for the sake of simplicity.

Moodle has a huge third-party plugin ecosystem that can add additional problem types to this list, including KPrime questions, “all or nothing” multiple choice questions (which function identically to multiple choice but have a different grading style), and others. The existence of these relatively basic problem types as plugins speaks to a fundamental inflexibility with Moodle’s questions - they largely work the way they are designed to work, unless either the core question is updated with additional features that move it away from its original purpose, or a plugin is built with a slightly different version of the original feature.

The environment they exist in is also worthy of mention. Moodle has the concept of quizzes, which have their own set of configuration options and restrictions, whereas Open edX problems exist within subsections that are not restricted in terms of what content they can contain, and the only difference with regular content is whether they are graded or not.

Links:

• Question types - MoodleDocs

• Questions - MoodleDocs

• Questions FAQ

• Moodle Quiz Question Types

Moodle in English: Show content and questions on same page.- A worthwhile read showing how much of a competitive advantage Open edX has over Moodle when it comes to displaying content and questions together.