Lizard Point Quizzes

...discovering the world we live in

Introducing Super Strict Mode - there's no help for you here!

Sep 222018

 

We've had a handful of requests from teachers recently, who want the Start Over Button removed from strict test mode, because when students are taking a test, they might be inclined to Start Over when they see it isn't going so well... 

To address this concern, we've created the new Super Strict Mode that has the following properties:

  • no Start Over (or Skip) button
  • no scoring information is shown until the quiz is over
  • no feedback whatsoever during the quiz... ie "Correct" and "Sorry, that's incorrect" are not shown
  • no list of places included in the quiz... you won't see what questions will be asked before the quiz starts

Some important notes about Super Strict mode:

  • It is only available on customizable quizzes, and only to Teacher Plus and Individual supporter accounts.
  • There is nothing to stop the student from reloading the page or re-navigating to the quiz in order to start again. But by removing all feedback on the results, the student will have less reason to suspect he is not doing well and want to start over.

 What a Super Strict quiz looks like

We have set up a sample Super Strict quiz for you to try: Canada Provinces and Territories - Super Strict Mode example (link opens in a new window)

When you try the sample quiz, take note of the following differences, which are circled in the screen capture:

Customize quiz mode options
 screenshot showing the help that has been removed from the quiz
 

 

  1. The list of places ("This quiz asks about...") is not shown. (But if you create the quiz, you and you alone will still see the list, because it will help you to see what you included in the quiz without having to either do the quiz or go back to edit mode.)
  2. The usual scoring information is not displayed - you'll no longer see how many points you've earned as you do the quiz
  3. There's no feedback. A superstrict quiz does NOT tell you "Correct", or "Sorry, that's incorrect".

     

    How to create a Super Strict quiz

Just go to the "customize a quiz page", and look for the Quiz Mode buttons, and pick Force Super Strict mode:

Customize quiz mode options
 screenshot showing the Quiz Mode options



As with all forced modes, forcing a quiz into Super Strict mode is only available to those with Teacher Plus accounts or Individual Supporter accounts. So, if you see the forced mode options but you can't click on them, it probably means you're not signed in, or your account isn't eligible for this feature. 

Customize quiz mode options not available
 screenshot showing the Quiz Mode options are not available

 

Where the results are saved

If you're looking at your own results, or the results of your students, please note that the scores for Super Strict mode are labeled as Strict scores. The strict score in the screenshot below is the score from the sample quiz of the Canada provinces and territories, in super strict mode.

Customize quiz mode options not available
 screenshot showing the superstrict score in the Strict column

 

Why are the scores for Super Strict mode labeled as Strict mode? Because it's not really a new mode - it's more of a mode upgrade, like getting fancy rims on your car. We didn't want to FORCE everyone to use the new features of super strict, so we've left it as an option. At some point in the future, we may be asking our users, do you even want the old-style strict mode? Or should we make Super Strict the standard for strict testing?  

Need your class to take a quiz in strict test mode?

Jul 312016

We've just introduced a new feature that has been requested by some of our teachers: you can now force a quiz to go into strict test mode (with the other modes disabled).  

If you've ever given your students a test, and and asked them to use strict test mode, you might have been frustrated by the one or two students who missed following your instructions. Problem solved! You can now set up a customized quiz that goes directly into strict test mode, with no mode change options on the screen at all. Note: this feature is only available to Premium users (Teacher Plus accounts, and Individual Supporter accounts)

Here is what you'll end up with: notice in the screenshot below that the quiz is in strict test mode - 1 point per question ie only one guess, no map or show me buttons, and no buttons to change the quiz to practice mode or test mode.

screenshot of a quiz forced to strict test modescreenshot of a quiz forced to strict test mode

 

How to set up a quiz like this yourself

First, you must be signed in (to either a Teacher Plus account, or an Individual Supporter account), and select a quiz from the customize a quiz page.

On the customize screen you will see a new set of options, Quiz Mode Options, just below the options for coloring the map. Here's a screenshot of a customize screen, with a red circle around the new options:

screenshot of where to find the mode optionsScreenshot of where to find the mode options

The default option is that the Practice, test and strict test options are all available - this is the the standard quiz behavior that you're all familiar with. Select the second option, Force strict test mode, as shown in this little screen shot:

force strict test option
Force strict test radio button



After entering your title, description, selecting your locations, and your mode option, hit the save button, and you are done! You've got yourself a quiz that behaves ONLY in strict mode.  This is a great option to set up a quiz to use just for testing.  You can continue to use standard quizzes, or customize quizzes without this option, for your students to be able to practice and prepare for their tests.

Try this Demo quiz in Strict Test Mode

I've set up a Demo Quiz of 16 countries in Europe so you can try out what it's like when you use this feature.