Importing questions from Moodle to AssessmentUCL

The following Moodle question types can be imported into AssessmentUCL (WISEflow).

Supported question types

• Simple MCQ

• True/false MCQ

• Multiple answer MCQ

• Short text answer

• Long essay answer

Moodle import

The process of importing questions to AssessmentUCL is error prone. You can also only import 20 questions at a time.

The AssessmentUCL project is working with the WISEflow team to improve this process and is also considering whether central resourcing can be provided to help Departments 'migrate' their questions to Wiseflow.

Summary

Moodle questions must be exported as XML files from your Moodle course question bank.

In AssessmentUCL, questions can be imported on the Author tab, in the content bank.

Step 1: prepare questions for export from Moodle

You can export questions one by one or by category. To export multiple questions at once, either use your existing categories or create a new category, and copy or move the questions you want to export to this category.

1. Create a new category in your Question Bank. On your Moodle course, click Administration>Quiz Administration>Question bank>Categories

2. At the bottom of the categories page, add a category e.g. call it 'AssessmentUCL'

3. Click the Questions tab (i.e. Administration>Quiz Administration>Question bank>Questions)

4. Find your questions (note they might be a particular category either for the course or topic or exam)

5. Click edit and then you can either duplicate the question and apply the new 'AssessmentUCL' category, or edit and change the question category to the new 'AssessmentUCL' category

Step 2: export questions from Moodle

1. On your Moodle course: Click Administration>Quiz Administration>Question bank>Export

2. Select Moodle XMLf format

3. Select the appropriate category (e.g. a purpose built AssessmentUCL category or a previously used category)

4. Click Export questions to file

5. Save your file

Step 3: Import to AssessmentUCL

1. Open AssessmentUCL

2. Click Author tab

3. Click Content bank

4. Click import content

5. Select Moodle from the drop down menu

6. Click select file and find the Moodle XML file you exported

7. Check for any error messages

8. Click Import

Step 4: Check questions

Preview and tag your questions to ensure they have been copied successfully.

Some formatting might be lost in the importing of questions, so please check each question carefully. For example subscripts and superscript text may need to be reformatted.

Click import to approve them. They can now be added to FLOWmulti exam papers from the content bank.

Appendix

Dealing with import error messages.

You may encounter error messages such as follows

This is a result of AssessmentUCL requiring XHTML formatting, including closed element tags e.g. <br/> is allowed but <br> is not. UCL has raised this with supplier to improve. For now the work around is as follows:

1. Use the Chrome browser as the error message on the import page should indicate the line of the XML file where the unclosed element is located.

2. Open the XML file in a text editing software of your choice (e.g. Notepad or VS Code)

3. Run a find and replace on the unclosed tag e.g. find '<br>' and replace it with nothing (i.e. to remove the <br> tag) or alternatively with <br/>. 
   

4. Save the XML file

5. Import the XML file.

6. Repeat steps 2-5 until error messages are removed. 

Formatting Moodle questions

Questions imported from Moodle will display with the standard MCQ formatting. You can reformat Moodle Questions to appear in the block style as follows:

1. Edit the question

2. Layout: Change from Standard to Block

3. Label type: Upper case letters

Need to speak to someone?

If you can't find the answer to your question in the guidance above, please contact digi-ed@ucl.ac.uk