3. Item Bank

An Item Bank is a repository for tagging, organizing and categorizing questions. All questions in the SMART system must be first entered in the Item Bank. The Item Bank module (see Figure 3.1) is assessed by clicking on the Item Bank icon in the main SMART module. The Item Banks (according to subjects) are shown on the left of Figure 3.1 and the questions in the Item Banks are displayed on the right. To group and sort questions for viewing, simply drag the question headers to the top as shown in Figure 3.2.

Figure 3.1: Main Item Bank Module

3.1 Item Bank Functions

Users can create, edit, delete, reorganize, import and export Item Banks. The Item Bank supports a hierarchical structure and questions can be organized according to Level, Subjects, Topics and Sub-Topics etc.

3.1.1 Creating New Item Banks

a. Select the Parent Item Bank (on the left) to insert the new bank

b. In the Item Bank Menu at the top, select “New …”. Alternatively, click on the New Bank icon

c. Enter the name and description of the new Item Bank in the dialog box (Figure 3.3)

d. Click on the “Create New Bank” button

Figure 3.2: Grouping and Sorting of Questions

Figure 3.3: Creating a New Item Bank

3.1.2 Editing Item Banks

a. Select the Item Bank to be edited

b. In the Item Bank Menu at the top, select “Edit …”. Alternatively, click on the Edit bank icon

c. Enter the new details of the Item Bank in the dialog box (Figure 3.4)

d. Click on the “Update Bank” button

Figure 3.4: Editing an Item Bank

3.1.3 Deleting Item Banks

a. Select the Item Bank to be deleted

b. In the Item Bank Menu at the top, select “Delete”. Alternatively, click on the Delete bank icon

c. A dialog confirming the deletion appears (Figure 3.5)

d. Click on the “Yes” button. Note that the Item Bank and all its Sub-Banks are deleted

Figure 3.5: Deleting an Item Bank

3.1.4 Moving Item Banks

a. Select the Item Bank to be moved with the left mouse click. Do not release mouse

b. Move Item Bank to its new position and release the left mouse click

c. The Item Bank and its Sub-Banks will be automatically moved

3.1.5 Importing Item Banks

a. Select the Parent Item Bank to import

b. In the Item Bank Menu at the top, select “Import …”. Alternatively, click on the Import bank icon

c. A dialog (Figure 3.6) appears. Click on the “Browse …” button to select the file

d. Click on the “OK” button. Note that the Item Bank and all its Sub-Banks are imported

Figure 3.6: Importing an Item Bank

3.1.6 Exporting Item Bank

a. Select the Item Bank to be exported

b. In the Item Bank Menu at the top, select “Export …”. Alternatively, click on the Export bank icon

c. A dialog (Figure 3.7) appears. Click on the “Browse …” button to select the output file

d. Click on the “OK” button. Note that the Item Bank and all its Sub-Banks are exported

Figure 3.7: Exporting an Item Bank

3.2 Questions in Item Banks

Users can create, edit and delete questions in the Item Banks. There are three types of questions: MCQ (Multiple Choice - see Figure 3.8), MR (Multiple Response – see Figure 3.9) and FIB (Fill in the Blanks – see Figure 3.10). For each question, a worked solution can be entered.

3.2.1 Creating a New Question

a. Select the Item Bank to place new question

b. In the Question Menu at the top, select “New …”

c. A dialog (Figure 3.8) appears. Enter the question, question type (MCQ, MR and FIB) and difficulty

level if applicable

d. Click on the “Instructions …” button and a dialog box appears. Enter the instructions and click on

the “OK” button

e. Import image if needed. Note that images can be imported from an image file using the “Image

From File …” button or paste from the Clipboard using the “Paste Image from Clipboard” button.

Check on the “Diagram before question” box if the image is to be displayed before the question’s

text. By default, the image is placed after the question.

f. Enter the number of Options. Currently a maximum of five options are supported for MCQ and

MR. For FIB questions, users can specify the number of blank lines to be printed

g. Click on the “Create and Exit” button

Figure 3.8: Multiple Choice Questions

3.2.2 Editing Questions

a. Select the Item Bank and the question to be edited by clicking the Select column beside the

question. Note that only one question can be edited at any one time

b. In the Question Menu at the top, select “Edit …”. Alternatively, double click on the question to enter the editing module

c. A question editor dialog (Figure 3.8) appears.

d. Click on the “Update and Exit” button

3.2.3 Copying and Moving Questions

a. Select the Item Bank and the question to be copied or moved by clicking the Select column beside

the question. To select all questions, click on the menu Question->Select All. Conversely,

use Question->UnSelect All to remove all selection

b. In the Question Menu at the top, select “Copy or Move …”

c. A dialog (Figure 3.11) is displayed. Select the destination directory of the questions from the tree

list

d. Select “Copy” or “Move” radical button

e. Click on the “OK” button

3.2.4 Deleting Questions

a. Select the Item Bank and the question to be deleted by clicking the Select column beside the

question. To delete all questions in the Bank, click on the menu Question->Select All. Conversely,

use Question->UnSelect All to remove all selection

b. In the Question Menu at the top, select “Delete”

c. A dialog confirming the deletion is displayed

d. Click the “Yes” button

Figure 3.9: Multiple Response Question

Figure 3.10: Fill In the Blanks Question

Figure 3.11: Copy or Move Question in Item Bank