Learning should be fun, and that applies to adult education as well. In e-learning, you achieve this by using many different methods. You will learn why quizzes and short assessments are especially useful in the article.

That's why quizzes are so helpful in e-learning

Even in school, we regularly took tests and short vocabulary quizzes, and for good reasons:

• You prove your knowledge and show what you have learned.

• At the same time, you self-assess and see where your weaknesses lie.

• The fear of big exams decreases due to repeated test situations.

Knowledge must be regularly reviewed to truly become established. Repeating and applying are THE success factors for keeping what you've learned in your mind. This is also true in e-learning. Of course, you need to pay attention to a few things here, as the learning process takes place entirely online:

• The first impression counts, even in an online course! Engage your participants from the start and create your first content appealingly – through personal address and good structure.

• Ensure motivated participants by involving leaders, for example. A good management team makes it clear that further education is important.

• Utilize your participants' drive for play and motivate them with small quizzes – entirely in the spirit of gamification.

• Also rely on regular exchanges with your participants by conducting short surveys.

• Offer them a value and reward your participants with a participation certificate.

Utilizing quizzes, exams & surveys in e-learning with blink.it

Basically, at blink.it we distinguish between quizzes, exams, and surveys. This allows you to include a variety of online tests in your e-learning. Here’s a little guide on when to best use what:

Quiz: Independent knowledge assessment of the participants

A quiz serves to repeat what has already been learned or to assess the knowledge level before a new learning unit. It is the most playful form of assessment.

Exam: Mandatory test at the end of an e-learning

The exam verifies the acquired knowledge of your participants and provides proof of participation in the course. It can be passed or failed.

Survey: Voluntary participation to capture mood images

The survey helps you as the course leader to gather information and opinions and allows participants to contribute to the e-learning. Use it especially at the beginning and at the end of your course.

These question types are available for quizzes with blink.it

Depending on the quiz format you want to use and the content you are assessing, different question types are suitable. The following questions can be implemented with blink.it:

Tip: When and which quiz to use in e-learning, you will find out in the blog article “How to achieve an interactive online support”.

1. Open-ended questions

Question type description: Open-ended questions with no fixed answer options are suitable for free text questions. This allows your participants to formulate the answer themselves and gives them all the necessary freedom with complex questions. You can also use this question format well for surveys in addition to quizzes.

Example of an open-ended question with blink.it:

2. Multiple and single-choice questions

Question type description: For questions with predetermined answer options, you can specify whether one or more answers are correct. Decide whether your participants can select multiple answers or if there is only one correct solution. This way, you can use multiple or single-choice questions to assess opinions or fixed knowledge.

Example of a multiple/single-choice question with blink.it:

3. Rating scale questions

Question type description: Rating scale questions are suitable for assessing tendencies. Participants can decide which answer they tend to agree with or which answer they tend to reject. Keep in mind that as the course leader, you have the choice of whether there is a neutral answer in the middle or not: In the example question, due to the odd number of points, there is this neutral option.

Example of a rating scale question with blink.it:

4. Drag-and-drop questions

Question type description: The most playful question form comes last: In “Drag and Drop,” your participants should match statements or answers to the corresponding statements. Like a puzzle, your participants drag the correct answer into the appropriate box. Optional dummy answers make this question form particularly challenging.

Example of a drag-and-drop question with blink.it:

These various quiz questions can be combined in numerous ways. Get creative and design your quizzes to fit your e-learning!

Try it yourself: Schedule your personal demo for blink.it and create your own quiz questions for your e-learning.

5 Tips for successful quizzes in e-learning

1. Ask challenging questions that are still answerable

Your questions should neither be too easy nor too difficult; they should challenge but not overwhelm participants. Don’t get stuck on the formulations; after all, it's about the content.

2. Make quizzes exciting and varied

Don't just repeat what has been learned in your e-learning, but make participants curious about more. Transfer tasks, where participants must think for themselves and apply knowledge, are especially suitable.

3. Always provide the correct answer to your participants

You should always clarify incorrect answers so that participants can ultimately remember the right one. This is especially important for multiple-choice answers, where responses may only differ minimally. Of course, exceptions apply in surveys, where there is no right or wrong.

4. Involve employees and let experts ask the questions

Utilize expertise and involve experts to ask exciting questions even on complex topics. Sometimes, it’s the little things that your specialists can better highlight.

5. Focus each question on just one learning topic

The principle of microlearning also applies to questions. Each question should only address one topic. For complex topics, it's better to ask multiple questions, so your participants always know what they are referring to.

Microlearning: The all-rounder for quizzes in e-learning

For successful e-learning, you can firmly plan quizzes and exams into the process, instead of having one large final exam. You already know the benefits of regular short tests. Therefore, it is all the more important that the rest of your course fits this as well.

The microlearning method is a particularly simple way to incorporate short quizzes into small, self-contained learning units. This way, you overwhelm no one while still having the opportunity for regular knowledge assessments.

Free guide

The ultimate microlearning guide for online courses

We are happy to assist you with the planning: Take our free microlearning guide and develop your e-learning step by step with many quizzes in microlearning style.

To the free microlearning guide

Do you have questions about blink.it or this article?

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