Learning should be fun; this also applies to adult continuing education. In e-learning, you achieve this by using many different methods. You will learn why quizzes and short tests are particularly useful in the article.

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

In school, we regularly took class tests and short vocabulary quizzes for good reasons:

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

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

• The fear of large exams is reduced through repeated test situations.

Knowledge must be regularly checked to truly solidify it. Repetition and application are THE success factors to ensure that what has been learned stays in the mind. This is also true in e-learning. Of course, you must pay attention to a few things here, as the learning process takes place entirely online:

• The first impression counts, even in online courses! Engage your participants from the very beginning and make your initial content appealing – through personal address and good structure.

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

• Use the playful nature of your participants and motivate them through small quizzes – in the spirit of gamification.

• Also, ensure regular interaction with your participants by conducting short surveys.

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

Using quizzes, tests & surveys in e-learning with blink.it

Basically, we distinguish between quizzes, tests, and surveys at blink.it. This way, you can integrate a variety of online tests into your e-learnings. Here's a little guide on when to use what:

Quiz: Participants' self-assessment of knowledge

A quiz is intended for reviewing what has already been learned or for assessing knowledge before a new learning unit. It is the most playful form of inquiry.

Test: Mandatory test at the end of an e-learning course

The test certifies the acquired knowledge of your course 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 a course leader to gather information and opinions and allows participants to contribute to the e-learning. Use it especially at the beginning and end of your course.

These question types are available for quizzes with blink.it

Depending on which quiz form you want to use and what content you want to inquire about, different question types are suitable. The following questions can be implemented with blink.it:

Tip: To find out which quiz to use when in e-learning, read the blog article “How to achieve an interactive online support”.

1. Open-ended questions

Question type description: Open-ended questions without fixed answer options are suitable for open questions. This allows your participants to formulate their answers themselves and gives them all the necessary freedom for complex questions. You can also use this question form well for surveys.

Example open-ended question with blink.it:

2. Multiple and single-choice questions

Question type description: For questions with predetermined answer options, you can define whether one or multiple answers are correct. Specify whether your participants can select multiple answers or if there is only one correct solution. This way, you can inquire opinions or settled knowledge with multiple or single-choice questions.

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

3. Scale questions

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

Example 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 are to match statements or answers to the corresponding statements. Like a puzzle, your participants drag the correct answer into the corresponding box. Optional dummy answers make this question form particularly challenging.

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

These various quiz questions can be combined in any way. Be creative and design your quizzes so that they fit your e-learning!

5 tips for successful quizzes in e-learning

1. Ask challenging questions that are still answerable

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

2. Make quizzes exciting and varied

Don’t just repeat what has been learned from your e-learning, but provoke curiosity for more. Particularly suitable are transfer tasks where participants must think for themselves and apply knowledge.

3. Always provide your participants with the correct answer

You should always clarify incorrect answers so that participants ultimately remember the right ones. This is especially important with multiple answers where the answers might only differ slightly. Exceptions are, of course, surveys, where there are no right or wrong answers.

4. Involve employees and let experts ask the questions

Utilize expertise and involve experts to pose exciting questions even on complex topics. Sometimes it all comes down to details that your experts can better articulate.

5. Limit each question to a single learning content

The principle of microlearning also applies to questions. For each question, only one topic should be addressed. For complex topics, ask multiple questions so that 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 integrate quizzes and tests into the process instead of having one big final exam. You already know the benefits of regular short tests. Therefore, it is even more important that the rest of your course fits in with this.

The microlearning method is a particularly simple way to incorporate short quizzes into small, self-contained learning units. This way, you don’t overwhelm anyone and still have the opportunity for regular knowledge checks.