Using Canvas question banks

Question banks in Canvas are a powerful tool for instructors to organize and manage quiz questions efficiently. They allow you to store, categorize, and reuse questions across multiple quizzes and courses. This guide will help you navigate the process of creating and managing question banks within Canvas.

Accessing question banks

1. Log into Canvas with your university credentials.
2. Go to the course where you want to manage question banks.
3. Select Quizzes in the course navigation menu.
4. Select the settings gear icon in the upper-right corner and choose Manage Question Banks (See Fig. 1).
   
   Figure 1: Accessing Question Bank tools

Creating a new question bank

1. On the Manage Question Banks page, select Add Question Bank on the right side.
2. Enter a descriptive name for your new question bank to make it easily identifiable.
3. Select Enter (See Fig. 2).
   
4. Figure 2: Editing the name of a question bank

Adding questions to a question bank

1. Select the question bank where you want to add questions. 
2. Select + Add a Question (See Fig. 3).
   Note: You can also edit the question bank name, move questions, delete the bank or associate the question bank with a course Outcome.
   
   Figure 3: Managing options for a question bank
3. In the question editor, select the type of question (e.g., Multiple Choice, True/False, Essay) (See Fig. 4).
   
   Figure 4: Selecting a question type for a question bank

4. Enter the question text, answers and optional feedback.
5. Select Update Question to save. 

Editing questions in a question bank

1. Open the question bank
2. Find the question and hover over, or select it, with your cursor. You will then see the pencil icon for editing and the X for deleting.
   
   Figure 5: Editing or deleting a single question

Using question banks in quizzes

1. Navigate to Quizzes and select an existing quiz or choose Add Quiz to create a new one.
2. Go to the Questions tab.
3. Select Find Questions (See Fig. 6).
   
   Figure 6: Adding a question using Find Questions
4. Select the question bank from the list.
5. Choose the questions to include.
6. Select Add Questions (See Fig. 7).
   
   Figure 7: Finding a quiz question

Adding quiz questions with a question group for randomization

1.  Select New Question Group (See Fig. 6).
2. Name the group and set how many questions to pick and points per question.
3. Select Link to a Question Bank.
4. Select the desired question bank.
5. Select Create Group.

Importing and exporting question banks

Import a question bank

1. In Settings, select Import Course Content.
2. Select Canvas Course Export Package or the appropriate content type.
3. Choose the file to import.
4. Select Question Banks and specify which ones to import.

Export a question bank

1. In Settings, select Export Course Content.
2. Select Quiz Export and choose the question banks to export.
3. Select Create Export and download the file when ready.

Best practices for organizing question banks

• Use Descriptive Names: Include course codes or topics in the bank name.
• Categorize by Topic or Difficulty: Helps in selecting appropriate questions for quizzes.
• Regularly Update Questions: Keep content current and relevant.
• Backup Question Banks: Export banks periodically for safekeeping.

Additional resources

• Canvas Instructor Guide: Canvas Guides
• Technical Support: Contact Missouri Online.