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Information for quiz authors
From Qedoc
learning modules) created with the Qedoc Quiz Maker are integrated into this site.
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Publishing modules
My module isn't finished - can I publish it?
Of course you can!
"Finished" is a weird concept around here. Like education itself, this site and pretty well everything in it is in a permanent state of incompletion. When something is published, we don't ask "is it finished?" - we ask "is it useful?". Even then, we look more at the potential of the usefulness than its actual usefulness, because part of the idea of the way we structure our sites and software is for people to constantly update and extend their material.
What happens when my module is published?
Whenever a module is published, it gets a page of its own on this site. You can see a list of every single module ever published here: List of absolutely every module ever published.
Once it is published, the following things happen to it:
- Anyone, anywhere in the world, who has installed a copy of the Qedoc Quiz Player, can download and play the module using the remote loading tab of the module loader. Effectively the module library here functions a bit like an extra hard drive for people with the Qedoc Quiz Player, so they can get modules very easily. Of course, your students, children or other intended audience are included among those people.
- You can also synchronize the published module with your development version - which is very useful in case we made changes for you or helped you with some formatting problem, for example.
How big does a module have to be in order to be published?
There is no required size. Sometimes we publish modules as small as 20 questions with just 1 level. Small can be good. Small can be a beginning. Some modules on this site may have 1000 questions or more, and perhaps 20 or more levels. Hundreds of questions and a dozen levels is quite common for an experienced author. But it's really up to you.
How good does a module have to be in order to be published?
If it's good enough for your own class (or children), it's probably good enough for somebody else's, and that makes it good enough for us! Stay focussed on your own learners and their needs. It doesn't need to be good enough for a professional publishing house - because it's easy to update a module here, whereas a printed book can't be updated so easily. If you work-in-progress is already useful to your own learners, you can publish it straight-away and submit updates as your project continues.
Do I have to pay anything?
Usually not. If you share, no. The Qedoc Quiz Maker is available under a share-or-pay concept. This concept is designed to encourage widespread no-cost use of the software, in return for building a large (and also free) repository of learning resources. By far the majority of Qedoc Quiz Maker users are therefore free users, and as part of the usage concept, modules they make are shared on this site with other authors, as well as learners all over the world.
If you prefer not to publish you modules here, then under share-or-pay you can choose "pay" rather than "share". But we hope you will share.
If I publish, is it still mine?
Yes. it is still yours. You are the author. An author of a book normally holds the copyright on the book. Likewise, the first page you see when a module is opened looks a little like the inside cover of a book, stating things like author, copyright and date. When you publish, you retain some rights and give away others. Giving away certain rights is what is known as "licencing" (see especially: licence types for modules). The page on this site for your module will remind you about the licence under which you released the module, and you can click the hyperlinked licence type for details about what it means.
Classification of modules
Subject and keyword categories
When a module is published, it is automatically added to every category which you specified using keywords. For example, if you specified the keywords History, France, 18th Century, the module would automatically be added to the categories Category: History, Category: France, and Category: 18th Century. This makes keywords a powerful mechanism for helping people find your module. Please use keywords responsibly.
The Qedoc Quiz Maker also gives you the ability to specify one subject area. This determines where your module appears in the main category tree for this site. Keywords can be used as well if your module moves into more than one subject area, or if you additionally want to specify a sub-division of a subject area.
Author categories
When you submit your first module, a category is automatically created with your name. This category is used as a category for all your modules. It helps people find more modules by their favourite author. It also helps you keep tracks of your works. If you wish, you can edit your category page by inserting information above the module lists which you think may be helpful for people using your modules.
An example of an author category: Category: Qedoc Educational Team
Maintaining and updating modules
See also: updating modules.
How often can I update a module?
As often as you like.
If you submit what appears to be almost the same module just after we have published a previous version, it can be a good idea to email us and explain the difference. Sometimes people resubmit by mistake! Sometimes they've had to correct an urgent problem in the module. So feel welcome to tell us.
How do I update a module?
If your module has just been published, it's a good idea to synchronize it to ensure that any last-minute corrections we made are included in your local version. Then just set about editing or adding stuff using the Qedoc Quiz Maker in the usual way. When you are ready to send in your update, click the uploading icon (satellite dish) just as you did the first time.
Can I edit the module's page on this site?
You can edit a module page, for example, by uploading and inserting screenshots. Other users can also edit your module page, for example, by submitting reviews. If someone behaves irresponsibly with your page, the same general rules apply as apply with Wikipedia: you can revert the changes by clicking on the history tab, but anyone infringing a proper and responsible exercise of free speech may fall foul of an administrator, who can decide which version of the page stays and even protect a page under dispute.
Certain parts of a module page are not editable, because these sections have been automatically gleaned from the module itself. This includes the module quick facts box and the module description. To edit the module quick facts box and the module description, you must edit the module itself, not the page! Attempts to interfere with data drawn from the module, such as rating or question numbers, is not advised and is easily reverted by an administrator.
When a module is updated, those parts of the page which are drawn from the module metadata will be automatically updated. All other parts of the module page will survive. They don't get overwritten or wiped.
Synchronising local and server versions
New authors are recommended to find out about synchronisation, which is a very easy thing to do and helps good module management.
Keeping track of your modules
If you become a user of this wiki, you can add your module page, category page and any other pages of interest to your watchlist. You will be kept informed automatically of any changes to pages on your watchlist. If you wish an email to be sent to you every time a watched page is changed, you can select this option in your preferences (top right of screen when logged in).
Can I edit my author category page?
Yes. Please do. For example, you can add links to your user page or any project pages you might have. Or you could write a paragraph or so about your modules.
Other things authors can do
If you use the Qedoc system a lot for your teaching or other projects, you can also set up a project page on this site.
General questions
If you have questions for Qedoc, you can reply to any email sent to you, or contact Qedoc using a form for this purpose.
