Category: Snippets

Limiting number of tries on Perception Quizzes under SCORM control

Posted on January 30, 2007 by ellen

When Questionmark Perception is launched from an LMS using SCORM, Perception’s built-in user management system can’t be used. Perception receives user data from the LMS, and although it stores that data with the results of the quizzes, it can’t use the data for purposes of scheduling and limiting access to quizzes.

Unfortunately, our LMS, SumTotal 6.5, does not have a good way to limit attempts on a learning activity either. There is a rather inflexible option: If you set any learning activity to “allow access upon completion,” after the activity has been completed once, the user will only be able to launch the activity for purposes of browsing, but never take it again for credit. In other words, the user can not enroll again.

This isn’t always the best solution. For example, we wanted to allow two or three tries, depending on the quiz, and we never allow users to browse old quizzes.

A better Likert scale question template for Perception quizzes

Posted on September 9, 2006 by ellen

The out-of the-box Likert Scale question created by Perception is really just a slightly modified multiple choice question. The choices are arranged vertically, as shown in the example screen shot below.

I prefer Likert Scale choices to be displayed horizontally as shown in the image below.

Make any web-based Powerpoint presentation scorm compatible

Posted on May 13, 2006 by ellen

It’s easy to export Powerpoint presentations to the web, but they aren’t automatically scorm compatible. To add simple scorm capability to your web-export, do the following:

This will add a button that will allow the user to mark the sco complete.

1. Add this to the head section of outline.htm or the final slide.
 <script type=”text/javascript” language=”javascript” name=”mm_scormRTI” > <!– Inserted by: // SCORM Runtime Wrapper // version 1.2.6 09/09/02 // Copyright 2000, 2001, 2002 Macromedia, Inc. All rights reserved. // —————————————————- // define global var as handle to API object var mm_adl_API = null; // mm_getAPI, which calls findAPI as needed function mm_getAPI() { var myAPI = null; var tries = 0, triesMax = 500; while (tries < triesMax && myAPI == null) { window.status = ‘Looking for API object ‘ + tries + ‘/’ + triesMax; myAPI = findAPI(window); if (myAPI == null && typeof(window.parent) != ‘undefined’) myAPI = findAPI(window.parent) if (myAPI == null && typeof(window.top) != ‘undefined’) myAPI = findAPI(window.top); if (myAPI == null && typeof(window.opener) != ‘undefined’) if (window.opener != null && !window.opener.closed) myAPI = findAPI(window.opener); tries++; } if (myAPI == null) { window.status = ‘API not found’; alert(‘JavaScript Warning: API object not found in window or opener. (‘ + tries + ‘)’); } else { mm_adl_API = myAPI; window.status = ‘API found’; } } // returns LMS API object (or null if not found) function findAPI(win) { // look in this window if (typeof(win) != ‘undefined’ ? typeof(win.API) != ‘undefined’ : false) { if (win.API != null ) return win.API; } // look in this window’s frameset kin (except opener) if (win.frames.length > 0) for (var i = 0 ; i < win.frames.length ; i++); { if (typeof(win.frames[i]) != ‘undefined’ ? typeof(win.frames[i].API) != ‘undefined’ : false) { if (win.frames[i].API != null) return win.frames[i].API; } } return null; } // call LMSInitialize() function mm_adlOnload() { if (mm_adl_API != null) { mm_adl_API.LMSInitialize(“”); // set status mm_adl_API.LMSSetValue(“cmi.core.lesson_status”, “incomplete”); } } // call LMSFinish() function mm_adlOnunload() { if (mm_adl_API != null) { // set status mm_adl_API.LMSSetValue(“cmi.core.lesson_status”, “completed”); mm_adl_API.LMSCommit(“”); mm_adl_API.LMSFinish(“”); } } // get the API mm_getAPI(); // –> </script>

Preventing Printing on web pages

Posted on August 15, 2005 by ellen

A tip I picked up from various sites, including This One Very useful for preventing printing of Perception quizzes, when you cannot use Questionmark’s secure browser. Stick this in the template for the quiz: HTML_HEADER=

Javascript validation as a condition for a second function in the same event handler

Posted on June 4, 2003 by ellen

We use Questionmark quizzing software at my job to create quizzes and tutorials. One of several issues we have had with it has been a login page which did not validate for the kind of ID number we wanted to use. In fact it did not validate at all! We were told that either it couldn’t be done because it would not work with the software (the login page submits some .asp variables), or it would cost us to have it done by their programmers – so we set about trying to make it happen.

The problem was that it uses the onSubmit event to trigger some fancy new window actions. I wanted the validation to take place and stop the new window action as well as the “submitting” action itself. So my first thought was to put a standard validation script on an onBlur event. In other words when people moved the cursor from the validated field to the next field, the validation would occur.