Stimuli

Item authors can use a stimulus to add material or information to a test item, to provide relevant information or context for the test-taker. It can be any form of content, such as a passage of text, a graph, a diagram, an image, an audio clip, or a video segment.

While it is possible to add the same forms of content and resources to the stem of an item, there are benefits to using a stimulus:

• You can reuse a single stimulus across multiple items in the same module.
• You can optimise the design and layout of the item by utilising the blank space at the side of the item. This potentially reduces the scrolling required by the test-taker.
• Test-takers can maximise and minimise the stimulus, a particularly valuable feature when the content is long or large. See the arrow  in the screen capture below.
• Authors can add multiple tabs to the stimulus to make good use of the space and again reduce the need for test-takers to scroll. In the below example, there are three tabs.

Create a new stimulus

Stimulus are created and managed by selecting Author in the Menu, then selecting Stimuli.

To create a new stimulus:

1. Select Add Stimulus.
   
   

2. Complete the following:

   1. Select the discipline from the Discipline drop-down field, then select the module from the Module drop-down field.
   2. Enter an identifier in the Identifier field.
   3. Enter a name for the new stimulus in the Name field.
   4. Add a description (optional) in the Description field.
   
3. Select the Expanded expandable section, then select Free HTML.
   
   
4. Enter content such as text and media, then add any audio elements by selecting the Stimulus Audio field (optional).
   
   
5. Select the Preview expandable section.This section relates to how the content will display when a stimulus is minimised. For example, the stimulus may be a large image which when minimised displays a smaller image. This will be impacted by the Stimulus/Item Ratio which you can set on the item.
   

   Choose one of the following options:

   • Select the Same as expanded stimulus checkbox to keep the same stimulus when minimised
   • Select Free HTML to add different content to the minimised stimulus (this is the same as step 4 above)
   
6. Select Save Stimulus to save.

When you save the stimulus, it’s displayed with the details you have entered.

Add a stimulus to an item

You can add a single stimulus or multiple stimulus to an item. If you add multiple stimuli, each one will display in a tab as highlighted below.

To add the stimulus to an item:

1. Open an existing item.
   
   
2. Select the Edit icon next the to Stimuli expandable section.
   
   

3. Complete the following:

   1. Select the Stimulus/Item Ratio (optional) to set a percentage of horizontal space the stimulus takes up when in the minimised and expanded states.
   2. Select the Add an existing Stimulus drop-down box to select your stimulus, then click the + icon to add it to the item. Repeat for all the stimuli you wish to add. As you add them, they will display below.
   3. Enter a caption (optional) to display on the tab. If you don’t enter a caption, the system will use the stimulus name.
   
4. Select the Save Stimuli button to save.