Update: Please see my New post (with video) describing the one-question Mneme test

This is my checklist to to make a one question test for my course in Mneme/Test Center. I do this a lot and I find myself making one little mistake and things are messed up because you can’t fix a test once published. Hopefully by writing this checklist I won’t make as many mistakes.

Add new Pool – set the point value that you want for the whole test. There is a way to change the points on a pool – I just couldn’t find it when I was in a hurry – so I just blast the one question pool and start over.

Add a question to the pool – paste in your question text. Make sure to proof this text and any attachments carefully – again hard to change later. Here is the text I use for my question:

This entire test is in a file which you edit. You are to download the test and insert your answers to the questions in the document and then save and upload the document. This file should open in any word processor. When you upload the file you can upload text file, Word Document, or PDF.

You have now entered the test and so the timer for you to take this test has *started*. You should download the test and begin working so you can finish and re-upload your answers within the three hour time period.

Exam Document: Download Here

The file may open in your browser – in this case you use Save As. Or the file may download to your computer – in this case you go and find the file on your computer.

If you have technical difficulties – send a note to csev@umich.edu – in a pinch send a text message to +1 517-xxx-yyyy – please include a callback number in your text message.

Once you have downloaded the file, you can leave this screen by pressing “Continue Later” and then come back *within 3 hours* and upload your answers.

When you have finished the exam – come back and upload your modified document as an attachment to this question below.

For the text Download here, you use the editor to turn this into a link and upload a copy of the exam document with no answers as the linked document.

Make sure to “Select Attachments Only” *before* saving the question.

Then “Done” to save the question to the pool.

Then Select “Assessments” and then “Add” make a new Assessment.

Put in a title – the good news here is that the title can be the same as an Assessment that you archived so if you are doing this to fix a typo on the exam, you can republish later (with only a loss of any submitted grades at that point).

Then press “Add Manual Select”

Leave Part Title Blank. Press “Select Questions”.

Pick the single question from the pool you just made. And press “Done”. Press “Done” again to finish editing the Assessment.

The next step is to check the test to see if it works using the Publish and Test Drive.

The last time I tried to test drive (December 2009) – I was unsuccessful – I have three possible reasons: (a) Mneme was simply broken, (b) some bit of permission is not correctly configured at UM, or (c) because I have admin power and Mneme gets confused when it sees someone who is both an Instructor and an Admin. In December 2009, I simply gave up and knowing I had properly authored the test. So I published the test at the right time and things were fine.

Hopefully this works better for a normal “Instructor” – or perhaps some upgrade to Mneme made things work better – I hope that Publish and Test Drive works for you.

I am really looking forward to the next version of Mneme/Test Center which makes this use case much easier because it is less obsessed with regards to always making a pool for everything.