Create interactive activities for students to drag and drop objects in the correct order.
The Interactive canvas can be used to create activities where students drag and drop objects such as text or images into the correct order. This could be effective for types of questions where there is a definitive order that objects could be arranged by students such as a Timeline, a scale (e.g pH), or steps in a process.
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Creating an ordering objects activity
1. Add the Interactive canvas widget
In Prepare mode, add the Interactive canvas widget which can be found in the Questions section of your content bar. If you can't see the content bar in your Lesson, click on the Add content tab sticking to the right edge of your page.
2. Write the question
When writing the question, you have access to the full rich text toolbar that includes options for formatting, special characters, and mathematical notation. Click here for a complete tutorial on what's available. You may want to help your students with some visual cues, such as writing cognitive verbs in bold or highlighting context clues with italics. If there are multiple parts to the question, then outline them in a numbered list. This is entirely up to you!
3. Add images or create objects within Stile
External PNG or JPEG image files can be added to the canvas using the image uploader tool and arranged anywhere on the canvas. Basic objects can also be created within Stile, such as words, arrows or other shapes using the tools to the left of the uploader tool. You can get to know the full range of the toolbar here.
For an ordering task you will want to have all of the objects that your students will need to move into place, and also a background image or layout that indicates where those objects should be placed. The sample in the image at the top of this article includes three images that have been uploaded to the canvas, and a background consisting of three empty boxes for those images and two arrows in between them.
4. Lock background objects so they cannot be moved
Once you are happy with the layout of the activity, some objects on the canvas can be locked so they are unable to be moved by students while completing the activity. Click on an object to be locked, or select multiple objects to be locked by dragging your cursor across all of them. Next, click the padlock icon in the toolbar. This will lock the background objects in place so students are unable to move them while completing the activity. Leave the images for the students to arrange in the correct order unlocked.
5. Define target areas and provide automatic feedback
Now that you have arranged and locked some elements on your canvas, you can define target areas for the activity to be automatically marked and provide feedback to students.
Click on the object to be marked and then select the marking tool on the right side of the toolbar. Click and drag the mouse over the area to be marked.
A bubble will appear with a text field and a toggle switch. Choose whether the area is to be marked correct or incorrect and then type in the desired feedback. The first marking area for an object will always be correct by default. One element can be assigned multiple correct and incorrect areas on the canvas. These marked areas are invisible to the students.
If you follow the same process using the same object you can now also define incorrect areas and enter comments for automatic feedback to students. Creating incorrect marks is not necessary unless you want to add that written feedback.
6. Create a Model answer
Setting up a model answer allows you to release the correct answer to students once they have submitted their work. Students can only see Model answers once you release them; they are not visible while students are working.
Above the toolbar click on the Model answer tab. Drag and drop all the objects in the canvas into their correct position for the activity and then click Done to finish editing.
How students interact with the activity
Using the Preview as student button at the top of your Lesson, you can preview the task as students will see it, as well as complete the activity to ensure that everything is working correctly.
Learn more about previewing a Lesson as a student here.
Complete the activity and select I'm finished, show my teacher which will return results and feedback to you immediately if the Lesson is not assessed.
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