What to Do With Questions Created in Excel? | Blackboard Ultra | Seneca Polytechnic

If you previously created test questions using Excel (.txt file format), you will have found that Blackboard Ultra currently does not allow the import of .txt (tab-delimited) into the Question Banks. 

• You can upload .txt files into an individual test. See instructions from Blackboard Ultra's Help Page, and an article from Teesside University that includes screenshots.
  • You can then create a new Question Bank in Blackboard Ultra and "Reuse Questions" from the test with the uploaded questions (from a .txt file).
• Alternatively, you can use an external Blackboard Test Generator that creates .zip files that are easily uploaded to Question Banks. Please see our related article "Creating Question Banks Using a Test Generator."

In this article, we provide a temporary solution for instructors with access to an old Blackboard Original course. Where you will need to:

1. Upload the .txt file into Blackboard Original
2. Copy the Imported Excel Formatted Questions to your Blackboard Ultra Course

Caveats 

There are question types that are not supported in Blackboard Ultra that you may have created in Excel. Please reformat the question types.

• File Response (FIL)
• Jumbled Sentence (JUMBLED_SENTENCE)
• Opinion/Likert Scale (OP)
• Ordering (ORD)
• Quiz Bowl (QUIZ_BOWL)
• Short Response (SR) questions are automatically converted to Essay questions (ESS)

Please note that imported Fill in the blank and Multiple/Fill in the blanks question types need to be reviewed. 

• All Fill in the blank questions are imported by default to be an "exact match"
• Functional Fill in the blank questions will appear with a bold "[Blank 1]."
• Tip: Review the test questions in Student Preview. 

1. Uploading the .txt File to Blackboard Original

1. In Blackboard Original, on the left-hand panel under the section Course Management, select Course Tools and then select Tests, Surveys, and Pools.
2. Select Pools.
   
3. Select Build Pool.
   
4. Insert a Name and select Submit at the bottom right. Tip: Give it an obvious name, you can rename it later in Blackboard Ultra. You do not need to fill out any additional sections.
   
5. Select Upload Questions.
   
6. Select Browse and locate the .txt file on your device. 
   Note: You can assign points per question here and you can edit them later in Blackboard Ultra.
   

2. Copy the Imported Excel Formatted Questions to your Blackboard Ultra Course

1. Go to the Blackboard Ultra course you want to copy the questions into.

2. Select the ellipses next to Course Content. A drop-down menu is displayed.

3. Select Copy Items from the drop-down menu. The Copy Items panel is displayed.

4. Select the course you want to copy the content from. Note: Hidden courses will not show up in the Copy Content panel.
   
5. Select the folder Question Banks.
   
   
6. Locate the question bank and select the checkbox to the left. Then, select Start Copy (located on the bottom right). 
   
7. The newly imported question bank will now appear in the list of question banks. Refer to our related articles: Using Question Banks and Pools and Creating a Test.