A bimodal question is a question that can be displayed as either a Multiple Choice or a Short Answer question. Bimodal questions give you more flexibility when building a test.

The default question type for a Bimodal question is Multiple Choice. Learners can choose a single correct answer from 2 or more answer options. Once the question has been entered, you can use the Mode dropdown to switch the question type to Short Answer. In a Short Answer question, learners respond to an open-ended question with a word, words, or short phrase of up to 500 characters. You can create new questions from within an existing Test or Question Bank or directly from the Questions tab.

Creating a Bimodal Question From the Question Library or Within a Question Bank

1. Log into EchoExam with your instructor account.
2. From the My Library tab, select Questions or Question Banks.
   

   If you select Question Banks, open the Question Bank you want to add a question in.

3. Click the New Question button.
4. From the New Question Template window, select Bimodal.
5. In the Enter question text box, type in your question.
   

   Use the Rich Text Editor to edit the question text.

6. In the Enter answer text box, type in an answer choice.
   

   Use the Rich Text Editor to edit the answer choice text.

7. Use the radio buttons to indicate the correct answer.
8. From the Content tab, you can
   • Set the question Mode of Multiple Choice or Short Answer.
     

     Multiple choice answer options and short answer keywords will not be lost when switching between modes.

   • Change the Points value of the question.
   • Set the Columns for the multiple choice answer choices.
     

     Choose between 1 and 4 columns for the answer choice display in multiple choice mode. Learners will be presented with the answer options in the number of columns selected.

   • Set a Character Limit for Short Answer responses.
     

     The character limit can be a maximum of 500 and cannot be zero.

   • Enter Keywords for the Short Answer mode.
     

     Keywords are used to score learner responses. Only one keyword is required by default.

   • Require all keywords for the Short Answer mode.
     

     Requires all keywords to be present in answer to be counted as correct.

9. From the Metadata tab, you can view or edit metadata tags associated with the question.
10. Optionally, you can click the Desktop, Tablet Portrait, and Mobile Portrait icons to preview how the question is displayed on different devices.
11. When finished, click Save.
    

    The question is added to your Question Bank and/or Questions library so you can use it in additional tests.

Creating a Bimodal Question in an Existing Test

1. Log into EchoExam with your instructor account.
2. From the My Library tab, select Tests.
3. Click the three vertical dots to open the action menu on the test you want to add a question to.
4. Select Edit.
5. Click the Add Question button.
6. From the New Question Template window, select Bimodal.
7. In the Enter question text box, type in your question.
   

   Use the Rich Text Editor to edit the question text.

8. In the Enter answer text box, type in an answer choice.
   

   Use the Rich Text Editor to edit the answer choice text.

9. Use the radio buttons to indicate the correct answer.
10. From the Content tab, you can
    • Set the question Mode of Multiple Choice or Short Answer.
      

      Multiple choice answer options and short answer keywords will not be lost when switching between modes.

    • Change the Points value of the question.
    • Set the Columns for the multiple choice answer choices.
      

      Choose between 1 and 4 columns for the answer choice display in multiple choice mode. Learners will be presented with the answer options in the number of columns selected.

    • Set a Character Limit for Short Answer responses.
      

      The character limit can be a maximum of 500 and cannot be zero.

    • Enter Keywords for the Short Answer mode.
      

      Keywords are used to score learner responses. Only one keyword is required by default.

    • Require all keywords for the Short Answer mode.
      

      Requires all keywords to be present in answer to be counted as correct.

11. From the Metadata tab, you can view or edit metadata tags associated with the question.
12. Optionally, you can click the Desktop, Tablet Portrait, and Mobile Portrait icons to preview how the question is displayed on different devices.
13. Changes are saved automatically.

    The question is added to your test and saved to your Questions library so you can use it in additional tests.