Set preferences for activities

Updated 19 Feb 2024

You can set preferences that specify how much time and how many chances a student has to complete an activity, the order in which the questions appear, the minimum passing grade, and the feedback students receive.

  1. Go to the Course Materials > Add from Library page.
  2. If you haven't already copied the activity to your My Course list, select it in the Course Materials Library and then click Add.
  3. In the My Course list, do one of the following:
    • Click Edit on the activity's options menu and then click Preferences.
    • Click Set Scheduling Options on the activity's options menu and then click Preferences.

You can set preferences for all activities of a given type at once, using options on the Preferences > Activities page.

Preferences are grouped into the following categories:

Number of attempts -- Indicate how many times students can take the activity.

  • Specify number of attempts lets you set a maximum number of times students can take the activity (default is 3).
  • Number of attempts is unlimited lets students take the activity as many times as they want.

Number of attempts per question -- Enter the number of times students can try to answer the question (default is 5).

Applies only to simulation (performance-based) questions; students can attempt objective-based questions as many times as they want until they submit the activity.

Time allowed to complete activity (document-based pre- and post-tests) -- Specify the maximum time in hours and minutes (HH:MM) that students have to complete the test.

Set time limit for activity (skill-based pre- and post-tests) -- Specify the maximum time in hours and minutes (HH:MM) that students have to complete the test.

Enable late submissions --Let students submit the activity after the due date. You can accept any late submissions.

  • If the activity is manually graded, you can grade the late submission and include the grade in the gradebook.
  • If the activity is auto-scored, grades appear in the gradebook after you accept the late submission.

Enable Grace Period --Let you define grace period settings for late submissions; using this option eliminates the need to manually accept each late submission.

  • Amount to deduct: Enter the points (percentage) of the score to deduct. The default is 0% and a maximum of three whole numbers (for example 100) can be used.
  • for every: Enter a number and select a time period—hour, day, or week—after which the deduction should be applied. The default is 1 day.
  • Maximum deduction: Enter the maximum points (percentage) that should be deducted from the score. The default is 100%.

For example, if you set the amount to deduct at 10% and the time period to 2 days, the score for a submission that is 1 day late is not reduced, 2 days late is reduced by 10%, 3 days late is reduced by 10%, and 4 days late is reduced by 20%.

 

  • This option is available only if you also select Enable late submissions.

  • This option is not available for study plan pre-tests, training materials, or post-tests.

Respondus LockDown -- Prevent students from switching to another window or application while working on a simulation activity.

Note that locking the browser during a simulation activity has the same effect as trapping ALT+TAB; a course can employ either method.

When this preference is enabled, students see a Start message when they launch a simulation activity explaining that they cannot open another browser window until they submit the simulation activity.

After submitting the activity , they see an End message and can again access other browser windows.

Play in training mode (training only) -- Change the activity to a training activity, which uses the T1 training scenario.

Play audio in training mode -- Play audio when students use the Hints and Show Me options in training mode.

This option is available only if you select Play in Training Mode.

Allow student to save for later -- Allows students to save activity and submit later. Saved activities are not counted as attempts.

Shuffle questions within application group -- Randomly shuffle the order in which questions for a given application appear to each student.

Shuffle order in which applications appear -- Randomly shuffle the order in which applications appear for each student.

Display Performance-Based (Simulation) Questions --Not used in MyLab IT.

Submission score to show in Gradebook -- Specify which score to record in the gradebook if multiple attempts are allowed. Options are:

  • Highest: The highest score of all submissions
  • Lowest: The lowest score of all submissions
  • First: The score of the first completed submission
  • Last: The score of the most recent submission
  • Average: The average score of all submissions

Set the threshold/mastery score to pass (%) -- Enter the threshold score that students must obtain to pass the activity or test. The default is 70%.

If you clear this option, the student grade still appears in the gradebook and on the Activity Summary Results page. However, pass/fail icons do not appear.

Provide a class average -- Students are never anonymous in MyLab IT so you cannot change this preference.

Allow student to view clickstream data when viewing student submission -- Let students see each mouse and keyboard action they took to complete the task, noting which steps were incorrect.

Allow student to view completion methods when viewing student submission -- Let students see correct answers or alternative acceptable methods after submitting the activity.

If you plan to deliver an exam at different times to different sections of your course, you may want to clear this option to avoid students sharing the correct answers.