The question library: write once, use in every paper
The “Question library”, under “Teaching”, holds the questions you write to reuse: write one once on the page, then copy it into any test, exam or practice paper with “From my earlier papers” in the paper editor, and see for each how many papers use it and how many students got it right. A question written inside a lesson or a paper stays that paper’s question and doesn’t join the library — but you’ll find it in “From my earlier papers” too.
- About 5 minutes
- 5 steps
Who can do it: The page needs the “Question bank” permission in your role; copying questions into papers needs the permission to build exams.
In 5 steps
- 1Open the “Question library”: three counters, a text search, and filters by type, level and archive.
- 2Write a “New question” in the side panel: type, text, correct answer, points, difficulty and “Why?”.
- 3Set subject, level and tags from “Tags and subject”.
- 4Copy library questions — and any question you wrote — into a paper with “From my earlier papers”.
Before you start
- The “Question bank” permission in your role (the owner has it).
- Questions you reuse often: past exam questions, revision drills, comprehension checks.
- If your questions already live in your papers, don’t retype them here: “From my earlier papers” finds them from any new paper.
- Step 1 of 5
The page at a glance
Open the “Question library” from “Teaching” in the academy menu. Under the title: “Questions written once and used in every paper — with how your students answered them.” Then three counters: “In the library”, “In papers” and, in red, “Most get wrong” — a question at least 5 students answered and fewer than half got right. Then the search “Search question text…”, the “All types” filter, the “All levels” filter (easy, medium, hard) and the “Archived” box. Each row: the share of fully right answers (or the type icon if nobody answered yet), the text, type and difficulty, “Not used yet” or “In 3 papers”, “12 of 20 answered right”, and up to two tags.
On screenQuestion libraryIn the libraryIn papersMost get wrongSearch question text…All typesAll levelsArchivedNot used yetTipStart every review from “Most get wrong”: the question most students miss tells you which lesson to explain again.
Heads-upSearch reads the question text only, and the page shows the 200 most recently edited questions. There is no filter by course or subject.
- Step 2 of 5
Write a new question
Press “New question” (“New” on a phone) and a panel opens beside the list, titled “New library question”, with the same question editor the papers use. Pick the type from its chips — “Multiple choice” first, then “True or false”, “Short answer” and “Essay”, and “Other types” for multiple answers, fill the gaps, ordering, matching and file upload: nine types — and write the text, with maths between $…$. Mark the right answer yourself — nothing is ticked in advance, and ticking a second one makes it “Multiple answers” —, or write the accepted answers, the order or the pairs; essays and file uploads are marked by hand. Under the answers, “Why?”, which the student reads after answering, then “Points” (0.25 to 100) and the difficulty (easy, medium, hard). The question saves itself once it’s complete; until then it says what it lacks, such as “Missing: the right answer”, and what you wrote stays on this device.
On screenNew questionNew library questionMultiple choiceOther typesAdd an optionAdd an imageImage linkWhy?PointsMissing: the right answerTipClick any row of the list to open it in the same panel, titled “Edit question”.
Heads-up“Editing a question in use makes a new version: published papers keep theirs, new ones take this.”
- Step 4 of 5
Take library questions into papers
In the paper editor, “From my earlier papers” on the add bar (under the first question of an empty paper, and in ⋯ on a phone) opens a window that searches the questions you may reuse: library questions — each marked “Kept outside papers” — and the questions of papers and lessons in courses you edit, each with the paper it sits in. Colleagues’ unpublished exam questions never show here. Search with “Search the question text…” or by type, pick one or more, then “Add 2 questions”: each arrives in the paper as a copy, in the order you picked, and editing it there doesn’t touch the library question.
On screenFrom my earlier papersSearch the question text…All typesKept outside papersAdd 2 questionsHeads-upA library question placed in a paper before is copied for it at the first edit: “From your library — the first edit here makes a copy for this paper and leaves other lessons alone.”
- Step 5 of 5
What enters the library, and what doesn’t
The library doesn’t fill itself: only what you write with “New question” on its page enters it. It does not hold the questions written in papers and lessons, questions sent from Dirassa Studio, or questions written by “Noqta writes questions” or pasted with “Paste your questions” — they stay their paper’s questions, and you still find them in “From my earlier papers” to copy elsewhere. For what you no longer need: “Archive” on the row hides it from the list and from “From my earlier papers”, “Restore” brings it back (tick “Archived” to see it).
On screenNew questionNoqta writes questionsPaste your questionsFrom my earlier papersArchiveRestoreArchivedTipThis page has no file import. To bring in questions you already wrote, paste them into a paper with “Paste your questions”: they stay there, and you reach them from any other paper with “From my earlier papers”.
What comes next
- Build a paper from itIn the paper editor, “From my earlier papers” copies your tried questions in seconds.
- Read what students miss“Most get wrong” points to the lesson that needs another explanation.
- Studio questionsThey land in the lesson you pick; copy them into other papers with “From my earlier papers”.
Questions
I wrote questions inside my lessons; why aren’t they in the “Question library”?
A lesson question stays its lesson’s, and the library only takes what is written on its page. There’s no need to move it: “From my earlier papers”, from any paper, finds it and copies it.
Do Dirassa Studio questions enter the library?
No. They land in the lesson you chose as its “Lesson questions”, and you find them in “From my earlier papers” to copy into other papers.
If I edit a question in use, do students’ marks change?
No. The edit makes a new version: published papers keep theirs, and old attempts are always graded against their original version. And a question copied with “From my earlier papers” stands on its own: editing one doesn’t touch the other.
How do I sort my questions by unit or subject?
From “Tags and subject” at the top of the question panel: “Subject”, “Level” and “Tags”. Search reads the text only; tags show in the row.
Can I delete a question?
You archive it with “Archive”: it leaves the list and “From my earlier papers”, stays in the papers that use it, and “Restore” brings it back.
How do I paste my questions from a Word file?
Not on this page: open a paper, press “Paste your questions” and paste them there — numbered questions with their options a) b) c) and the answer marked with * or an “Answer: b” line. They become that paper’s questions, and you reach them afterwards from any paper with “From my earlier papers”. The guide “Papers and exams” has the details.