All FAQs

Profile/Acct

• Do I need TeachLearnRepeat.com if there are reference sites such as Wikipedia available to me?

  Imagine Wikipedia (and every other reference site on the Internet) as a huge mountain of knowledge. The 'gold' in the mountain is the knowledge that you really want for your own use. The tools TeachLearnRepeat.com strives to create represent the picks, shovels, mining pans, wheelbarrows, and backpacks that help you to not only mine the gold, but keep it for later as well. Assessment tools are like a sophisticated meter (with a few GB of memory) that tells you how far into the mountain you've dug, how much gold you've mined, and how much gold there is left to collect.
  
  Food for thought.

• I'd like to become a Member, but I'm not sure what you mean when you say TeachLearnRepeat provides 'Free Learning Tools'?

  First of all, let's not get too caught up with the word 'tools'. If you think about it, every popular site (ex. Myspace, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Plenty of Fish, Digg, Wikipedia, Google Blogs, Flickr, PhotoBucket) provides their visitors 'tools' to use. YouTube has a tool for uploading video, a tool for embedding videos, a tool for rating videos, a tool for grouping videos into channels, a tool for commenting on other's video, and so on. Twitter has a tool that allows you to comment on what you are doing at the moment, and limit it to 140 characters. They have a tool that allows you to add followers, as well as a tool to follow other's Tweets.
  
  They all have tools and tools are their business. Every tool on all these sites is just a way to get all this user-contributed data into a database that gets bigger and bigger and bigger. The bigger your database, the more visitors you seem to attract; the more visitors you attract, the more press you get, and then becoming a Member is even more worthwhile.
  
  Our tools are going to allow people to empower themselves to learn more effectively. As long as thousands of content sites are offering information that could be 'learned' and not just 'read' or 'looked up', there is a potential need for learning tools to enhance the process and make it more efficient. If the content sites are not going to develop the tools, then that opens it up to other entities such as TeachLearnRepeat to provide those tools.

• Is a TeachLearnRepeat account free?

  Absolutely. It is free to sign up and create an account, and your membership allows you to create Questions, save Questions, take and save Quizzes, create Study Groups and more. In short, anything you can do on the TeachLearnRepeat site you can do with a free account.

• What kind of person would represent a typical TeachLearnRepeat Member?

  Everyone throughout their life struggles with learning certain subjects or grasping certain topics that they need to get a handle on. Others struggle with memorization or recalling facts. Certain people are willing to accept that they struggle and that they are having a hard time, and refuse to do anything out of the ordinary to get past it; they basically accept failure. They are not going to be the ones out there looking for tools and learning aids - free or otherwise.
  
  But there are a lot of motivated learners out there. Then, consider highly inspired teachers, professional instructors, as well as home-school parents and hobbyists - who are all about passing along knowledge. Some parents want to give some kind of additional edge to their kids; other adults are always needing to learn new skills to retain a job or enhance their career. Some people want to gain knowledge as part of an outside interest such as music or history.
  
  Certainly, students from middle school through high school, college and beyond who have large amounts of information to assimilate could be looking for ways to aid memorization and retention.
  
  If you fall into any of the above groups, then you would be a typical TeachLearnRepeat Member.
  
  According to Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia, more than 340 million people use Wikipedia every month - almost a third of the Internet-connected world. Wikipedia is a free-to-use knowledge reference which uses an encyclopedia paradigm, and is clearly low-tech and low-pizzazz, without fancy video, graphics, or layout. With that in mind, the pool of regular and semi-regular visitors is potentially quite large for sites entering the world of online learning as an adjunct to a popular site such as his. If that is true, then the same sites could be adjuncts to the thousands of additional learning-oriented content sites out there.

• Who can join TeachLearnRepeat?

  If you are age 13 or older with a valid email address, you can join TeachLearnRepeat. We are not able to allow people under the age of 13 to create or maintain memberships with us.

Collections

• What types of Questions can I add to my Collection?

  There are nine distinct types (or styles) of Questions you can use when building up a Collection to be used on a Drill, Quiz or Exam:
  
  Fill-In: A standard fill-in-the-answer Question style, in which the response will be typed. The default for Fill-In Questions is that the answer is case-insensitive. So if the answer is 'Book', then correct Responses will include 'book', 'BOOK', 'BoOK', etc.
  
  Multiple Choice: The most common type of Question style, a Multiple Choice Question style can offer the student a correct answer, and from 1 to 6 distractor answers, or incorrect answers.
  
  True/False: A basic Question style with only two possible responses, true or false.
  
  Check Correct: Check Correct is a Question style in which there are 1 or more correct Responses, and 1 or more incorrect Responses. The student will be checking a box next to the correct Responses, and the Question will be considered correct if all the correct Responses have been selected, and none of the incorrect Responses have been selected. While in Question entry, a list of correct Responses (and a list of incorrect Responses) will be entered, separated by commas, by the Question author.
  
  Drag Correct: Drag Correct Questions are set up just like Check Correct (list of correct Responses, list of incorrect Responses) - the only difference is the way the student answers the Question. Instead of checking a box, the student will drag and drop the correct Responses from the left side of the answer panel to the right side of the answer panel.
  
  Drag and Sort: Drag and Sort Questions work just like Drag Correct Questions, with the additional requirement that the correct Responses are expected to be in a particular order for the Question to be considered correct.
  
  Sort: Sort Questions are Questions which are set up by the Question author to have a list of Responses which only need to be dragged and dropped by the student in the proper order, within the left side of the answer panel.
  
  Arrange: Arrange style Questions work just like Sort, except that instead of a vertical list of answer Responses to be sorted, the answer Responses are in a paragraph, and can be dragged and dropped horizontally and vertically. It has to be seen to be believed. (Arrange may not work in all browsers).
  
  Open-ended: An Open-ended Question style serves as our 'anything goes' option, and the only answer Response that would be considered incorrect is one in which the Question author requires a minimum answer length. You can also use the Open-ended style to enter Questions without answers - all the other Question styles require some kind of answer. Later, you can edit the Question, changing the style to something else, and enter the correct answer.

• Can a Collection be included in more than one SuperSet?

  Yes, a Collection can be a part of an unlimited number of SuperSets.
  
  It's very important to understand that the Questions in the Collections that make up the SuperSet are NOT copied. The SuperSet inherits the Questions (essestially just linking to them), so even if your Collection is part of 10 SuperSets, changing any individual Question in the Collection means that all 10 SuperSets will be viewing the same, updated Question.

• Can I enter a Question without an answer?

  There is only one way to get a Question entered into the Collection without an answer, and that is to use the Open-ended Question style.
  
  An Open-ended Question style is our 'anything goes' option. You can use the Open-ended style to enter Questions without answers - all the other Question styles require some kind of answer. Later, you can edit the Question, changing the style to something else (such as Fill-In or Multiple Choice), and enter the correct answer.
  
  Open-ended Questions are easy to track down in the list of Questions in your Collection because the icon for Open-ended Questions features a big question mark. Those Questions really stand out in the list of Questions, and is a quick indicator as to which Questions still need "real" answers.

• I had a great source on the web for the bulk of the Questions in my Collection. Is there a way to give them credit?

  Absolutely. When editing the details of a Collection, you'll see a couple of fields under the "Descriptions" tab called "Text label for prerequisite" and "Link to prerequisite". Even though these fields are primarily used for linking to material to be read prior to quizzing, you may use either or both to give credit where credit is due - and we definitely encourage that sort of thing! The credits can be seen when quizzing by clicking on the "About" tab.
  
  An example might be: Text label for prerequisite, "Questions authored by Dr. Ahmet McFee; used by permission"; Link to prerequisite, "http://www.drahmetmcfee.org".

• Is there a limit on the number of Collections a Member can set up?

  There is no fixed limit.

• Is there a limit on the number of Questions in a single Collection?

  No, there is no fixed limit on the number of Questions in a Collection.
  
  However, there is an advantage to thinking in advance about creating separate Collections, for example, for each chapter of a textbook. With separate Collections, you can easily focus a drill or Quiz on a particular chapter, and then when you need to, you can quickly create a SuperSet Collection that will gather all the chapter Collections together for a massive review.

Definitions

• Alert

  Alerts are a type of message that, in a general sense, include Notes and Suggestions, but are primarily placed on Collections or Questions you've determined needs your (or someone else's) attention at some point.
  
  Types of Alerts include: Typo Alert, Inaccurate Answer Alert, Misleading/Confusing Answer Choices Alert, Inappropriate Content Alert, and a General Alert for things that are difficult to categorize.
  
  You can browse currently active Alerts by finding the "Alerts, Notes & More" link located on the "My Information" sidebar when you are logged in.

• Author

  The person creating and maintaining a Collection is considered to be the Author of that Collection. The author is responsible for the accuracy of the Questions in the Collection and their Answers, as well as determining proper Collection options for potential third-party TLR members who may use the Collection.
  
  The Author is also responsible for handling Alerts, Notes and Suggestions that others (the public, or Study Group members) may place on the content of the Collection. This may include things such as typos, Question/Answer phrasing, appropriateness, etc.

• Collection

  A Collection is a list of questions and answers designed to aid learning, retention and understanding. One Collection holds and organizes many Questions (in a header-detail arrangement), and the Collection's attributes can control and enhance Quizzes and Tests on those Questions.
  
  The Collection maintains attributes common to all the Questions contained within, such as categories, descriptions and keywords. Additionally, the performance of your Collection when taking a Quiz can be adjusted, fine-tuned and saved, so that the Quiz performs exactly has you want. There are literally thousands of ways that a Quiz can proceed based upon the performance attributes that you can set in the Collection.
  
  TLR Synonyms: Question Collection

• Fifty-fifty

  Fifty-fifty (or 50/50) is a feature of the Quiz Engine for Multiple Choice Questions that grants the quiz taker the opportunity to earn a half-credit on the Question in exchange for the computer removing half of the wrong answers.
  
  If the Question has an odd number of answer choices, then the computer removes slightly less than half; for example, if there are 5 answer choices, only 2 are removed when 50/50 is selected.
  
  TLR Synonyms: 50/50

• Hint

  A hint is an indirect indication or suggestion of the Question's answer. A hint may set up by the Author of the Collection at the Question level. Hints are optional, but when included, grant the quiz taker the opportunity to earn a half-credit on the Question in exchange for the ability to view the hint.
  
  A good hint does not give away the answer, but should steer the quiz taker in the right direction, perhaps virtually eliminating a commonly chosen answer, or set of answers.
  
  Note: If a hint exists on a Question, the Quiz taker will not have the ability to take a 50/50 option on that same Question. In the Quiz Engine hierarchy, the existence of a hint takes precedence over allowing a 50/50 option.

• Participation Score

  Your TLR Participation Score reflects the activity that you've logged while signed on to the TeachLearnRepeat.com site. The score is recalculated periodically, at least once a day, but as much as once per hour. Adding Collections, Questions, Likes, Favorites and so forth all contribute to the score, as does the taking of Quizzes. making Suggestions, managing a growing Study Group and more.
  
  The Participation Score is shown as a whole number when it is less than 1000; from one thousand to one million it is expressed in K (thousands). For example 2.1K is around 2100.
  
  If your Participation Score is greater than one million, congratulations! Your score will be expressed in M (millions). For example, 1.23M would be around 1,230,000.
  
  The Participation Score appears next to your ID, or name, as a superscript.

• Quiz

  A Quiz is a test or assessment of knowledge, and on the TeachLearnRepeat site, you initiate a Quiz by selecting a Collection and clicking 'Take a Quiz'.
  
  It's a subtle distinction, but on TeachLearnRepeat we don't speak of 'creating a quiz'; rather you create Questions and Answers, you organize them within Collections, and then you select a Collection and take a Quiz.
  
  By the way, on the TeachLearnRepeat site, the word 'Quiz' is used in a generic sense to include all types of assessments, including Tests, Exams, Trivia, WikiLearnRepeats, and Drills.

• Quiz Engine

  The Quiz Engine is the official name for the app that controls the quizzing process from start to finish. Whenever you see links such as 'Take a Quiz' or 'Quiz Now', clicking immediately fires up the Quiz Engine, and the Quiz begins immediately (if you are a Public user). A registered Member will be presented with a selection page where the Quiz experience can be customized prior to beginning.
  
  By the way, on the TeachLearnRepeat site, the word 'Quiz' is used in a generic sense to include all types of assessments, including Tests, Exams, Trivia, WikiLearnRepeats and Drills.

• Response

  The Response is defined as all the text that appears after a Question has been answered during a Quiz. The appearance and content of the Response may be controlled by the person taking the quiz, as well as established in advance by the author of the Collection.
  
  The content of the Response can include any or all of the following: the correctness of the answer ("Correct", "Incorrect"), the original question, the correct answer, and an explanation. The Response can even be omitted altogether!
  
  There are many options available on the Collection that relate to how and when the Response will appear. Typically it appears on a page by itself after the Question has been answered, but if you like, you may choose to have it appear immediately above the next Question, such as when you are drilling.
  
  TLR Synonyms: Question Response

• Results

  Results are the records created after finishing Quizzes, Tests, Exams and Drills.
  
  TLR Synonyms: Quiz Results

• Shared Collection

  A Shared Collection is a Question Collection that has been made available for public access by the Author. These Collections can be viewed and used for Quizzes by anyone, including non-Members. Registered Members of TeachLearnRepeat can additionally create new SuperSets based on these Shared Collections, allowing for customization and personalization of the shared resource.
  
  Generally, a Shared Collection is based upon the content found on a publicly accessible web site, and the Author of a Shared Collection can include links to the resources that serve as prerequisites or background for the Questions in the Collection. This enables a learner or student to read the material found at the link or links, then use the Shared Collection as a drill or Quiz to assess understanding.
  
  TLR Synonyms: Public Collection, Shared/Public Collection

• Study Group

  A Study Group is a group of individuals who have come together to create, share, discuss and learn with private Question Collections. Each distinct Study Group can enable access to a pool of private Collections that only they have the ability to use.
  
  TLR Synonyms: Group

• SuperSet

  A TLR SuperSet is a special Collection that allows you to group other Collections together. You can also add additional Questions directly to the SuperSet, as well as hide Questions from Collections that are not useful to you.

• TLR Synonym

  You'll notice in the FAQ that on many of the definitions of terms used throughout the TeachLearnRepeat universe is a section called 'TLR Synonyms'. A TLR Synonym is simply another word or phrase that TLR members and staff use to refer to the same concept.
  
  In many cases it is a short form, such as 'Group' for 'Study Group', but it can also be an acronym - or even a longer expression of the concept (such as 'Question Collection' as a synonym for 'Collection').

• Tools

  Tools, a menu item normally seen on the left hand sidebar, are a group of functions that help you deal with ad hoc tasks. These tasks can be things such as removing old Quiz Results, making private Collections public, assigning Collections to another member, running reports, etc.

• TurboLearn

  TurboLearn is TeachLearnRepeat's method for studying a Question Collection in which the Questions in the Collection are presented in batches (typically 10 at a time), each Question and correct answer shown for a fixed time (typically 8-10 seconds). Using TurboLearn, you can focus just on the correct answers prior to taking a Quiz. The Questions in your Collection are presented to you in random order to enhance your ability to recall the correct answers.
  
  You can apply the TurboLearn technique to any Collection you administer, as well as any Shared Collection or Group Collection.

Quizzes

• Can I have Section, Chapter, or Division numbers appear next to the Question on a quiz?

  Yes, you can. The way to accomplish it is in the way you name your Collections and SuperSets. Let's go through an example.
  
  I'm a chemistry student, and I'm creating Questions in Collections called "Organic Chemistry Chapter 1", "Organic Chemistry Chapter 2", and so on. When I create a SuperSet to pull all of the chapters together, I'll simply name it "Organic Chemisty".
  
  With that, I've accomplished two goals - firstly, I've created a descriptive SuperSet name that verbally binds the SuperSet to its Collections.
  
  Secondly, I've allowed TeachLearnRepeat to recognize the "Chapter 1", "Chapter 2", "Chapter 3" elements of the Collection titles as suffixes.
  
  One of the Advanced options for any SuperSet/Collection is called "Show Collection suffix on SuperSet questions?". It can be toggled "Yes" or "No", and when it is set to "Yes", the suffix of the Collection corresponding to the current Question in the Quiz will show (for example) as "Question 1 (Chapter 3)".

• How can I get right back to the Quiz I was taking yesterday?

  If you look to the left at the links under "My Information", you'll see on called 'Retake/Restart your Last Quiz'. You can click that at any time (even in the middle of a Quiz), and it will look up the last Quiz you took and present you with the option page for that Quiz.
  
  You may also find it useful to click 'Results' under "my Information" because you will not only see the scores from all of your previous Quizzes, but you have the option of retaking any of the Quizzes from that list.

• How can I restart the current Quiz?

  The exit link at the bottom of the Quiz Engine is a "save and exit" type, meaning it will exit out of the Quiz process, saving your current progress. If you look to the left at the links under "My Information", you'll see on called 'Retake/Restart your Last Quiz'. You can click that at any time, even in the middle of a Quiz. If you are in the middle of a Quiz, it will show you that on the list of Unfinished Quizzes, and it will let you start all over if you click 'Done' on the current Quiz.
  
  If you change your mind, and wish to pick up where you left off, you can click 'Continue' next to the Quiz name on the list of Unfinished Quizzes.

• I see that I can add an explanation of the answer to my question that will appear after the student has answered the question. Is there a way to add individual explanations for any (or all) of the incorrect answers on a multiple choice question?

  Absolutely. When you are entering your Question, Answer, and incorrect (or distractor) Answers, you'll notice an orange 'i' icon in the lower right corner of the incorrect answer section. Click on it, and explanation fields will open up for all of the incorrect answer fields.
  
  You don't have to enter explanations for every answer, just the ones you feel might warrent further edification, while increasing learning. These individual explanations will either appear 'instead of' the general explanation, or 'in addition to' the general explanation. You can control that aspect of the question via an Advanced option on the collection called "Individual explanations override general explanations."

• What is the difference between taking a Quiz and using TurboLearn?

  TurboLearn is primarily a drill, focusing on correct answers, and offering a rapidly paced experience. In contrast, a Quiz is primarily an assessment, letting you know exactly where you stand with the material. Since our Quizzes can be set up with a Wrong Answer Review, there is additional emphasis on making sure you never leave the Quiz Engine without answering each Question in the set at least once, correctly.
  
  Some learners will prefer one method over the other, while many will use both to get the most out of their Question Collections.

TLR Policies

• What makes TeachLearnRepeat different from other free quiz, drill and exam sites?

  We never stop looking at the process of learning, and how an effective drill, quiz or other tool can enhance that process. Once we find an enhancement that works, we add in to the software so that existing quizzes can be enhanced, and future quizzes can take advantage of it.
  
  On the majority of free quiz sites out there, the amount of customization you can apply to a question or a quiz is typically minimal (unless you upgrade). Here, we give you that customization power with every free Membership.

• Can you summarize the TeachLearnRepeat.com Privacy Policy?

  Sure. TeachLearnRepeat.com is committed to protecting your privacy. In a nutshell, WILL NOT sell, rent, distribute or otherwise share your personal information, including e-mail address, to or with anyone.

• What happens if a member tries to delete a Shared/Public Collection?

  Because one of the most important aspects of the TeachLearnRepeat philosophy is leveraging shared assets, Public/Shared Collections are not deleted. Instead, when a delete request is received for a Shared Collection, administration of the Shared Collection is transferred from the member to TeachLearnRepeat.com staff.

• What is the policy at TeachLearnRepeat.com for contributed content intended to be shared with the public?

  Great question! It's exactly the same as Wikipedia and many other educational sites. Content that violates any copyrights will be deleted. By uploading content you're agreeing to the Terms of Use, and you irrevocably agree to release your contribution under the CC-BY-SA 3.0 License and the GFDL. In addition, you agree that a hyperlink or URL is sufficient attribution under the Creative Commons license.

Study Groups

• Can anyone create a Study Group?

  Yes, if you signed up for an account you can start and organize a Study Group.

• Can anyone in the Study Group add their Question Collections to the Group's list of Collections?

  Yes, with an explanation!
  
  The owner of the Study Group (the TLR Member who created it), manages everything for that Study Group - adding and approving additional Members, and adding Collections. Collections the owner adds from their own Collection list are automatically added, but Collections added by other Members of the Group have to be approved by the Group owner. So the other Members are merely requesting that their Collections are included, and through an Alert sent to the Study Group owner, the owner may approve or disapprove the adding of that Collection to the Group's list.

• I created a new Study Group and added two friends to the Group. Do they have access to all my Question Collections?

  No. Initially, they don't have access to any of your Collections. You will designate which Collections they can access by adding them to a Collections list within the 'Study Groups' link under "My Information".
  
  You (as the owner of the Study Group) can even grant or take away access to a Collection on a Member by Member basis - for example, letting Pete use your Spanish Collection, but not your American History Collection, which only Mary can use. These authorities can be adjusted by clicking on the pencil icon (Edit) for the particular Study Group you wish to change.
  
  So think of a Study Group as a list of Members as well as a list of Collections those Members have access to.
  
  

• Is it possible for Members of a Study Group to collaborate on a Collection? We'd like to have each Member of the Group contribute five Questions to a Collection.

  Yes, the Study Group leader (the person who created the Group) can grant 'Add/Change/Delete' authority to any or all Members of the Group to any or all Collections within the Group. With that level of authority, anyone in the Group could add, modify and delete Questions within a Collection. That way, the Group (or perhaps a smaller subset of the Group) could potentially collaborate, building up a Question Collection with Group Member participation.