Atomic Assessments Introduction
Atomic Assessments has customizable question options and settings beyond those available in the built-in Canvas quizzes. It integrates with Canvas Speedgrader and Gradebook and is available for all Utah State faculty in Canvas.
Watch a two-minute feature Open External Link demonstration or explore the Atomic Assessments Open External Link overview page.
Should I Use Atomic Assessments?
There are five great reasons to use Atomic Assessments (Canvas Quizzes don't have these options):
- To embed an activity or assignment in a Canvas page containing other content
- To provide immediate feedback after a student answers a question
- To allow students an option to try answering a question again after feedback is given
- To utilize various question types that aren't available in Canvas Quizzes
- To get detailed reports about how students answered specific questions
For the following assessment types, you could use these features of Atomic Assessments:
|
Assessment Type |
Embedded in |
Immediate |
Added to |
Auto-Graded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Activity | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Assignment | ✓ | ✓ | * | |
| Quiz | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ * | |
| Exam | ✓ | ✓ * |
Question Types
Atomic Assessments has 10 question categories with 4+ question types each, including interactive and customizable options for fill-in-the-blank, images, math, graphing, chemistry, and more. See images of these categories and types in the questions overview.
Compare question options with Canvas Classic quizzes Opens External Link and Canvas New Quizzes Opens External Link to find the best option for your course.
Customizable Question Types
Questions and assessments can be customized at the code level. In Canvas quizzes, an HTML editor is available with the Rich Content Editor Opens External Link , but this does not change the format of the question type itself, as is possible in Atomic Assessments.
Supplemental Tools
In Atomic Assessments, instructors can enable on-screen features such as a protractor, ruler, line-by-line text reader, and scientific calculator.
Besides question types, Canvas Classic quizzes provide no built-in feature options. New Quizzes in Canvas provides a calculator option
Opens External Link
Embed Questions in a Content Page
Atomic Assessment assignments can be embedded in lesson and assignment pages. The only equivalent option is a Design Tools multiple-choice option on lesson pages; however, only Atomic Assessment questions on lesson pages can be added to students’ grades.
Student Performance Reports
Atomic Assessments generates five different reports per assignment: Summary, Item Scores, Item Statistics, Responses, and Errors.
Compare reports with Canvas Classic quiz reports and New Quiz reports to find the best option for your course.
Customizable Assessment Layout
Using a customizable format and the “passage” feature, instructors can build entire graded or ungraded lessons within an Atomic Assessments assignment.
If you are interested in a simpler layout feature, New Canvas Quizzes also offers a side-by-side passage and question(s) option Opens External Link
Other Features
- Print a copy of the assignment or answer key
- An in-quiz “Check answer” button for individual questions
- Multiple attempts for individual questions
Additional Resources
- Accessibility Considerations Opens External lInk from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
- Atomic Assessments flier Opens External Link
While Atomic Assessments has many sophisticated and exciting options, it may exceed your current course needs or interests. Explore the options and tutorials to see if it is a good fit for you.
Reference
- “Atomic Assessments – Documentation Opens External Link ” Atomic Jolt. Accessed 25 February 2020.
Atomic Assessments - Get Started
The following list of pages will guide you through getting started with this tool. The current page is listed in bold.