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Turn your course notes into a Canvas quiz bank

Upload a PDF, slide deck or set of notes and get multiple-choice, true/false or short answer questions with explanations. Exports to PDF, DOCX, QTI 2.1 and Moodle XML are on paid plans.

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Drop files here or browsePDF, DOCX, PPTX, text or photos of your notes · several files with Plus

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How to build canvas quiz banks from lecture material

Building canvas quiz banks by hand usually means rereading the same slides and writing dozens of items from scratch. DeckOwl reads your own files and drafts questions with explanations, so you spend your time checking accuracy instead of starting from a blank page.

Tag questions to the learning objective they test so quizzes stay balanced.
Keep one idea per true/false item and make distractors plausible.
Write a model answer with key terms for every short answer item.
Check each draft against your source before it goes into a live course.

Example quiz bank questions for Canvas instructors

In a multiple-choice quiz bank, why should wrong options be plausible?Plausible distractors test real understanding, since obviously wrong options let students guess without studying.

Should a true/false item contain a single idea?Yes. Items joined with 'and' can be partly right, which makes scoring unfair and the answer unclear.

Why tag each question in a bank to a learning objective?Tagging lets you pull balanced quizzes that cover every objective instead of clusters on one topic.

What makes a short answer item gradable?A model answer that lists the key terms lets two graders reach the same score for the same response.

Why write an explanation for every answer choice?Explanations show students why each distractor fails, turning a wrong answer into a study moment.

Generate the full set

Questions from your own material

Upload PDFs, DOCX or PPTX files, plain notes, or photos of pages. Every question comes from the text you provide.

Explanations on every item

Each multiple-choice, true/false and short answer question includes an explanation, so a wrong answer becomes a study point.

Export for your LMS

Plus exports PDF and DOCX. Pro adds QTI 2.1 and Moodle XML export, so you can move a bank into your course system.

How it works

Upload your material

Add a lecture PDF, slide deck, DOCX file or typed notes. Photos of printed pages are read with text recognition.

Choose question types

Pick multiple-choice, true/false or short answer, then generate a set to review.

Review and export

Edit or remove items, then export to the format your course needs. Exports are available on paid plans.

A useful bank covers each learning objective with several questions of different difficulty, so you can pull balanced quizzes instead of repeating the same items. Review each draft against the source, remove any question that tests trivia, and keep the explanations that point students back to the right section of the text.

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Frequently asked questions

How many questions should a quiz bank have per topic?

There is no fixed number. Aim for enough items per objective that you can build a new quiz without repeating the same questions, and vary the difficulty across them.

What makes a good distractor in a multiple-choice quiz bank?

A good distractor is a plausible wrong answer that reflects a common misconception, such as a mixed-up term or a reversed cause and effect. Options that are obviously wrong let students guess without studying.

Can I export my quiz bank to Canvas?

QTI 2.1 and Moodle XML export are on the Pro plan, and PDF and DOCX exports are on Plus. Check which import format your Canvas instance accepts before you upload.

Is there a free plan?

Yes. The free plan includes 3 generations per month and lets you study in the browser, but it does not include exports. No credit card is needed to start.

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Keep exploring the topic

Review the main ideas visually or practice recalling them.