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Turn your notes into clear Canvas quiz question stems

Upload a PDF, slides or notes and get multiple-choice, true/false or open questions with explanations, ready to review and move into Canvas.

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Writing a canvas quiz question stem that works

A strong canvas quiz question stem asks one thing, states it fully and gives students nothing to guess from. Many stems fail because they hide the task in a vague phrase like "which of these is true" or rely on the answer choices to explain what is being asked.

Ask one question per stem, not two joined by "and".
Put units and given values inside the stem.
Avoid absolute words like "always" or "never" unless they are accurate.
Keep answer options similar in length and grammar.

Example STEM quiz question stems with answers

Which of the following is the SI unit of force?Newton (N). Force equals mass times acceleration, measured in kg·m/s², a unit named the newton.

True or false: doubling the radius of a circle doubles its area.False. Area scales with the square of the radius, so doubling the radius quadruples the area.

What is the derivative of sin(x) with respect to x?cos(x). Differentiating sine gives cosine, a standard result from the basic trigonometric derivative rules.

Which property states that a + b = b + a?The commutative property of addition. Changing the order of the operands does not change the sum.

Short answer: what does a catalyst change in a chemical reaction?Its activation energy. A catalyst lowers the energy barrier so the reaction runs faster and is not consumed.

Generate the full set

Stems that test one idea

Each generated stem asks a single, complete question, so students know exactly what is being measured.

Explanations on every item

Multiple-choice, true/false and short-answer questions include explanations that show why the correct answer holds.

Built from your material

Upload PDFs, DOCX files, PPTX slides, notes or photos of pages, and questions come from what you actually taught.

How it works

Upload your source

Add a PDF, DOCX, PPTX, plain text file or a photo of a page.

Choose the question type

Pick multiple choice, true/false or open questions for the quiz.

Review and export

Edit the stems, then export them. QTI 2.1 export is included in the Pro plan.

In STEM courses, put the units, given values and the exact quantity being asked inside the stem itself. A student who reads the question should know what to calculate before looking at the options.

DeckOwl can draft stems from your lecture slides or notes, and you can edit each one before you move it into Canvas.

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Frequently asked questions

How many answer choices should a multiple-choice question stem have?

Four is the most common choice for introductory courses, with one clearly correct option and distractors based on typical mistakes. Keep the options similar in length so the correct one does not stand out.

Should a question stem include a negative like "not" or "except"?

Avoid negatives where you can, since they are easy to misread under time pressure. If you must use one, bold or capitalize it so students notice.

Can I export generated quiz questions for Canvas?

QTI 2.1 export is included in the Pro plan at $14.99 per month. PDF and DOCX exports are included in Plus at $39 per year or $7.99 per month.

Can I try generating quiz questions before paying?

The Free plan includes 3 generations per month and studying in the browser, and no credit card is needed to start. Exports require a paid plan.

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