Not sure if this has been asked before...
Is there some way of identifying quizzes that have FITB answers, or can it be done?
I personally am not keen on these as I am not a fast or accurate typist, especially on the new mixed Flash quizzes, it takes me by surprise as I'm poised with my mouse for a fast click and then I have to orient myself back to the keyboard and these are timed quizzes.
A little icon or flag by a quiz to identify it as having FITB answers would be jolly useful, to aid avoidance or prepare readiness!


Mark

I don't mind FITB questions as a whole, but I'm the same when I'm poised with the mouse on the new timed quizzes and then suddenly it's a FITB. So, in addition to Mark's request, I ask if it's possible to mark a question as FITB before the answer screen comes up?

I would appreciate this too.

I will also say that it's quite jarring to get an FITB question in the middle of a timed quiz. I don't know that I would avoid playing them, but at least there would be some advance warning.

Edit: Or, just what reeshy said...

You mean, for example, in the flash versions of the quizzes if there was a screen in between the previous answer and the FITB question that just said something along the lines of "Get ready to do some typing! The next question is fill-in-the-blank. Hit any key when ready."?

Not necessarily something as big as that; maybe just an "intro" if you will, like the True/False questions have. E.g.

"Fill In The Blank: What is the name of Harry Potter's school?"

Just something to be seen before the answers pop up.

Is there really an advantage to someone who can go from point and click over to locate home keys and begin typing faster than average? The same switching difficulties should exist for all quiz takers and not cause a skew in the bottom line. If everything goes to touch screens in the near future, the transition from scroll, point and click to keying an on-screen keyboard will be even less of a difference maker. If it's just slow typing that's the issue, then most schools teach an easy Quick Brown Fox course and the format here needn't change at all.

Of course it's not a necessity, but since the T/F questions already have a marker, FIB could too, for consistency. Some of us just change gears mentally a little slower than others.

I would agree that a marker would be good, because FITB questions are unexpected in that context. I can touch type (my mother made me learn, long before computers became commonplace) but it still throws me off balance to find one in a timed quiz.

Only the clarvoyants on that Mensa team know when the typing will be needed.

Glad to see I'm not alone.
Looks like we need some feedback from the Big Cheese, to see if it's feasible.
I have been trying to hone my clairvoyant skills, but as I've only won the Crystal Ball once, I'd say there's more work to be done.

Mark

Are you talking specifically about the new flash interface here?

I'm a fast typer and usually score around 90-95 on FITB questions providing I know the answer, so it's not for extra points that I want a notice in the questions. Sometimes, I'm sitting in a position that doesn't allow for a quick switch to typing from the mouse and it can be a bit of a pain. I agree with Sue that it's more of a consistency thing.

Yes.

I feel this way too. I don't think that I'm losing too much time by not realizing immediately that it's going to be a FITB, but I would like to be warned in advance so that it's not so unexpected.

Add my voice to the chorus

Hmmm... I'm sure we can think of something...

I'd like to make a warning as minimal as possible though. How about "There are X fill in the blank questions in this quiz" added to the introductory screen of any quiz with FITBs in timed mode?

That sounds like the perfect solution. It is neutral and it solves the problem.

I have another request for the Fill-Me-In quizzes. Now, if you accidentally hit return in a regular quiz before you have answered the questions, you get a warning telling you that you need to finish answering them. That doesn't happen with Fill-Me-In. I had been playing a lot of quizzes in "Quiz" mode, where you hit return to go to the next question, and I just did this in the FMI after only having answered one question. Dumb of me, I know, but if I'd gotten a warning that I hadn't finished answering the rest of the quiz, it would have helped me avoid doing this. Thanks.

Sue

I've had that happen in Brain Twist FITBs in the past. I finally cured myself of not knowing my Tab from my Return (or hope I have) so I don't know if it still happens there but if so, that would be another game to add to that little list.

I very much dislike fill in the blank questions.

Though I'm a fast typist, I also think they disadvantage slow typists, people with vision problems who have to search for the right keys, or people who haven't learned to type yet.

And for people that haven't yet figured out the evil autocorrect that insists on changing a perfectly correct answer after you've moved onto the next question. Since that seems to be a curse of iPads, it is especially evil since you have to scroll the screen down to the next question and cannot see what evil auto or react has done.

I love it... "auto or react" for "autocorrect"... just another example of how evil it really is.

If the iPad iOS is like the iPhone iOS ( and why shouldn't it be?) to turn off Auto Correct, go to:

Settings > General > Keyboard and slide Auto-Correction to the left (off).

See what I mean?????? See what it did to me?