A pool is a group or set of questions that can be used repeatedly. If the concept of "pools" is new, you may already know the similar term "test bank." A pool is generally used as a database of questions that can be drawn from to create tests. Pools can be organized by lesson, question type, topic, or any other criteria. Pools are a powerful feature because they can be used to populate sections of tests.

Questions in a pool are similar to test questions: they can contain feedback and all other features of a test question. Unlike test questions, questions in a pool have no point values associated with them. Points are assigned when the pool questions are added to a test.

An example of using a pool would be if an instructor had 25 questions on a quiz for Lesson 1, but only wanted each student to see a sampling of 15 of these 25 questions on their lesson quiz. A test could be created that uses questions from a pool to create a "question set" of 15 questions selected from the total of 25.

If the instructor also wanted to build a comprehensive final exam from the various lessons, this would be facilitated by the use of question pools for each lesson or topic. The final exam could be built with appropriate proportions of questions from each lesson by drawing on the question pools.

Blackboard Learn offers several types of questions you can use in tests, pools, and surveys. These question types are listed below. Visit the Blackboard Help site for information on each of the types. When you visit the site, you should see a menu on the left that lists Question Types.

• Calculated Formula Questions
• Calculated Numeric Questions
• Either/Or Questions
• Essay Questions
• File Response Questions
• Fill in Multiple Blanks Questions
• Fill in the Blank Questions
• Hot Spot Questions
• Jumbled Sentence Questions
• Matching Questions
• Multiple Answer Questions
• Multiple Choice Questions
• Opinion Scale and Likert Questions
• Ordering Questions
• Quiz Bowl Questions
• Short Answer Questions
• True or False Questions

Before a test can be deployed somewhere in the online course, it first must be created. A test can be created in two locations:

1. from the Tests, Pools, Surveys area that is linked in the Course Management menu
2. from the Action Bar located at the top of any content area when Edit Mode is turned on

For more information on creating tests, visit this Blackboard help topic (opens in new tab).

When in Edit Mode, tests can be deployed on the course homepage or within a lesson. To deploy a test,

1. hover over the "Assessments" item in the Action Bar above the content area.
2. From the menu that appears, click "Test"
3. From the next page, select which existing test you want to deploy from the "Add an Existing Test" selection area.
   • Alternately, you can click "Create" at the top to create a new test.
   • Please note that each test can only be deployed once per course. The existing tests selection area will only display tests that have not yet been deployed.
4. Click "Submit" to advance to the Test Options page.

When you deploy a test, you will be presented with a screen on which you designate options. If you have no preference, most options should be left in their default states. Online Learning has prepared an overlay on the Test Options page that will guide you through all of the options in real time. Just click the orange button found at the top left of the Test Options screen to activate the overlay, as shown in the image below.

Click the orange button at the top left of the Test Options page and you will be guided through each option on the page.