This article covers the classification task type.
For a general overview of tasks and what they can do, see An introduction to tasks and for general instructions on how to add them to your course, see How to add a task to your course.
Overview of the classification task
The classification task lets learners categorise a list of possible responses (words or images) into a table. Learners can drag items to and between the different categories using their mouse/keyboard or by tapping on the item to pick it up, and tapping again to drop it.
When to use a classification task
Classification is great for getting learners to spot patterns, similarities and differences.
Example 1: Different sounds of a "C"
Example 2: Comparing and contrasting
Example 3: Nine diamond ranking
However, as with some of the other task types, with classification you don't have to set a correct response. This means you can have more open options like this example of a nine diamond ranking activity.
Example 4: Nine diamond ranking with images
Or this example with images.
Example 5: True or false
You can also use classification for true or false questions if you prefer the look of this over using another task type.
How to create a classification task
All tasks load with an example task to give an idea of what each field is for. To add your own task details, you can type over the existing content in the fields or select Clear task content, to start completely fresh.
Standard fields
This task has the standard fields/options that all tasks have.
At the top:
Question: Where you set the main question/task which tells learners what to answer or do.
And at the bottom:
Hint: Add a hint to give pointers or clues to give learners extra guidance to complete the task. Learners can choose to See hint so it allows them to get this help “on demand”.
Feedback: Add feedback to give learners an automated response when they submit the task. See Writing feedback for tasks for pointers and ideas.
In between the top and bottom standard fields we have the following areas and fields.
How to set the columns for categorisation
Specify the number of columns under Column count and give the columns titles as required.
How to set the available responses to drag and drop
Under Available responses, add all the possible responses for learners to put into categories.
Use +Add to add more items to the list. To remove an option use the bin icon to the right. The up/down arrows to the left of each response allows you to re-order how the options appear to your learners.
You have the option to Group possible responses. This puts the possible responses for learners into labelled groups.
If you choose to do so, you will notice a group appear. Give it a name, add the title of the group and then begin adding the possible responses that belong in that group. You can then add a second group with possible responses and so on.
How to set the correct answer(s)
Under Correct, drag your items into the correct order to allow the task to be automarked.
If there are more correct answers, use the + to add alternative answers.
As seen in the examples, you can also choose to not set a correct answer. If you don’t want the question to be automarked, leave the items in the grey space, unallocated to a column. In this case, the task will not be automarked and the task will be allocated the complete/incomplete with feedback marking template to allow facilitators to manually mark the task (if desired).
Other options
Duplicate responses means the available responses you've set can be chosen/used by the learner more than once e.g. you can use response A twice to match it to item 1 and item 2.
Shuffle options displays the response options in a different order each time the question is shown.