Overview of the Select hotspots task

The Select hotspots task allows authors to upload an image and outline target regions (hotspots) within the image. Learners can select the correct hotspots.

Example task with the Sun, Earth and eight positions of the Moon around the Earth. Learners are asked to select the moon position(s) that would result in an eclipse.

When should I use the Select hotspots task?

Select hotspots is perfect for any time you want learners to be able to identify by an image rather than by a name. You can use it to get learners to identify parts of an object or diagram as in the example below.

Example task where learners are asked to identify the parts of the international space station that are responsible for keeping power running.

Or you could get learners to identify a number of objects as in this next example.

Example hotspots task where learners select the protective equipment required if needing to demolish a wall with black mould.

Adding a select hotspots task can also be a nice quick way to introduce a relevant visual element.

How do I create a Select hotspots 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.

Clear task content button on right of task element below task type choice.

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.

Adding the image and setting the hotspots

The uploaded image is visible in the Areas section. Here, you can outline the response options (required shapes) for learners. You can create as many outlines as needed. To remove an existing area, switch from Draw to Delete mode and click on the area once. You can also use Undo and Redo options in the toolbar above the image.

Under Attributes you can set the colour for the hotspot areas.

Setting the correct answer

Under Correct, select the correct item(s) to allow the task to be automarked.

If there are more correct answers, use the + to add alternative answers.

You can also choose to not set a correct answer. If you don’t want the question to be automarked, do not select any area(s) under Correct. 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

Multiple correct responses shows that there is more than one correct answer and that either answer is correct.

Other articles you may be interested in:

Task types - See the variety of tasks available for course authors to engage and assess learners.
Many ways with tasks - A blog about how you can come up with ideas for tasks which includes a free Task cheat sheet with ideas for tasks for every task type.
Adding a task to your course - Course authors can add assessed and non-assessed tasks to their courses.
Automarked tasks - Understanding how automarked tasks work for authors, learners and facilitators.
Adding a quiz using tasks - Course authors can create assessed or non-assessed quizzes to add to their courses.

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The short text task