What is a task variation?
Task variations allow you to give learners a different version of a task at random.
With variations, a range of different tasks can "live" within the one task element. Then, when a learner first visits that page, they'll get served up one of those variations at random.
From then on, every time that same learner visits that page, they'll see the same task they first saw.
Even if a task attempt is reopened or reset, the learner will get the same task variation to re-submit..
You can add up to 10 variations per task. Your variations can be any of our many task types and you can re-use an existing task within the same course. A full list of available tasks can be found here.
Why would I use task variations?
Assessment rigour
Task variations are a great way to lower the chance of assessments being shared between learners in the same class activation. For instance, if you have 80 learners, you might set up 5 assessed tasks with slight variations - a different context or case study, different figures for calculations etc.. And because learners are randomly assigned a variation, they're less likely to be able to just share answers with a classmate.
“Jigsaw” cooperative learning
Task variations could be used so learners randomly receive a case study, article, poem etc. Then learners could share what they found in a talk channel and, as a group, could compare and contrast. This is a similar approach to the jigsaw approach to cooperative learning where learners rely on each other to construct a full picture of a topic. Learners are able to save time by not having to read all the pieces, but learn about all pieces through discussions with others.
A/B testing
Task variations could be used as a way of setting up A/B testing for particular tasks. For instance, asking "Do learners perform better with task variation A or variation B?". You could analyse how learners went on the two variations to improve task and assessment design for the next iteration of the course.
How do I add a variation?
As an author, you only get the option to add a variation to a task once you've created a task.
Either create a new task or choose Edit on an existing task.
Look for the green button on the right (below Additional instructions) and choose Add a new variation.
You'll then get the option to Create new task or Copy from existing. Either option will open up a modal where you'll get to create a task as you usually would.
Once you've saved the new variation, you'll see the variations listed as tabs called Variation 1, Variation 2, etc. just below Additional instructions.
What else should I consider?
Equivalence
Because learners could get any one of these tasks, you might want to think about equivalence, especially for assessed tasks. That is, is it fair that learner A gets variation X and learner B gets variation Y? Are X and Y testing the same outcome?
Variations stick with the learner
Remember that a task with variations does not work in the same way as a one question quiz. With a quiz, learners have the potential of getting a new randomised set of tasks each time they reattempt the quiz. With task variations, the learner is allocated one variation at random for the entire length of the course (provided they are not edited and republished).
Republishing edits to variations
If you want to make changes to one (or more) variations of a task and there are learners currently using the course, you can republish. But… republishing can get a little complex when you're dealing with task variations as you might be editing/removing a variation a learner has or hasn't started. Check out our article Republishing task variations for the nitty-gritty.