The feedback activity allows you to get feedback from users using text, numeric and multiple choice questions.
(The course above is taken from the Feedback and choice activities course in the Totara Academy).
Adding a feedback activity
To create a feedback activity:
- Click Turn editing on.
- Select Feedback from the Add an activity... dropdown menu.
- Configure the settings to your preferences.
- Click Save and display or Save and return to course.
If you add a feedback activity to the front page then it becomes a site-wide activity, meaning it can be used by any course. By default it will be added to the feedback block on all courses (where the Feedback block has been added). See also Mapping feedback activities.
Feedback settings
| Setting | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Give your feedback resource a title. | - |
| Description | Text will be displayed to users before they enter the feedback. | - |
| Display description on course page | If enabled, the description above will be displayed on the course page just below the link to the activity or resource. | - |
| Allow answers from and to | This allows you to set a time period during which the feedback will be available to responses. | - |
| Record user names | Choose from the following options:
| Note that feedback will not be timestamped if this setting is set to Anonymous. |
| Allow multiple submissions | Anonymous polls allow unlimited answers for every user, for polls where the user name is logged this allow users to resubmit their answers. | - |
| Enable notification of submissions | Notifications will be sent to Trainers and Editing Trainers upon the submission. | - |
| Auto number questions | If you choose Yes the feedback questions will be automatically numbered. | - |
| Show analysis page | The summary results can be shown to respondents, or shown only to trainers. | - |
| Completion message | Allows you to write a comment/statement the learners sees after completing the feedback activity. | - |
| Link to next activity | After submitting the feedback, a continue button is displayed, which links to the course page. Alternatively, it may link to the next activity if the URL of the activity is entered here. | - |
| Common module settings | See Common module settings to learn more. | - |
| Activity completion | See Activity completion to learn more. | - |
| Restrict access | See Restrict access to learn more. | - |
| Tags | See Tags to learn more. | - |
Adding questions
Once you have created your feedback activity you can add questions.
- In the feedback activity go to the Edit questions section.
- Choose a question type from the dropdown menu.
- Configure the question as required.
- Click Save question.
You can also load pre-written questions by using a template.
Question types
There are a number of question types available in the feedback activity.
| Question type | Description |
|---|---|
| Add page break | Adds a page break. All of the questions above the page break will appear on a separate page to those below it. There are no additional settings. Editing only allows you to delete the page break.' |
| Captcha | Allows you to add a reCAPTCHA verification question to prevent bots from answering your survey. There are no settings to configure and this question will always be required. A Site Administrator must first first setup reCAPTCHA via the authentication settings. |
| Information | This collects information from the system and does not allow the user answering to enter a value. You can configure the following settings:
|
| Label | Allows you to enter a section of text into the feedback activity. This could be made a dependency so that you only see it if you answer a question a certain way. As this is not a question that requires an answer it cannot be marked as required and will always appear, subject to any connected dependencies. You can configure the following options:
|
| Longer text answer | Allows you to ask a question that prompts a long written answer. You can configure the following options:
|
| Multiple choice | Create a question where respondents can choose from a list of options. You can configure the following settings for this question type:
|
| Multiple choice (rated) | Create a multiple choice question that allows respondents to answer with a rating. You can set the ratings to be either ascending or descending depending on the order you enter them into the Multiple choice values field. Use the format 0/text if you wish to use a text rating, e.g. 0/Poor, 1/Okay, 2/Average, 3/Good, 4/Excellent 4/Excellent, 3/Good, 2/Average, 1/ Okay, 0/Poor If you do not wish to use text in your ratings you could simply use numerical values e.g. 1/,2/,3,/4/,5/ Remember to add each new value on a new line, they are simply comma separated above to save space in this documentation. You may also configure these settings:
|
| Numeric answer | You may also configure these settings:
|
| Short text answer | Allows you to pose a question that requires a short written answer. You can configure the following settings:
|
Dependencies
You can set up dependencies so that one question relies on the answer to another to be displayed. This is done using labels to connect the questions. It allows you to create a branching of questions and can make a feedback more tailored or provide additional content for certain answers.
To do this:
- Go to the question you wish to be the start of the dependency.
- Edit this question and ensure that it has a clear Label and Save changes.
- Add a Page break.
- Under the page break add the dependent question.
- In the settings for the question choose the start question as the Dependence item from the dropdown list.
- Optionally enter a Dependence value - this will mean only giving this answer will lead to this question.
- Remember to click Save changes.
You can repeat steps 5-7 to create different dependencies, like branches based on different answers.
Below is an example of how this might work.
- Set up a short answer question that asks 'Which office do you work in?' and ensure it has a Label called 'Office' and click Save changes.
- Add a page break.
- Add a new long answer question that asks 'What is the strength of the Wellington office?' then set the Dependence item to 'Office' and enter a Dependence value of 'Wellington' and Save changes.
- Add a second long answer question that asks 'What is the strength of the Brighton office?' with the Dependence item also set to 'Office' and this time enter a Dependence value of 'Brighton' and Save changes.
Now if you answer the 'Which office do you work in?' question as 'Brighton' you will be taken to the Brighton specific question on the next page.
Preview questions
You can preview questions using the Overview section. Go to this section and then click the Answer the questions... link.
Editing questions
Once you have added questions you can edit them, make required, delete, or move them.
Editing
Once a question has been added you can edit it by following these steps:
- Go to the Edit questions tab in the feedback activity.
- Alongside the question click Edit and then select Edit question.
- Make your desired changes to the question.
- Click Save changes to question.
You can also click Save as new question when editing to create a new separate question, this is also a good way to duplicate similar questions.
Set as required
If you wish to make a question mandatory then you can either mark it as required by editing the settings (see above) or if that is the only change you wish to make to a question you can quickly set it as required by following these steps:
- Go to the Edit questions tab in the feedback activity.
- Alongside the question click Edit and then select Set as required.
Delete
You can delete any question by doing the following:
- Go to the Edit questions tab in the feedback activity.
- Alongside the question click Edit and then select Delete question.
Move
You can reorder questions by dragging and dropping them using the move icon (
).
Mapping feedback activities
If you add a feedback activity to the frontpage then it becomes a site-wide activity, meaning it can be used by any course. By default it will be added to the feedback block on all courses (where the Feedback block has been added). You will also need to ensure that the feedback block is enabled under Plugins > Blocks > Manage blocks starting from the Site administration menu.
It is possible to map the feedback to certain courses only by following the steps below.
- Turn editing on under the Front page administration area.
- Set up the feedback activity.
- Click Save and display.
- You should see a new tab, Mapped courses, click on this.
- Search or browse for courses to add, then click the name of the course to add it.
- Once you have added all desired courses to be mapped click Save changes.
If you need to remove a mapped course then you can:
- Click Turn editing on for the frontpage.
- From the frontpage click the Edit link next to the feedback activity.
- Go to the Mapped courses tab.
- Click the cross icon (
) alongside the name of the course you wish to remove. - Don't forget to Save changes.
Plugin settings
As well as the configurable settings within each individual feedback activity it is also possible to configure site-wide settings for the feedback activity starting from the Site administration menu and following the path Plugins > Activity modules > Feedback.
| Setting | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Allow full anonymous | If set to yes, users can complete a feedback activity on the front page without being required to log in. | - |
| Maximum days since completion | Course or activity completions older than this will not be considered when sending out feedback reminders. Zero or an empty value represents no limit. | - |
The Totara Academy has a whole course dedicated to using Feedback and choice activities in Totara Learn. Here you can learn more on how to use these tools, see best practice, and give it a go yourself.
