Introduction

With seventeen QTI interactions and several customized interactions (PCIs), it’s easy to lose sight of what you can do with each one. It isn't always clear, therefore, where to look for the interactions which correspond to the type of tasks you want to set for students in your tests, especially if you are new to TAO. 

The categories which interactions appear in on the TAO interface (Common, Inline, Graphic and Custom) do tell you something about them, but unless you are very familiar with QTI standards they don’t reveal much about what you can actually do with them. The names of the individual interactions also provide some information, but are not always transparent.

All interactions - and therefore all test questions - are there to provide a way for the candidate to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding. As an alternative to determining which interaction you want to use as a means of demonstrating that knowledge and understanding by just looking at the list in the panel in TAO, this course takes a different approach: identify first the type of activity (or task) you have in mind for your candidates, and work from there.