Circuit diagrams
Draw circuit diagrams that stay editable on the worksheet, and let students answer by building a circuit of their own.
When to use it
There are two items. A Circuit is a diagram students read: the circuit for a task, the set-up of a practical, the same circuit with the switch open and closed. It stays a diagram rather than an image, so you can change a value or close a switch later without redrawing it.
A Circuit drawing task asks students to build the circuit themselves. Drawing it makes them work out how the parts have to be connected, which tells you more than choosing between ready-made diagrams.
Drawing and setting tasks
To draw or change a diagram:
In a worksheet, use the + between two items and choose Circuit, or click the pencil on an existing one.
Click Create circuit, or Edit circuit, to open the editor.
Drag parts from Components onto the board, such as Battery, Lamp, Resistor or a switch, and connect them by dragging from one terminal to another.
Click a part to change it under Properties: type a new value, for example 9 for the battery's voltage, rotate or flip it, or use Close Switch and Open Switch.
Click Save. The diagram appears on the worksheet.
For a drawing task, add a Circuit drawing task and write the instruction, for example Draw a closed circuit from a battery, a lamp and wires. Add correct answer lets you draw a model circuit to compare students' answers with.
What students do
In a Circuit drawing task, students click Create answer circuit. The editor opens empty with the same Components panel. They drag in the parts, connect them with wires, and click Save; their circuit then shows in the task, and Edit answer circuit reopens it until they submit.
A Circuit item is only a diagram for students: they see it, not the editor.
Checking the answers
Circuit drawings are not marked automatically: you look at each one and award the points yourself. Open Results on the task to see every student's circuit side by side. If you added a model circuit, it can be shown beside them as the Correct answer. Award points on the grading screen, which you reach from the Grading Dashboard.
Tips
Name in the instruction which parts to use and what the circuit must do, for example that the lamp lights only when the switch is closed.
One diagram can serve several questions: change a single value or the switch state instead of drawing a new circuit.
Save before you close the editor. If there are unsaved changes, you are asked whether to discard them.