Customize a Knowledge Check Mode
Knowledge Check is where Learners prove they can complete a workflow with no help at all, and this article shows Content Developers and Instructional Designers what to change on the Knowledge Check tab, how to set the number of incorrect actions allowed, and how to set an expected value for text entry.
What is Knowledge Check mode for?
Knowledge Check is where the Learner proves they can do the job. There are no prompts, no narration, and no hints. The Learner completes the workflow alone.
It is the last mode in the progression, after Practice, and it is how you measure whether the training worked.
How is Knowledge Check different from Practice?
Practice offers a hint when the Learner gets something wrong. Knowledge Check offers nothing. It is the same workflow with all support removed, plus a limit on how many wrong actions the Learner may make.
What is built on the General tab, and what is built on the Knowledge Check tab?
The foundation of every mode is built on the step's General tab. That is where the step's name, description, and the control the Learner acts on are set. Every mode starts from them.
Knowledge Check is then customized on the step's Knowledge Check tab. Like Practice, most of it comes free once the steps are built, so expect to change little here. Most steps need only:
- Include in lesson mode, to confirm the step plays in Knowledge Check.
- An Expected Value, for a text entry.
- The Action setting, when a step should not ask the Learner to do anything.
- Auto Scroll Control, when the control sits off the visible screen.
If the foundation is wrong, such as the wrong control on the step, fix it on the General tab.
How do you customize Knowledge Check mode?
Step |
Action |
|---|---|
| 1 | Open the Lesson in Lesson Builder. |
| 2 | In the View Steps row, choose Knowledge Check. The Knowledge Check Lesson Mode Settings panel opens, and every step switches to its Knowledge Check tab. |
| 3 | Complete the Knowledge Check Lesson Mode Settings for the whole mode, including Number of Incorrect Actions Allowed, the background image Learners see in Skyllful Simulator, and a description written for Knowledge Check. |
| 4 | On each step's Knowledge Check tab, confirm Include in lesson mode, then set the Action and anything the step needs. |
| 5 | Select Update to save your changes. |
Note: Update stays unavailable until you change something, and your work is saved only when you select it. Leaving Lesson Builder without selecting Update discards your changes.
What is in Knowledge Check Lesson Mode Settings?
These settings apply to Knowledge Check across the whole Lesson.
Setting |
What it does |
|---|---|
| Estimated time | The time in seconds you expect a Learner to need for Knowledge Check. It feeds progress tracking in Skyllful IQ and is required before you can publish. A default is filled in when the Lesson is built, so change it only if Knowledge Check should take more or less time. |
| Number of Incorrect Actions Allowed | How many wrong actions a Learner may make before the Knowledge Check ends. |
| Skills Covered | The skills this mode builds. |
| Background image | The image Learners see behind Knowledge Check in Skyllful Simulator. Choose or upload an image, or select Generate Thumbnail to create one. Images cannot exceed 5 MB. |
| Mode Name Override | Renames Knowledge Check for Learners. For example, you can call it Assessment. |
| Title Override | Replaces the title Learners see for Knowledge Check. |
| Description Override | The description Learners see for Knowledge Check. Write it for this mode rather than reusing the Lesson description. |
Note: Number of Incorrect Actions Allowed is the one setting Knowledge Check has that the other modes do not.
What can you set on a step?
Setting |
What it does |
|---|---|
| Include in lesson mode | Whether the step plays in Knowledge Check. |
| Auto Scroll Control | The control the screen scrolls to before the Learner acts. |
| Action | Whether the Learner has to do anything at this step. |
| Action Type | The kind of action, such as Tap/Click. This is shown for reference and comes from the control on the General tab. |
| Expected Value | For a text entry, what the Learner has to type. Required. |
Note: A step has one control. A screen can also have a text entry, which is not a control and appears alongside it. Select the caret beside either panel to expand its settings, or use Expand All and Contract All to open and close them together.
Note: A text entry shows Expected Value on its row, and has no Hint. A control shows Action Type and a Hint that is disabled.
Why is the Hint field greyed out?
A Hint field appears under the control, and it is disabled. Knowledge Check gives the Learner no help, so there is nothing to write.
The field is left visible rather than hidden so you can see that the omission is deliberate. To give a hint, use Practice instead.
What does the Action setting change?
Action decides whether the step asks anything of the Learner, and it changes what the rest of the tab shows.
Choice |
What the step does |
What you set |
|---|---|---|
| User Must Do The Following | The Learner acts on the control. | The settings under the control or text entry. |
| No Action Required Of User | The Learner watches. | Delay In Seconds, the pause before the Lesson moves on. |
Use No Action Required Of User for a step that only shows a result, such as a confirmation screen the Learner reads before continuing.
How do you set the answer for a text entry?
Enter the text the Learner has to type in Expected Value, on the text entry's row. It is a required field, so a Knowledge Check will not be complete until every text entry has one.
Expected Value accepts an exact match or a regular expression. Use a regular expression when more than one answer should count as correct, such as a date the Learner might type several ways, or a reference number with or without its prefix.
Should the expected text differ from Practice?
It can, and it does not have to. The same value works in both modes.
Varying it is worth considering, though. If the Knowledge Check asks for the same entry the Learner has just typed in Practice, they can finish it from memory. Different values mean they have to read the screen and apply what they know, so the result measures competence rather than recall.
What counts as a wrong answer?
The Learner has to act on the control the step expects. If they tap or click anywhere else on the screen, it counts as a wrong action and it is added towards Number of Incorrect Actions Allowed.
Those inaccurate taps are recorded. To see where Learners go astray, so you can fix the step or the workflow itself, use the Lesson Step Heatmap Viewer.
What happens when a Learner runs out of allowed mistakes?
The Learner is taken out of the Knowledge Check. They can start it again, or go back and review the Lesson first.
This is why the limit matters. Set it too low and competent Learners are turned away by a slip; set it too high and the Knowledge Check stops measuring anything.
How do you know a step is included?
Each step carries a tab for every mode. A tab with a crossed out eye means that step is excluded from that mode, so it will not play for Learners.
To include a step in Knowledge Check, open its Knowledge Check tab and select Include in lesson mode.
How do you preview your work?
Select Toggle Preview on the step to see that one step as the Learner sees it. Select Preview in the bottom bar to run the whole mode.
Work through the mode the way a Learner would, without looking at the answers. Check that every step can be completed with no help, that any Expected Value accepts what a competent Learner would type, and that Number of Incorrect Actions Allowed is a fair limit for the length of the workflow.
What if Knowledge Check mode does not work as expected?
Symptom |
What to do |
|---|---|
| A step does not appear in Knowledge Check | The step is excluded. Its Knowledge Check tab shows a crossed out eye. Open that tab and select Include in lesson mode. |
| You cannot publish the Lesson | The estimated time in Knowledge Check Lesson Mode Settings is required before you can publish. Enter a value in seconds. |
| You cannot type in the Hint field | Knowledge Check gives no hints, so the field is disabled. Use Practice for the hint. |
| Too many Learners are being exited from the Knowledge Check | Check Number of Incorrect Actions Allowed against the length of the workflow, then look at where Learners are tapping in the Lesson Step Heatmap Viewer. |
| A mode tab is red | Something on that tab is missing or needs fixing before the Lesson can be updated or published, such as an empty Expected Value. Open the tab and complete what is flagged. |
| A correct looking entry is marked wrong | The Expected Value is an exact match. Use a regular expression so every reasonable version of the answer is accepted. |
| The control the Learner needs is off screen | Choose that control in Auto Scroll Control so the screen scrolls to it. |
| A step asks the Learner to act when it should not | Set Action to No Action Required Of User, then set Delay In Seconds. |
| The step has no control for the Learner to act on | Controls are set on the step's General tab, under Selected Controls. Fix it there, then return to the Knowledge Check tab. |
| Your changes disappear | Changes are saved only when you select Update. |
Where can you get help?
If you need help, start with your manager, then your Local Administrator. If additional assistance is needed, your Local Administrator can submit a support ticket to Skyllful.
Skyllful Knowledge Base | Content Developers, Instructional Designers