How to Create a Hotspot Quiz (Tools + Best Practices)

Hotspot quizzes help you evaluate a learner's ability to identify specific areas of an image or graphic. That’s similar to multiple-choice questions, which test learners by providing them with multiple options. 

What makes hotspot quizzes better is their interactivity. They're a simple way to turn static visuals into engaging, hands-on learning experiences.

While creating a hotspot quiz may sound a bit daunting, the good news is that you don't have to be a tech wizard for it. There are quite a few tools that simplify this process.

In this article, we'll teach you how to create a hotspot quiz for your online courses, academic material, product training, or any other educational content. Let's start.

What Is a Hotspot Quiz?

A hotspot quiz is an interactive question type where users answer by clicking on specific areas of an image. Instead of choosing from a list of answers, the question is tied directly to a visual, like a photo, map, diagram, or graphic.

You define certain "hotspots" (clickable zones), and users have to find and click on the correct spot to complete the quiz. Besides educational content and online training, these quizzes are also used in customer and employee onboarding.

A good example of a hotspot quiz would be a "Where's Waldo?" game. Users have to find and click on the elusive character in a large, busy scene.

Let's take the example of a classroom. An anatomy teacher can use a hotspot quiz to assess students' knowledge of the human body. The question might be, "Can you identify the liver?" Instead of selecting from multiple options, the learner clicks directly on the liver in the image.

Hotspot quizzes are also useful in product training, especially when making a new employee familiar with a piece of equipment. For example, the quiz could include an image of the machine, and the question may be, "Click on the safety switch on this machine."

How to Create a Hotspot Quiz: Step by Step

Before discussing the tools, let's quickly look at the basics of creating a hotspot quiz. You'll use the same standard steps regardless of the platform.

Step 1: Select Your Image

Start by selecting a clear, high-quality image that supports your question. It could be a diagram, map, photo, or any visual where learners need to identify specific areas.

Step 2: Write Your Question

The question will determine the difficulty level of your quiz and how much learners need to understand or analyze the image. It tells users exactly what to find in the image. For example, "Click on the heart in this diagram of the human body."

Step 3: Add Hotspots

A hotspot is the clickable area on the image. It could be a specific point, a highlighted section, or an entire zone. The size and shape of your hotspot depend on the complexity of the image and the accuracy you want from your quiz. You'll draw shapes (like rectangles, circles, or freeform areas) to mark the correct answer and any other necessary spots.

Step 4: Set Correct Answers and Feedback

Mark the right hotspots, and if your quiz provides feedback, write helpful messages for correct and incorrect responses. You'll then need to test your quiz before sharing it with the learners. 

How to Create a Hotspot Quiz Using Online Tools

As we mentioned above, you can use certain platforms to create hotspot quizzes. Many Learning Management Systems (LMS) and online course creation platforms have this feature built in. Here are some good options to try.

1. Coursebox

If you're looking for an AI-powered tool that simplifies course creation, Coursebox is a stellar option. It supports a ton of interactive content features, including but not limited to social discussions, tabs, accordions, flashcards, videos, and so on. You can also integrate Canva graphics, a favorite among content creators.

The platform's AI quiz generator makes it easy to create quizzes in seconds. You can also create a hotspot quiz using your preferred tool and then upload it into your Coursebox course. Once it's added, Coursebox takes over with its powerful AI features to enhance the learning experience.

For example, Coursebox's AI Grader can automatically assess learner responses and provide instant feedback based on your marking criteria. Plus, if learners are struggling with certain hotspot questions, the AI Chatbot Trainer can step in. It is trained on your course material and can give real-time, personalized guidance to help students master tricky concepts.

You can also white-label your courses if they're for corporate training or online selling. Plus, the Coursebox apps allow your course participants to learn on the go. 

Quizizz

Quizizz is a simple yet resourceful platform for creating course content for teachers and corporate administration. Here's a step-by-step guide on using Quizizz to create a hotspot quiz:

1. Log into your Quizizz account (or create a free one if you're new).
2. From the menu, hit the 'Create' button and select 'Quiz' to start building your quiz.
3. When choosing question types, select 'Hotspot' from the available options.
4. Type your question in the space provided.
5. Upload an image that participants will interact with, like a map or chart.
6. Decide which type of hotspot works best (more on this below).
7. Place your hotspots on the image, highlighting the correct areas. You can add more than one hotspot if needed.
8. Click 'Save' once you're happy with the question, and continue adding more if you want to build a full quiz.
9. When you're finished, you can either host your quiz live or assign it for your audience to complete on their own time.

Hotspot Types in Quizizz

Quizizz gives you flexibility with three kinds of hotspots to match different kinds of images:

• Point Hotspot: Perfect for pinpointing tiny, specific locations, like asking learners to click exactly where the heart is on a human anatomy chart.
• Rectangle Hotspot: Great for larger, neatly boxed areas. For example, you might ask someone to select a group of elements on a periodic table.
• Freeform Hotspot: Ideal when you're working with unusual shapes, like highlighting the borders of a country on a world map.

Articulate Storyline 360

Anyone who has searched for a way to create eLearning content has likely come across Articulate Storyline 360. It's one of the top software for course creation with its AI features and customizable options.

Here's how to create a hotspot quiz in Articulate: 

1. Open the Insert Question window by either going to the Insert tab and selecting Freeform Question, or in Question List View, using the Home tab and clicking Freeform Question.
2. Search for the hotspot question type and pick a layout from the available templates. Click Insert Question to add it to your quiz.
3. In Form View, click Choose Image to upload the picture you want learners to interact with. You can swap out the image anytime if needed.
4. Add your hotspots by selecting Add Hotspot, choosing a shape, and drawing directly on the image. You can move hotspots by dragging them and resize them using the handles. 
5. Decide if the question will be graded. Mark the correct hotspot if it's a scored question or set it as ungraded from the Score menu if you’re using it for practice only.
6. Customize settings like feedback, scoring rules, number of attempts, and whether learners are required to answer before moving on.

Best Practices for Creating a Hotspot Quiz

Hotspot quizzes are all about visual interaction, so you need to get that part right. The following best practices will help.

• Use High-Quality Images: Your entire quiz revolves around an image, so make sure it's sharp, easy to understand, and relevant to your question. Blurry or cluttered visuals can confuse learners.
• Keep the Hotspots Accurate: When marking hotspot areas, make sure they're sized appropriately. If the hotspot is too tiny or awkwardly placed, learners might miss it even if they know the correct answer.
• Test on Multiple Devices: Test your quiz on desktops and mobile devices since hotspot areas can shift or become harder to click on smaller screens.
• Write Clear Instructions: Be very specific about what learners need to click. Instead of saying, "Select the correct part," try "Click on the left ventricle in the heart diagram." The clearer the prompt, the better the results.

More importantly, provide helpful feedback to your learners. Hotspot quizzes can be tricky for learners, so give them constructive feedback to help them understand where they went wrong.

Conclusion

Hotspot quizzes can be super-helpful for testing learners, especially in visual-oriented subjects. However, you have to make them correctly for them to work.

The tools we've mentioned above make the process smooth and quick. Plus, you can use their customization and AI features to further refine your quizzes. For example, Coursebox’s AI features take a lot off your plate by providing real-time support to learners and grading the quizzes on your behalf. 

Follow the best practices we've discussed, and you'll be able to not only keep your learners engaged but also test their knowledge at a deeper level.