Snapquiz - FAQ

This is the Snapquiz FAQ.

  • "Who are you? Who built this site?"
  • "Exactly what information do you store about students?"
  • "Why don't you store more information about the students? Wouldn't this be useful?"
  • "How do I get a teacher ID so that I can monitor my students' scores?"
  • "What's my User ID? What's my password?"
  • "Can I suggest a series of questions for a test?"
  • "Where have my scores gone? Why have you deleted my scores?"
  • "Some of my friends have unlocked achievements and rewards for completing quizzes. How do I do this?"
  • "Which software did you use to build this site? Can I have a copy of your code?"
  • "Are you available for hire?"
  • "Can I see your terms and conditions of use? Can I see your privacy policy?"
  • "How can I contact you?"

  • "Who are you? Who built this site?"

    This site was built by Chris Thornton and Corax Labs. Chris has been a full time Science teacher in a variety of high schools in the UK since 2002. In September 2013 he began uploading videos to YouTube to enhance his teaching, and they proved so popular with students that he began to think of new ways to help them learn Science outside of the classroom. He realised students needed a way to check their own learning after watching his videos, so he set up this site in July 2014.

  • "Exactly what information do you store about students?"

    The data which is recorded by cookies lists the user's preferred name, a user ID if they have one, the Snapquiz they have done, the time and date they did it, and their score. Users can view all of the information stored about their performance on the Scores page. A separate cookie also records whether or not the message that this site uses cookies has been displayed. Each quiz page has a link which lets users reset both of these cookies with a single click. For users with a user ID, the exact same information about users' scores will be recorded. In addition to this, accounts with a user ID will also record the first initial only of a student's last name, which individual teacher account will have access to the data and which class or group their teacher has added them to, in a file on the website. Again, students will be able to view all the data stored about them on the Scores page. The students' teacher will have total access to the information about any student accounts they have created. For security, all data (including teachers' passwords) stored on our website is encrypted using 128 bit encryption.

    Our advertising partners may record other information, and complete details about this are available from Google if you click here. We have, of course, notified our partners that this website is for children, and as such our partners will only serve content which complies with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).

  • "Why don't you store more information about the students? Wouldn't this be useful?"

    Student data is sensitive material. Full names, dates of birth, individual school details and more could all be used to identify students, and so keeping this information out of the hands of anyone who should not have access to it is an ongoing concern for all schools. Unfortunately, as high profile hacks on some of the most secure websites on Earth repeatedly prove, it's not possible for anyone to guarantee 100% electronic security. Especially not on a little site like this. It's a far more effective security position to leave such information in the hands of the teachers themselves. We don't store any sensitive or identifying information aside from a student's preferred first name and initial, and how they've performed on the Snapquizzes. If the worst happens and our data is stolen (and whoever stole it is somehow able to break the 128 bit encryption we apply to all data we store), it will contain nothing which could pose any risk to any students. The safety of students is paramount, and we believe this is the best way to guarantee that safety.

  • "How do I get a teacher ID so that I can monitor my students' scores?"

    As this site is new, we are still carrying out essential testing of our systems. Chris Thornton is currently the only person able to generate new teacher accounts, and is going to remain the only individual with a teacher account for the immediate future while the site is tested. The ultimate aim is to open the system up for any teacher anywhere in the world to use, but it's important that we properly test the system before this happens. We appreciate this may be frustrating, so in the interim the site uses cookies to store the assessment data on the individual student's computer/tablet/phone.

  • "What's my User ID? What's my password?"

    If you are a student and have forgotten your unique user ID (the 12 character string of letters and number which begins with a # symbol) you need to speak to the teacher who created it for you. As mentioned above, we deliberately do not store sufficient data to enable anyone other than your teacher to identify you, so we are not able to verify your identity. Your teacher has access to a complete list of all student accounts they have created, so they should be able to tell you your ID. Again, for your protection, only your teacher knows which account is yours.

    For security reasons, we encrypt all passwords for teacher accounts with a randomly generated 128 bit key as we store them. That way, even we do not know what your password is. When we open this site to public registration, if you are a teacher and you want to regain access to your account then we will send an email to the address you chose when you created the account with a link to reset your password. As the site is currently undergoing testing, please speak to Chris Thornton directly if you need to reset your password.

  • "Can I suggest a series of questions for a test?"

    Currently every Snapquiz relates to a specific YouTube video. We do plan to add functionality to let teachers generate their own Snapquizzes in future, but this is not an immediate plan.

  • "Where have my scores gone? Why have you deleted my scores?"

    This site currently stores scores for the Snapquizzes in a cookie on your device (if you've entered a preferred name on the quiz page). This cookie could be unavailable for several reasons; you're using a different device, you're using a device which is set to not allow cookies, you (or another user of your device) have cleared your cookies and deleted the information, you (or another user of your device, particularly if it's in a place where many people might use it such as a library) have hit the reset link on one of the quiz pages to reset this information, you haven't visited this site and done a quiz in over six months and the cookie has expired. It will be possible in future for you to store your scores on our server and access them on any device, but we need to complete testing of these systems before we make them available to use.

  • "Some of my friends have unlocked achievements and rewards for completing quizzes. How do I do this?"

    The achievements system is only available to students who have logged into an account on our server, using a twelve character student ID code their teacher has given them. We are currently in the final phase of testing, and once that is complete your teachers will be able to sign up and generate ID codes for your whole class. We'll add a notice to the site once testing is complete, and then it's up to you to ask your teachers to sign up. This service will be totally free, and will allow your teachers to monitor how you're doing and give you help where you need it.

  • "Which software did you use to build this site? Can I have a copy of your code?"

    This whole site was coded from scratch in PHP, HTML, CSS, JavaScript and MySQLi. The code of the site represents a significant investment of time, skill, and hard work. As such, we're unwilling to either give away or sell our intellectual property. We believe we have a unique and useful product which we've worked very hard to build, so we feel very protective of it. However, we do thoroughly encourage everyone to learn to code for themselves. Codecademy is a fantastic place to start to learn about programming and coding.

  • "Are you available for hire?"

    We're currently very happy with our employment situation and are not looking to change that any time soon. Unless you're Google and want to buy us for a billion dollars ;)

  • "Can I see your terms and conditions of use? Can I see your privacy policy?"

    Absolutely. Please use these links:

  • "How can I contact you?"

    Please use the following links:

    @mrthorntonuk

    cjthornton@cjtonline.net

    admin@coraxlabs.com


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