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Generation from study materials

Generation projects help authors create new questions or tests from study materials, course notes, syllabi, and learning objectives. This module shows how to create a generation project, add source materials, choose output type, add metadata, review completed results, and reuse or export generated output.

1. Create a generation project

  1. Open the dashboard.

  2. Select the From study materials card or Create questions and tests > From study materials in the left sidebar.

  3. Click Start Generation to create a generation project. You can also view recent generation projects from this view.

2. Name and tag the project

  1. Add a name for the project that describes the purpose (such as Jane Eyre Comprehension Questions) and optionally a description.

Tip: Good project names include the subject, course level, and intended assessment purpose, such as Photosynthesis Practice Questions - Grade 9.

  1. For users or organizations that have set up categories as a way of tagging documents and output files, enter the correct values for each mandatory category (at minimum).

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  1. Optional: Under the Advanced configuration dropdown, set which metadata categories apply to the project’s output files:

    1. Select Manage Categories for either Test or Question, or both (depending on the desired output of the project).

    2. The list displays which Categories are already assigned to that output type. Select a category to make it mandatory.

    3. Click Delete to remove the category from the list (does not delete the category from the system).

    4. Add an existing category from Studio Settings, or create a new category (this will be added to the list in Studio Settings and will be available for other projects).

    5. The system will default to using whichever categories are assigned by Studio Settings. Click Reset to return to the defaults.

    6. Click Apply.

  2. Click Start Generation at the bottom of the dialog. You will be redirected to the project setup page.

3. Generation setup

Steps in the setup process are designated by light blue boxes.

  1. In Step 1, click Upload files to add reference material. You will need to enter mandatory category values for the source file(s), or allow AI to fill in the values.

The uploaded material acts as the factual basis for the generated output, so use source files that are accurate, complete, and appropriate for the target learners. Typical source files include:

  • PDF study guides

  • DOCX lesson notes

  • Syllabi or curriculum outlines

  • Reading passages or revision sheets

  • SCORM 1.2 packages classified as Study materials

  1. Once the source files are uploaded, ensure the ones you wish to use are selected them from the list. Then, proceed to Step 2.

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4. Choose what to create

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  1. Select the quality of the output, if it differs from the default setting. The change applies only to this project.

  2. Optional: Add any notes on what to create, such as question types. The text adds guidance; it does not replace the built-in generation rules.

  3. Select whether you want to create questions (items) or a full test:

    • Questions: create separate reusable question items.

    • Full Test: create one assembled test output when the source should remain a cohesive assessment.

  4. Add required metadata in Add details. Metadata comes from the taxonomy configured for the output document type (either in Studio Settings, or from the Advanced configuration in project setup), so the fields can change depending on whether you create questions or a test.

Use AI-assisted tagging only when you want TAO Studio to suggest metadata during processing. Review those tags later before relying on them for library filtering.

Important: For generation projects, the metadata values that are selected/entered for certain categories influence how the system handles generation. For example, setting a “Difficulty” category to hard or easy will impact the results of that project execution.

  1. Click Generate.

5. View generation results

You can view your progress by clicking the bell icon in the top-right corner.

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Once the conversion is complete, you will be redirected to the Results tab. The generation results will display as one or more color coded tiles under Generated questions/test.

Content that has passed the TAO Studio validation will be colored green. Yellow designates that the content may be usable but does not completely meet the standards.

Result actions

Under the generation results, you will see a menu of the available actions:

  • Select Preview to review generated content. This will open a split view dialog, with the source material on the left and generated test on the left. Use the blue arrows to navigate through questions.

It is important to check all generated content for accuracy. Use the preview option to check factual accuracy, grade fit, answer keys, accessibility, and assessment purpose.

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  • View in library: If you select this option, the library filter will be automatically set to the current project. Open an output file and check Relationships > Origin Document to confirm it still points to the correct source material.

If you select View in library, the filter is for the specific execution of the project. If you repeat execution, it will generate different questions/tests. If you view a separate execution in the library, you will only see that execution’s results.

  • Repeat execution: run conversion again with the same setup. When the output name matches, TAO Studio updates the existing library file (a new revision on the same item) instead of creating a duplicate row. Outputs with the same display name from a different source stay separate.

  • Download the questions or tests to your computer

  • Delete removes all results

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