PrepAI vs. Quillionz: Which is the Best AI-Based Question Generation Platform?

Kavika Roy
DataToBiz
Published in
6 min readOct 5, 2021

A comparative study of PrepAI and Quillionz, two leading AI question generation platforms to show their importance in the Edtech industry.

Artificial intelligence is making great headway in the Edtech industry. The increase in online teaching platforms and mobile applications is a prime example of this development. Machine learning, deep learning, and natural language processing are used to assist teachers in enhancing the teaching environment and help students improve their performance.

Wouldn’t it be amazing for teachers if they can use technology to simplify their workload while AI helps with the automation of administrative work and reduces the load on teachers?

From preparing the syllabus to planning the teaching schedule and creating a question paper for assessments, artificial intelligence is becoming a part of the education industry. Educators are feeling less stressed and more relaxed, resulting in a higher engagement with the students.

The global artificial intelligence in the education market is estimated to reach $3.68 billion by 2023 at a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 47%.

AI-based question generators are the most used technology in recent times. Teachers find it less stressful to use the artificial intelligence application to design a test paper to assess students. In fact, the question generation platforms are not limited only to teachers.

Educators and trainers from corporate and government agencies also rely on AI-based platforms to create assessments. Parents also use the test generators to test their kids’ knowledge. Even students can create self-assessment tests and determine their weak areas in the subject/ topic.

PrepAI and Quillionz have been listed among the best AI-based test generation platforms in the market. However, these are two similar yet different software applications with features of their own. Which among the two platforms is a better AI question generator, and why? The comparison has been made based on the most important characteristics a user needs from the question generators.

PrepAI vs. Quillionz: Which is the Best AI-Based Question Generation Platform?
PrepAI vs. Quillionz: Which is the Best AI-Based Question Generation Platform?

1. Data Submission Methods/ Inputs Formats/ Sources

The first factor is the input method. How will you enter the text into the question generator? In how many ways can the platform accept the material to prepare the test paper? How does it create questions from the text?

PrepAI

Most question generation platforms accept blocks of text copy-pasted into the given text box on the website/ application. The text is then processed using an NLP (Natural Language Processing) algorithm that works as the backbone of the platform.

That said, PrepAI accepts multiple input formats. The platform is designed to facilitate easy question-generating methods for teachers and educators. PrepAI reads data from -

  • Copy/ Paste Text
  • Type directly into the input box
  • PDF files
  • MS Word Docx
  • YouTube URL (with or without captions)
  • Video files
  • Wikipedia Search Results from Wikipedia search by entering the topic

Simply copy-paste the text into the textbox when using PrepAI to generate a question, or upload the latest version of the Word file. You can even get data from a YouTube video URL. Select the section/ area for which you want to conduct the test. Easy, right?

PrepAI is designed and developed by DataToBiz, one of the leading AI consulting companies in the market.

Quillionz

Quillionz also accepts multiple input formats even though they are limited to-

  • Text
  • PDF files
  • YouTube URL (only with captions)

Captions make it easy for the algorithm to understand the video and convert the text into questions.

The question generator reads the data from the input source and identifies the potential sentences that can be rephrased as questions. The given input data is then converted to questions and shared with the user. Quillionz has been designed by Harbinger Group, a well-known software product engineering company.

2. Type of Questions

We know that questions come in different types, and assessments can have questions in multiple methods or have a single format. Once the input is provided to the platform, it’s time to choose the types of questions you want in the test paper.

PrepAI

PrepAI gives you an array of question types by automatically generating questions and categorizing them into different types. Do you want to go with the standard format and list them as multiple choice questions? Do you want the students to write their answers to descriptive questions? You can edit the questions and select only the ones you want. PrepAI provides the following types of questions-

  • MCQs (Multiple Choice Questions)
  • True/False
  • Descriptive questions
  • Fillups
  • Statement Based Questions

Quillionz

Quillionz is also a user-friendly AI question generation platform with many types of questions available to prepare the test paper. It offers-

  • MCQs (Multiple Choice Questions)
  • True/False
  • Interpretive Questions
  • Fillups
  • ‘Wh’ type questions

Quillionz creates MCQs for a very limited set of questions where answers are expected to be a date, number, simple words, etc. The platform has a little trouble handling complex subjects.

‘Wh’ questions are the ones that start with what, when, where, and why. These questions make students think before they answer, and it’s similar to PrepAI’s Descriptive Questions and Statement Based Questions.

3. Output Formats

So your question paper is ready. How will you share it with the students? These are online AI-based platforms. The question papers need to be distributed to the students for them to answer. That means that the test paper has to be exported into other easy-to-use formats so that they can be emailed or printed on paper.

PrepAI

PrepAI is all about user-friendliness. The platform exports the final question paper in two formats-

  • PDF
  • MS Word Docx File

These two formats are the most used and most comfortable files that can be shared, printed, emailed, etc., in less than a minute. There’s no need to convert the Word or PDF files into any other format to open the document. PDF files retain formatting and are a great choice when the question paper includes descriptive questions.

Quillionz

Quillionz supports four types of output formats to export the question paper after it has been created.

  • PDF
  • MS Word Docx File
  • TXT
  • QTI (Question and Test Interoperability)

QTI is an XML-based output format where the test paper can be reused in another system. It’s a slightly complex format and will have to be converted to another easier format to print or email the question paper to students.

4. Difficulty Level Categorization

We’ve talked about generating questions until now. It’s time to see how the questions can be customized and edited to enhance the quality of the test paper. Do you want the students to have an easy test and get full marks? Or maybe you want them to work hard and sweat a little. Choosing a difficulty level will decide how hard or easy the question paper will be.

PrepAI

PrepAI was designed by keeping the educators in mind. The ML and NLP algorithms work how a teacher’s mind would work when creating a test paper. You can choose between three difficulty levels before you finalize the question paper and export it in an output format of your choice.

  • Keep it easy
  • Medium/ moderately easy
  • or Hard

Quillionz

Quillionz does offer to choose between the difficulty levels. The question and answer paper will have a predetermined difficulty level based on the input text. You cannot simplify the test paper or make it hard for students to answer.

5. Add Your Own Questions

Personalization is the keyword of our times, isn’t it? Even though educators use AI-based question generators, they still like to add questions from their side. You relate to this, don’t you?

PrepAI

That’s where PrepAI works its magic. You can add questions to the test papers created by the platform, and PrepAI provides predefined templates to include more questions for the input text. When combined with the previous feature, this personalization of the test paper is a highly effective feature. You can be assured that the student’s knowledge is being thoroughly assessed, that too without putting excess pressure on you.

Quillionz

Quillionz doesn’t offer the option to add questions of your own to the platform. You can choose the text and type of questions, but cannot include new ones. Therefore, you’ll have to go with the ones generated by the AI platform. Of course, Quillionz allows you to highlight content and make notes, but you cannot input questions separately and add them to the generated test paper.

Conclusion

AI and ML help streamline the Edtech industry by creating multiple checkpoints to process and evaluate the content. Artificial intelligence provides recommendations to teachers and students, and it creates a comprehensive environment to facilitate better interaction between teachers and students.

PrepAI and Quillionz reflect how AI-based question generation platforms can improve the quality of teaching and learning without adding to the workload. They are being termed the best AI test generators for the attractive features they offer to educators. The blog provides a comparative analysis so that users can decide which question generator they should use based on the information highlighted. Rest, it all depends on your requirements and which one fits the best.

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Kavika Roy
DataToBiz

Kavika is Head of Information Management at DataToBiz. She is responsible for identification, acquisition, distribution & organization of technical oversight.