It seems like there is not a lot of resources out there that can allow us to convert files into QTI format with python easily. By this I mean it doesn't look like there aren't any python packages already out there that will help us do this.
QTI can handle a variety of problem types such as multiple choice, word matching, short answer and long answer formatted questions.
Yes, QTI formatting can handle images.
QTI items consist of multiple elements. They need to hold information for the prompt, answer, scoring, interaction and more. So, all this information about the question (problem type, difficulty etc) can be added to a made specific element that will include all the meta data.
Yes, QTI formatted questions are portable and allow information to be moved across different platforms. This is because it allows for us to create questions in a common, more vague format where they can be easily imported.
Do an exploratory analysis of the QTI format (Specifically Numeric Question) to see what its limitations are: https://www.imsglobal.org/question/index.html
Some questions I have are:
1) Can you ship python code with this spec ?
2) What are the problem types it handles?
3) Does it handle images?
4) How does it deal with meta data like learning outcomes, problem type, difficulty, etc...?
5) Is it portable? easy to move around between systems?