Online Exam Information and Resources

Preparing for Exams

Early preparation can help to limit disruptions later on. Ensure appropriate settings are enabled, communicate with students about the exam, and have a backup plan in case something goes awry.

Requesting online exam support

Technical Support Analysts will attend online exams through a Google Meet to assist with software and technical issues. Alternatively, TSAs will attend mid-term and final exams in person.  If you wish to request online technical support for mid-term and/or final examinations; complete the below request form at least 10 business days prior to the exam.

Please note that requests for support are pending until a confirmation of support is sent to the instructor. Due to large volumes of requests, support is not guaranteed and is pending staffing availability.

EXAM SUPPORT REQUEST

Setting up a manual grade posting policy

At Ontario Tech, faculty and instructors may not post final grades before they are released by the Office of the Registrar.

Please ensure you have set a manual grade posting policy for your course. You should also hide grade total summaries from students, especially if you are using assignment weighting. 

Weighting the final course grade on Canvas

On Canvas, you can weight final grades based on assignment groups. 

Other tips

Review your Exam

Review exam questions and answers to ensure they’re clearly written and the accurate answer (for multiple choice, true and false, etc.) is selected. There are limited regrade options. 

Provide a Test Exam

Have a test exam so students can ensure their software is up-to-date and everything is working as it should. We recommend sharing the IT Exam Preparation Checklist with students in advance of the exam date.

Have a Backup Plan

Consider making a copy of your Canvas exam to ensure all students can take the exam as scheduled to minimize the number of deferred exams. 

• If you’re using Classic Quizzes, you can copy to the same course. NOTE: do not copy the quiz more than once or the original quiz, including student responses, can be overwritten. 
• If you’re using New Quizzes, you can duplicate the quiz.
  
  NOTE: leave the duplicate/backup quiz unpublished. 

If you would like support from an Educational Developer, please contact us. 

Test Exams

A 'test exam' is a brief quiz that is structured using the same settings and configurations as the scheduled exam. The purpose of a test exam is not typically to assist learners with content-focused exam preparation, but rather to assist learners in ensuring that on the day of their scheduled exam, the exam and their technology will work together. It also prepares learners for the process by which they engage with their exam.

Why should you provide a test exam?

Providing a test exam can ensure that potential challenges with technology or exam configuration are discovered and addressed in advance of exam delivery, alleviating challenges for instructors, and reducing the need for reactive and real-time adjustments.

Can I combine a test exam with a content practice exam?

It is possible to combine a test exam with content practice. Some instructors prefer to create a practice exam that includes more in-depth and relevant content to combine the opportunity to practice the content and test the configuration and technology simultaneously. Whether the test exam is meant to ensure proper configuration and technological function as a standalone measure or combine it with content-related practice, it is highly recommended that best practices be followed to ensure maximum benefit for both instructors and learners.

What should the test exam look like and when should it be available?

It is highly recommended that you provide a test exam for students that closely mimics your chosen exam conditions and technology. This might include:

• Practice using Respondus Lockdown Browser + Monitor
• Practice entering written responses for certain questions or engaging with specific question types

Make a test quiz available a few days before the scheduled exam. Consider leaving it available for several days to ensure as many students as possible access it.  

Best Practices

Quiz Engine

Verify if you are using Classic Quizzes or New Quizzes and ensure the test exam is using the same engine. If Respondus Lockdown Browser is engaged, the exam is accessed differently for each quiz engine. Testing the correct method reduces technology challenges and prepares learners for the access protocol appropriate to the final exam.

General Settings

Ideally, settings related to exam configuration should be reflected in the test exam. Quiz results view, answer shuffling, question feedback, question ordering and question delivery flow should be configured in the same way for both the planned exam and the test exam. There are guides in both Classic Quizzes and New Quizzes to support you in the configuration of these settings. 

Respondus Lockdown Browser + Monitor

Configuration settings are often related to the delivery modality of the exam and faculty preferences. For an overview of Respondus Lockdown Browser, you can review the Quick Start Guide.

Further information about Respondus LockDown Broswer is available.

Quiz Question Types

If your exam includes a variety of question types, it is recommended that your test quiz include at least one question of each type. This will ensure that students can access and engage with the question types and related stimuli (where applicable) with no issue.

Preview the Quiz

Preview the test quiz to view what it will look like in advance of releasing it to students. You can preview your quiz in Classic Quizzes by ensuring the quiz is saved and clicking the preview button located at the bottom or top right-hand parts of your screen. New Quizzes also offers a preview function. Note: Preview is available without publishing the quiz.

Respondus LockDown Browser

Respondus LockDown Browser is a program that is used to prevent students from opening other browser windows or copying and pasting text while completing an online test in Canvas.

If you plan to test students using an online test, Respondus LockDown Browser can help you facilitate a 'closed book' online test through Canvas. This tool prevents students from looking through unauthorized material during the test. If you program your test to require Respondus LockDown Browser, students need to open this program on their computer first, with all other programs closed, in order to access their test in Canvas.

Setting up Respondus LockDown Browser

You can use Respondus LockDown Browser with Classic Quizzes or New Quizzes on Canvas.

ENABLE RESPONDUS LOCKDOWN BROWSER FOR A QUIZ

LINKING A SPREADSHEET IN A QUIZ WITH LOCKDOWN BROWSER

Resources for Students

Below are some resources you can share with students ahead of the exam to ensure that their devices are prepared and to minimize potential issues.

INSTALL RESPONDUS LOCKDOWN BROWSER  

ONLINE EXAM CHECKLIST FOR STUDENTS

ACCESS A CLASSIC QUIZ WITH LOCKDOWN BROWSER

ACCESS A NEW QUIZ WITH LOCKDOWN BROWSER

HOW TO COMPLETE AN ENVIRONMENTAL SCAN    

Time Accommodations

Some students require additional time for exams due to academic accommodations. You can refer to the Test/Exam Extra Time Calculation Sheet to determine the appropriate time adjustments based on the student’s accommodation letter.

Whether you are using Classic Quizzes or New Quizzes to deliver online timed exams, extra time accommodations must be set manually for each test. This is a two-step process:

1. Adjust the availability window on the Quiz Settings page.
2. Add time extensions on the Moderate page.

Please refer to the guide below for detailed instructions on how to add time accommodations for online Classic Quizzes and New Quizzes

PROVIDE EXTRA TIME ACCOMMODATIONS FOR A QUIZ

If you have any questions or concerns about exam accommodations, please reach out to sasexams@ontariotechu.ca.

Troubleshooting FAQs for Instructions

How do I request IT support for my in-person or online exam?

Technical Support Analysts can attend online or in-person exams to assist with software and technical issues. However, you must complete the Exam Support Request Form at least 10 business days prior to the exam. Please note that rrequests for support are pending until a confirmation of support is sent to the instructor. Due to large volumes of requests, support is not guaranteed and is pending staffing availability. 

How can I help my students prepare their laptop, tablet or computer for their exam?

IT Services has prepared a checklist of steps to assist learners in preparing their laptop or computer for exams. The Exam Preparation Checklist will guide them through the steps right from Operating System updates to clicking ‘Begin!’. It is highly recommended that all learners navigate through these steps prior to each midterm and final exam period.

Note: It is recommended to provide learners with a Test Exam so they can ensure that their technology will function properly on the date of their exam. 

A student contacted me about technical issues while writing their test. Where do I direct them?

If a student requires technical support, they can contact the IT Service Desk by phone at 905.721.3333 for the most prompt assistance. If they can attend in-person, the North Campus location for IT Support is in the Gordon Wiley building, Room SW100. 

For other contact options and hours of operation, visit the IT Service Desk Contact Page.

How do I give more time to a student who was taking the test but had technical issues?

Classic Quizzes: If a student is currently taking the quiz, you can extend their attempt by adding more time in the Moderate Quiz page. 

• Important Note: If you give a student extra time during an in-process quiz with a set availability date and time, their submission time will display as occurring later than the selected availability time.

New Quizzes: If the student is engaged in their attempt, time can be added to the quiz attempt by accessing the Moderate Quiz page, after selecting the Build button. You are also able to remove the time limit in the same location, should that option better suit the circumstances.

• Important Note: Quiz availability dates still apply when moderating a quiz. If the Until date passes before a student completes an extra attempt or extended-time quiz, any in-progress quizzes auto-submit and the quiz closes, even if the student's attempt has not expired.
  

I need help with building my exam with Canvas Classic Quizzes or Canvas New Quizzes. Who do I contact?

If you would like some self-service resources, you can find them  on the TLC Website in the Canvas Resources section. Both Classic Quizzes and New Quizzes resources are available. For guided support building your exam in Canvas regardless of the Quiz engine, please submit the TLC Canvas Support Form and one of our Educational Developers will reach out to book an appointment. For pedagogical support related to Exam design, you can contact the Educational Developer assigned to your Faculty or email the TLC General inbox: teachingandlearning@ontariotechu.ca

My student says that their accommodations didn’t apply and they were kicked out. What happened?

If you are adding accommodations for a student, there are two steps to ensure that the accommodations work properly. If you added their accommodations for additional time through the Moderate Quiz settings (in either Quiz engine), it is possible that their accommodated time exceeded the access availability in the quiz configuration.

If the ‘Until’ date passes before the learner's extended-time or extra attempt quiz is completed, any in-progress quizzes will be auto-submitted by the system and the quiz closes. This will happen regardless of their accommodation or in-progress status. To ensure an accommodation is successful on a time-limited exam, you must extend the availability window of the quiz. To do this, the ‘until’ date for the quiz must be adjusted to cover the total amount of time afforded to the student to write their exam,  including the additional time added through accommodation.  You can create a separate Assign To to extend the time for only the student(s) who are accommodated.

I have a student writing in the Test Centre who doesn’t need Respondus Monitor. How can I turn it off for them while leaving it active for everyone else?

Respondus Lockdown Browser can be configured to require Respondus Monitor for remote automated proctoring. In the Advanced Settings section that appears once Respondus Monitor is enabled, select “Allow this exam to additionally be delivered in a proctored lab (no webcam recording).” This allows students taking the test in a proctored lab to engage with Lockdown Browser only and removes the Respondus Monitor requirement. For this to work properly, a password or access code must be configured and should only be shared with the Test Centre or Proctor. Further details regarding this setting can be located at the Respondus Monitor Technical Support website.

Do I need to turn on iPad access in Respondus Lockdown Browser?

For exams that require only LockDown Browser, iPad access is now automatically enabled. To allow iPad use with a Respondus Monitor (automated proctoring) exam, select it from Advanced Settings for Respondus Monitor.

Note: Screen recording is not supported for iPad, so if an exam has Webcam+Screen enabled, it will not produce a screen recording if the student uses an iPad.

Grading

Final grades for the Fall 2024 term must be submitted to the Office of the Registrar no later than 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, December 18.  

Final grades for students writing a deferred examination must be submitted to the Office of the Registrar no later than January 8. The grading window will open on December 3.

At Ontario Tech, faculty and instructors may not post final grades before they are released by the Office of the Registrar.

Please ensure you have set a manual grade posting policy for your course. We also recommend hiding grade total summaries from students.

USE THIS GUIDE FOR IMPORTANT THINGS TO LOOK FOR BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER EXAMS

Uploading Grades through My Ontario Tech

The Faculty Grade Entry process allows you to import your grades using an Excel spreadsheet from either Canvas or your own files. Instructions on submitting your grades through Canvas are provided below:  

UPLOADING FINAL GRADES MANUALLY ENTERING GRADES

If you have any technical difficulties with grade entry, please email studentsystems@ontariotechu.ca and copy Adam.Wingate@ontariotechu.ca.