Tests - Exams
If you need help or advice to set up your exam in blackboard, please access our office hours!
or contact learning.innovation@ie.edu
RULES FOR CLOSED BOOK EXAMS
Please share these instructions with the students:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FmD_ppwnHC7ll8dGxdQRdAbU9VBpLFO3vIudnNu_hIU/edit?usp=sharing
Add the link in the content area so that the students can read the rules before the exam.
You can also copy paste the rules inside the exam using the ADD TEXT option.
PROCTORING TOOLS TO PREVENT CHEATING
There are 2 proctoring tools integrated in blackboard: (You have to choose one as you cannot use both in the same exam.)
Respundus: It locks the browser, students can only access the exam on Blackboard.
Smowl CM: It doesn't lock the browser but records in a report which applications or websites the student opens during the exam. RECOMMENDED
Please contact learning.innovation@ie.edu in case you need training or advice in order to use a proctoring tool.
TIPS TO MINIMIZE CHEATING:
QUESTION BANKS: create a question bank with similar versions of a question, or questions with the same difficulty. Use AI to create question banks
QUESTION POOL: displays a different version of a question to each student that are drawn from the previously created question bank.
RANDOMIZE QUESTIONS : The exam questions appear in a different random order for each student.
RANDOMIZE ANSWERS: The options within the question appear in a different random order for each student.
DISPLAY ONE QUESTION AT A TIME
PROHIBIT BACKTRACKING
ACCESS CODE: A password that is only shared within the class at the time of the exam, to prevent someone else from remotely connecting to the exam that the student is taking in the classroom.
ATTEMPTS: 1 attempt.
RELEASE CONDITIONS: date - time Limit to class time. All classmates take the exam at the same time.
TIME LIMIT: Set a tight time limit to answer the questions.
Step 1. Create a test
On the Course Content page, select the plus sign wherever you want to add a test.
In the dropdown menu, select Create to open the Create Item panel
and finally select Test. The New Test page opens.
(You can also create a test inside a folder or learning module).
4. Once you open the new test page, first change the name of the test on the top left corner.
Step 2. Add questions to a test
In order to create the QUESTIONS hover the mouse over (under the orange pencil) and Click on the PLUS ICON to display the menu with all types of questions available. Select the one you want to create.
You can combine different types of questions in the same test.
Questions are created with a default value of 10 points. (You can edit it and type a new value if necessary)
You can also reuse questions from existing tests in the same course, with the reuse question option.
You can copy an exam from another course in blackboard.
Multiple choice & Multiple answer questions
Type the question and answers on each box. by default you have 4 answers boxes. but you can add or delete answers if necessary.
If you want more than 4 answer boxes, select Add Choice.
If you need less than 4, you can delete any using the trash icon.
You should at least select one answer as the correct one
In case you select more than one correct answers, the question will become a Multiple Answer question with the following Scoring options:
All or nothing: Students must choose all answer choices correctly to receive full credit. One or more incorrect answer choices = 0 points.
Allow partial credit: Students receive partial credit if they answer part of the question correctly.
Subtract points for incorrect answers: Subtract points for incorrect answer choices to discourage guessing. The question score can`t total less than 0.
Subtract points for incorrect answers.
For multiple choice questions, enable the options:
Allow partial and negative credit
Allow negative overall score
Percentages:
Use percentages to add partial and negative credit values to each option.
Essay questions VS add text
ESSAY QUESTIONS Essay questions require students to type an answer in a text box or attach a file in the answer box.
you will need to grade these questions manually.
(you can not use rubrics)
ADD TEXT. (is not considered a type of question) In case you require your students to submit an attached file with their answers, you can use this option instead of essay question ....
Benefits of using ADD TEXT instead of essay questions for attached files answers:
In order to grade it its easier to provide feedback, in ADD TEXT the file will be displayed and you don´t need to download it in order to grade it or make comments. (in essay questions you will need to download the attached files in order to read them..)
you can use safe assign to detect plagiarism in the attached files in ADD TEXT (not in attached files in essay q)
You can use rubrics
Drawbacks of using ADD TEXT instead of essay questions for attached files answers: as add text is not considered a type of question, in case in the exam you combine this option with for example multiple choice questions, you will be no possible to randomize questions. So in case you need randomize questions you should use essay instead of add text
Fill in the blank, Matching, True or false, Calculated formula questions
to insert altgr
EXACT MATCH
CONTAIN MACH (partial credit)
MATCH PATTERN eg. [a-zA-Z]
Calculated Formula The numbers in the question change with each student and are pulled from a range that you set. The correct answer is a specific value or a range of values.
Question pool
Step 1.CREATE A QUESTION BANK
Step 2. QUESTION POOL
With a question pool each student receives a different version of the question to prevent cheating.
A question pool "draw" questions previously created on a QUESTION BANK in the same course
So, before using a question pool you need to create a question bank to use it as a source for the question pool.
You can create as many question banks as question pools you are going to use for the exam.
All questions in a question bank should be similar and with similar level of difficulty.
NOTE: when you copy an exam with question pools to anther course, you also need to copy the question bank .
Auto generate question banks using AI
Under Course content area:
click on the plus icon / Create
and then Create Item / Document.
Copy paste the text from which you want to create the questions.
Press: Generate question banks
Display the recommended test settings:
Find in red the relevant settings for EXAMS
Find in grey some of the settings are more relevant for assignments
Details & Information
Due date by default it takes the following day, from which you create the test, so you need to change it or delete the due date.
Due date is more relevant for an assignments than for an exams
The due date is the date that appear on the calendar to students so if you delete it it won´t appear on the calendar.
Late submissions appear with a Late label in the course gradebook. (gradebook- change automatic zeros)
Allow class conversations. don´t use this option for exams
Collect submissions offline. not relevant for exams. Grade student work that doesn’t require students to upload a submission. e.g oral presentations
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Presentation Options
Display questions one at a time
Prohibit backtracking. Prevents students from changing their responses once they have moved to the next question (can cause additional student frustration in taking the exam)
Randomize questions.
Randomize answers: Multiple Choice and Matching answer choices are randomly ordered for students
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Grading & Submissions
Grade category (Test by default. to group items in the gradebook)
Attempts allowed 1 for exams by default
Grade using by default the grade is shown in Points, but you can change it to Percentage .
Maximum points by default the maximum points is the sum of the questions points, so if you want to change the maximum points you should change the points on the questions and the sum will be upgraded.
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Assessment grade !!!
Post assessment grades automatically To prevent students from viewing grades, the instructor may un-select this option. https://youtu.be/1hNfSn1nUfk
Assessment results
Submission View
Automated Question Feedback Available after all grades are posted
Question Scores: (score for each question) by default Available after all grades are posted
Correct Answers Enable feedback setting
Assessment security
Access code. Recommended
Additional Tools
Time limit - very important for exams!! (automatic submission) Time Is Up! Your work was automatically saved and submitted
Use grading rubric only for text assignments no for test questions
Goals & standards
Assigned groups
Originality Report Enable SafeAssign only for text assignments SafeAssign supports attempts in English only.
DESCRIPTION Add here the exam description, e.g number of questions, time limit, grading or any info you want share with the students before the exam starts. The description appears on the course content page under the exam title.
Select the Settings icon to open the panel with all the settings
Step 4: Proctoring tools
PROCTORING TOOLS TO PREVENT CHEATING
There are 2 proctoring tools integrated in blackboard :
Respundus: It locks the browser, students can only access the exam on Blackboard.
Smowl CM: It doesn't lock the browser but records in a report which applications or websites the student opens during the exam.
Please contact learning.innovation@ie.edu in case you need training or advice in order to use a proctoring tool.
Step 5: Extra time accommodations
Extra time accommodation
in case you need to provide extra time accommodation to one student, you need to access the ROSTER page in the course menu (not inside the exam page)
find the name of the student and press the three dots on the right end.
Accommodations
Time limit accommodation
Set the extra time percentage: e.g. 25%
Step 6: Make the test visible to students
Release conditions DATE/TIME Is the time frame in which the link to access the exam will be available for students. (Note that this is different from time limit.)
from the top right corner change the Release conditions
Date/Time
Show on: select the date in which the test would become available to students.
Hide after: After the specified date, the test is no longer visible to students, and students can no longer access the test.
Provide access only to specific students
Release conditions
Select members
Specific members or groups. Individual members. search by the name of the student
Step 7: Grading
When you create a test, an item is created automatically in the gradebook.
In the gradebook you will find the exam submissions of your students in order to grade them and provide feedback.
A test's score consists of the sum total of all the questions' points.
In case you allow several attempts, you can choose witch one to grade
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