Very important:
If your instructor gives you a time block of one, two, or several days to complete an exam, do not wait until the last minute to do it. Should any technical problems arise, you're less likely to get them solved at the end of an examination time block. Your instructor might also be less sympathetic.Click to go to the section on:
Initial Setup
Taking the Exam
Submitting the Exam
Common Errors/Issues
Wireless Laptop Users: Always use a hard-wired connection plugged directly into your router instead of a wireless connection when taking exams.
It's best to have two browsers available. Blackboard recommends using Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 (or higher) or Mozilla Firefox 3.5 (or higher) for all Blackboard related tasks.
Check Internet connection. When deciding on a time to take your exam, take into account times when your connection seems to slow down or loses connectivity. These issues can cause your exam to disconnect, possibly making you lose your work.
Disable pop-up blockers. Pop-up blockers can cause problems with saving and submitting Blackboard exams. If you have multiple pop-up blockers, disable them all. These blockers come installed in the latest versions of Internet Explorer and Firefox, in third-party toolbars such as Google and Yahoo, and they can come with utility software such the Norton products from Symantec.
Time considerations. Blackboard assessments time out after 3 hours of inactivity. Your Internet Service Provider might time out sooner with no activity.
Dial-up users. If you use dial-up to connect to the Internet, disable call waiting. If you answer a call during the exam, Blackboard might assume you abandoned the exam and will erase your answers.
Only open the Blackboard browser window. Do not have any other browser windows or programs open while taking tests. Other programs and browsers can interfere with your Blackboard exam. Do not leave the test page while taking the exam (for example, to view course materials or another Web site). Do not close the browser window while taking the exam. (top)
Read your instructor’s policy. If your instructor has a policy on how she will deal with students reporting that technical problems prohibit them from submitting exams properly, read that policy carefully. It might be located in the course syllabus.
Allow the page to load completely before answering questions. The page may take a moment or two to load completely. If you begin scrolling or answering questions before it loads completely, it might not load all of the questions and they might go unanswered.
DO NOT use the browser's Back and Forward buttons or the scroll wheel on your mouse to navigate; instead use the arrow keys and/or window side scroll bars to move to previous questions. (This does not apply to exams that are set to display questions one at a time and/or prohibit backtracking.)
Save your work regularly. Blackboard assessments may timeout due to inactivity. This can lead to unsuccessful submissions and loss of work. Save your work every 10-15 minutes (but avoid too-frequent saves). You can use the Save button located to the right of every question or the Save button located at the bottom of the page.
Prepare your browser for short-answer or essay questions. If you are prompted by a dialog box indicating "The application's digital signature has been verified. Do you want to run the application?", click Run. See image. This will allow you to, among other things, use Blackboard's Visual Text Box Editor, the text area where you. (top)
If you lose your connection in the middle of an exam, do not close your browser window. Try to re-establish your connection. If the exam is still displayed, complete it and try to submit. If you are concerned about whether your results were recorded, print a copy of the confirmation page for your records and email your instructor indicating you encountered technical difficulties.
Read the exam instructions carefully. The exam instructions tell you exactly how to take the exam, and will include any special instructions that your instructor might have included. Any instructions about back tracking, forced completion, and multiple attempts will be listed here.
- Force Completion: Once you begin the exam, you are required to complete it in one session. As soon as you leave the exam by clicking elsewhere, you will not be able to access it again. For exams that deliver all of the questions on one page, if you did not save any answers, none of your answers will be recorded.
- Allow Multiple Attempts: You may start and stop the exam as many times as you wish (within the total time limit for the exam if there is one). But for exams that deliver all of the questions on one page, you need to save each question. If not when you come back, you need to start from the beginning of the exam. Once you finish the exam you will need to submit it for your score to be recorded.
- All at Once: If all of the exam questions appear on the page at once, the Save button will appear next to each question. It is a good idea to click Save after each question answered, in case of technical difficulties. Saved answers will be recorded.
- One at a Time: If the exam is in this mode, the Save button will be displayed for each question. Again, it is good practice to save after each question. Click the forward arrow once you are done with the question. Once you move to the next question, the previous answer will be saved and recorded.
Timed Exam. If the exam is timed, you will see the following message when starting the exam: This quiz has a X hour X minute time limit. The clock will start as soon as the quiz is loaded and a timer will display at the top of the exam area. When one minute remains, a warning pop-up message will display. If the time limit is exceeded, Blackboard will accept the submission and an exclamation mark will appear as your grade until this is cleared by your instructor.
Submit the exam. Once you have finished answering the questions, click the Submit button at the bottom of the exam. If you do not submit the exam, you will receive no credit for your answers. You should see a confirmation page if the submission was successful. Clicking the Save button does not submit the exam.
Confirm your submission. If you received confirmation or feedback, your score was recorded successfully. If you did not receive confirmation, go back to the content area and locate the exam. Click the link to the exam. Blackboard should tell you that the exam has been completed or will give you feedback about the exam.
You can check the My Grades area to confirm exam submission. If you see a grade/score or an exclamation point (!), then the submission was successful, and you are done. If you see a lock icon, then you should contact your instructor and ask for verification. If anything happened to your browser or Internet connection during the exam, or you received any error messages, include this information with your email to the instructor. You can also contact Blackboard Support to ask questions. (top)
Accidentally quitting the exam. If you lose power or close your browser--or something else causes you to stop taking the exam before you submit it--contact your instructor immediately to get instructions. Make sure to include details as to what caused the problem.
Firewall If you have a firewall installed on your system, it might prevent you from accessing your exam. You can either temporarily disable your firewall, or take the exam at a non-firewalled computer. (top)
