Edit: We added more resources.
Many instructors think of finals week and perfectly naturally think of final exams. Students probably think the same thing, albeit with a bit more anxiety! We know that many instructors continue to be comfortable with final exams in this era of remote teaching, and that’s fine. If you’re experienced with putting exams on Blackboard, you may not need much help in the next few weeks. We are devoting an hour 1pm Wednesday of this week to a short information session as well. If you want to stick with exams, but aren’t yet fully using them in Blackboard, we have the following resources:
- Okay, before you think about resources, just remember that there are two stages to creating a Blackboard test: creating the test and deploying the test. Unlike with assignments, you create the test first. You write all the questions and specify the points and answers. But it doesn’t go into your course until you “deploy” it, by selecting the test you just added and specifying some additional options.
- Getting started building a test/quiz in Blackboard (text, video)
- Know how to provide extended time for students with accommodations through Access Services (text, video).
- Copy a Blackboard test from one course to a different course.
- Providing accommodations on a student test/quiz in Blackboard.
- Providing Feedback to Students on a Test in Blackboard
- A handy guide to building a test you can print out and refer to while you build a test.
- We also covered Blackboard test creation in our initial remote teaching workshop three years ago, in March, 2020 🙂
We also have some resources on test security and proctoring on an online test using Respondus LockDown Browser and Monitor.
- LockDown Browser: overview of key features, and instructor resources
- Respondus Monitor: overview of key features, and instructor resources
- Rapid Rollout for Instructors answers the top questions instructors have about LockDown Browser & Respondus Monitor
- Daily Online Training: LockDown Browser and Monitor. The training is about 45 minutes, with an extended Q/A period where questions are answered live.
But it’s also possible that you may want to give a different kind of final in a time of remote teaching. After all, students will not be taking an exam in the controlled setting of your classroom. They may be taking it in a busy household, on tenuous wifi, with family and extended family about, and with their books or notes much more nearby. There are online proctoring tools which can control for some of this chaos (one of our professors is having students record their test-taking using Google Meet), but it may also be a time to think about the purpose of your test and whether it could be fulfilled by a paper or other kind of assignment. If your test is about learning as much as assessment—and that assessment includes higher-level outcomes such as connecting, synthesizing, or comparing—a carefully crafted short paper or video interview might be a better solution that students can work on using other time. If your test is mostly about assessing factual knowledge or identifying and defining terms, a timed exam might be your best bet.
Finally, whatever your choice about final materials, please try to make sure they are accessible to all students (some of whom may need screen readers), and respects the accommodation(s) they might need according to Access Services. We have lots of resources for making your course more accessible on the Remote Teaching Guidelines page (see the “Ensuring Access” tab on the page. And we include a targeted video for giving students more time on certain exams (a frequent accommodation for timed tests).
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