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.
Initial Setup
Have two browsers available. On occasion, a problem that occurs with Blackboard in one
browser will not occur in another. Because many colleges have had
more reports of technical problems with Blackboard
when students and faculty use Microsoft Internet Explorer, Chabot Web Services no longer recommends using IE
with Blackboard. We recommend the
Firefox browser
instead.
However, if you continue to experience a problem while
using Blackboard with the Firefox browser and Chabot's Blackboard tech support
is unable to resolve the issue, it may be worth trying the
IE browser to see if
the problem clears up. You can also try another browser such as
Google Chrome or
Safari to see if the problem stops.
Check your Internet connection.
When deciding on a time to take your exam, take into account times when your
connection seems to slow down or lose connectivity. These issues can cause your
quiz or exam to disconnect, possibly making you lose your work. Both dial-up and
cable/broadband Internet connections can have connectivity problems.
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.
To disable pop-up blockers in Firefox:
Go to the Tools menu.
Click on Options.
In the box that opens, click on the Content tab.
Make sure that "Block pop-up windows" is unchecked.
Time considerations
Blackboard assessments time out after three hours of inactivity. Your Internet
Service Provider (Comcast, AT&T, etc.) might time out sooner with no activity.
Save your answers or
the exam frequently. Saving resets the inactivity clock, but not the exam clock.
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.
Taking the exam
Read your instructor’s test-taking policy.
If your instructor has a policy on how she will deal with students who claim
that technical problems prohibit them from submitting exams properly, read that
policy carefully. It might be located in the course syllabus.
Click Take Quiz/Exam.
Click it once, not twice. You will get a prompt asking you if you are sure you
want to take the exam. Once you click OK, you may begin your exam.
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.
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 or
save the exam, 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). 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.
Write essay answers in a word processor first.
You are allowed to copy and paste from a word processing program (such as
Microsoft Word) into
Blackboard. By writing your essay answers in a word processor, you are
essentially creating a backup of your answer. This comes in handy if any
technical difficulties arise. You can also check your spelling and grammar in
the word processor.
Prepare your browser for short-answer or essay
questions. If you get confronted with a dialog box saying "The
application's digital signature has been verified. Do you want to run the
application?", click Run. This will allow you to, among other things, use
Blackboard's Visual Text Box Editor, a text area into which you can type.
You can always disable the Visual Text Box Editor
prior to an exam by going to Tools – Personal Information –
Set Visual Text Box
Editor Options – Unavailable – Submit. This will give you access to the default
editor, which should work.
Submitting the exam
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.
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.
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.
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