Blackboard Online Quiz Tips for Students

Review these helpful tips before taking an online quiz/test/exam in Blackboard.

Ensuring optimal performance of your laptop:

1. Regularly install updates on your computer so that your computer doesn’t force installation when you are about to write a quiz.

2. Check your computer is free of viruses and spyware by running regular security checks.

3. Fully charge your battery before taking the quiz.

4. Connect to a wired high-speed internet connection if possible.
   Most of wireless modems also have a wired port. If you have access to your modem and have a LAN cable, you will be able to take an exam on the wired internet connection even at home.

5. If using Wi-Fi, take the exam in a place with the strongest Wi-Fi signal.

6. Check that your browser supports the most recent release of Blackboard (Blackboard Browser check).

Tips for taking quizzes:

1. Put all mobile devices on airplane mode during an exam/test to avoid overloading the wireless internet.

2. Close all browser windows.

3. Do NOT start answering questions until the entire page has loaded. Watch your browser status bar to verify the entire page has loaded.

4. NEVER use the forward/backward/refresh buttons on your browser. You may get locked out of the test.

5. NEVER use the mouse scroll wheel to advance to the next question because it may accidentally change your answer to the question you just completed.

6. Be patient while waiting for pages to load once you click to progress to the next question, to save, or to submit. Do NOT double-click.

7. Keep an eye on the exam timer and double-check answers before submitting the test.

8. SAVE your answers after each question.

9. Click SAVE and SUBMIT once you have completed the test. Do NOT close the browser window or navigate to another site until you see the confirmation page.

10. Do NOT ignore warning messages. Let your instructor know if you have a warning message.

What to do if the quiz is not submitted:

1. Wait for a minute. If the Submit button doesn’t work or the quiz page doesn’t react, wait for a minute for the case the page loads slowly. Do NOT close the browser window.

2. Make an evidence of your attempt. Record the time when the quiz page got frozen. If the quiz is not using Respondus LockDown Browser, take screen captures of the quiz page with your answers and save it in a document. If the quiz is using Respondus LockDown Browser, take pictures of the quiz page with your answers by the cellphone as much as you can.

3. Resume the quiz if possible. After you have made the copy of your answers, close the browser window and open a new browser window. If the quiz is using Respondus LockDown Browser, close and re-open it. Re-launch the quiz. If the given time has not been passed and the previous session was not closed by the system, you will be able to resume the quiz. The answers you already entered may not show up. Try to complete the quiz while the quiz is available to students.

4. Report to your instructor. Email your instructor with a copy of the evidence of your attempt and a brief explanation of the problem you are experiencing so your instructor has a reliable record of when the problem occurred. Your instructor will decide whether you need another chance to take the quiz.

Please note these are best practices based on our experience. There could be many other factors that can impact the exam performance.

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