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Recommendations for Canvas with KTH Digicertus Exam

Should I use Quizzes or Assignments? What time parameters should I choose? Learn more about recommended settings for Canvas when conducting a lockdown examination in a computer room.

Use the examination room 

In most cases, it is best to use the examination room created for the exam session. This way, all registered students will have access to the room, and it will be clear for the students. Read more about examination rooms .

Publish your Canvas room

Don't forget to publish your Canvas room for your examination as well as your exam. If the room and exam are not published, students will not be able to access the content.

Quizzes or Assignments in Canvas

For examinations in a computer room, it is often most convenient to use a quiz, as it provides more options to restrict access to the task to those who are in the room.

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It is not possible to change the settings in Canvas during an ongoing exam

While the exam is in progress, it is not possible to change the settings for the exam in Canvas. If the settings are changed after the examination has started, this change will not be effective for the students who have already started the examination. For the changes to take effect, the student must log out and log in again, and thus their previous responses will be lost.

We therefore recommend not making changes during an ongoing examination and instead encourage testing the settings in Canvas well in advance of the examination.

For assignments, only text entry can be used

If you choose to use Assignments in Canvas, you can only receive student submissions in the 'text entry' format. For example, you cannot allow students to submit a file since computers during lockdown lack that functionality. Note that SpeedGrader's annotation feature does not work with the 'text entry' format.

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Settings for examining assignments

Set times to manage the technology

In order to have time to deal with any technical problems, the following settings for the assignment are recommended:

  • "Due": Set to the end time of the examination.
  • "Available From": Set to the examination start time.
  • "Until": Set to the maximum limit for shifting writing time, usually 25 minutes after the end of the examination. Canvas will clearly show who submitted late.

It is not possible to extend the writing time in Canvas during an ongoing exam

During an ongoing exam, it is not possible to extend the writing time in Canvas. Therefore, it is important to have a buffer when planning your exam. Set the writing time in Canvas so there is a margin for any possible delays. Also, make sure that the room and lockdown is booked, providing time margins both before and after the exam.

The maximum limit for shifting the writing time is determined based on which times invigilators and rooms are booked. Ask your exam administration for what times are applicable for your occasion. In the event of technical problems and a possible shift in the writing time for one or more students, it is important to stay within the maximum limit for how much the exam can be postponed. Remember to also set the right times for students with compensatory support from Funka (Section 2 in the examination room).

Modules and code of conduct

By using modules in the examination room, it is possible to condition that the students must have read the instructions for the examination before they have access to the examination. It is also possible to then condition that the code of conduct must be confirmed in order for the exam to be conducted by the student. If you want to use modules, there is a ready-made template to download to the Canvas room. Read more about KTH's module-based examination room template .

Possibility to combine Canvas with paper answer

If the examination includes elements that are better suited for the students to explain on paper, it is possible to supplement the submission in Canvas by having the paper submitted as usual by the invigilator. Be sure to indicate where and how the student is expected to respond if you plan to combine the computer exam with paper. After the exam, it is possible to import the handwritten solutions for an assignment in Canvas. Read more about Scanned exams to Canvas .

Test the exam with the lockdown

To ensure that the exam will work with the locking, it is important to test the complete solution on site in the computer room. This is especially important if the course uses programs in addition to Canvas, such as Möbius. Test the examination assignment or quiz from a sandbox so that all steps can be completed during the test. To make a good test, get help from the teacher in the course, a colleague or the teacher support. Contact it-support@kth.se  if you have questions about how to test the lockdown.