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Communication during an exam

Objectives and content of this instruction

You have already prepared a course for an online exam and want to take the exam online within a certain time frame.
The following instructions show you, which communication options are available to you during the test in OpenOlat.

Target group

[x] Authors [x] Coaches [ ] Participants

[ ] Beginners [x] Amateurs [x] Experts

Expected previous knowledge

Communication needs

During an online exam, various communication needs may arise:

  • individual participants have individual problems
  • the examination supervisor (coach) would like to point out that there are only 10 minutes left to complete the work
  • the coach answers the question of a single person
  • the coach recognizes through a query that a note to all exam participants is required
  • ...

OpenOlat has communication options for these situations. Even if Assessment mode is active and all other tools on the computer are deactivated via Safe Exam Browser.

In particular, these are the two communication tools

  • Messages (from coaches to everyone) and
  • the exam chat (1:1 with coaches or from coaches to everyone)


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1. Set up communication channels as course owner/author

Would you like to allow exam participants to ask questions during the exam?
The tool for this is the exam chat. As the course owner, adjust the settings accordingly. Without this approval by the course owner, the exam chat is not available.

Open course editor > Select test course element > Communication tab

communication_during_exam_author1_v1_de.png

If course owners are also to be chat coaches, they will also see the messages in the global menu bar.

The coach chat during exams works regardless of whether the general chat function is activated in the OpenOlat instance or not.

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2. Communicate as coach

Where can I find the communication tools?

  • In the menu, select the test course element that contains the exam.
  • As a coach, you will not see the test after clicking on it (like the participants), but several tabs.
  • Select the "Communication" tab. There you will find the tools for communication between exam supervisors (coaches) and exam participants.

In the upper area you create, edit and manage the notifications (1:many) before and during the exam.

In the bottom area you can see an overview of the chat histories (1:1) with the exam participants.

communication_during_exam_coach1_v1_de.png

Multiple Coaches

If there are several coaches, each of them can answer a question asked by an exam participant in the chat.

Message to all

Notifications can be sent by coaches to all exam participants (1:many).

communication_during_exam_coach2_v1_de.png

A notification can be published immediately and displayed to the exam participants or within a specific time window. The time window for publication can also be in the future so that notifications can be prepared.

communication_during_exam_coach3_v1_de.png

No deletion of messages

Since messages may be relevant for appeals, they can no longer be deleted after publication, but only withdrawn. (They will still be available in the history).

Answering questions from individual participants

If questions are received from exam participants, they will be listed in the section below (1:1 chats).
If a request has been received for some time, the urgency of a response is indicated by a red background. A yellow background indicates new requests. If a coach has already responded, the background turns white.

To reply/join the chat, click on "Join" in the relevant row in the "Action" column.

communication_during_exam_coach_answer_chat1_v1_de.png

If there are several coaches, each coach decides for themself whether to join a chat.
All coaches (exam supervisors) can see which coaches are currently chatting with an exam participant in a separate column.

communication_during_exam_coach_several_v1_de.png

Get in touch with individuals as a coach

If you as a coach want to contact a individual during the exam, use the chat. Click on the "Add participant" button.

communication_during_exam_coach_add_chat1_v1_de.png

Bulk action in the chat

As a coach, you normally create a notification for a message to all exam participants. However, there are also exceptional cases in which a chat with everyone makes sense.

Example:
Several participants write: "There is error xy in the exam situations". As a coach, you therefore immediately expect further chat messages from another 100 exam participants. That's why you want to send a reply to all exam participants right away with a note saying, "Attention! Those who haven't noticed yet ... We are now doing ...".

Normally, you would have to reply to all 1:1 chats and close each chat individually. For this situation, a bulk action is also available to you as a coach: you can send a broadcast to everyone in the chat. (For plannable, non-spontaneous information, however, it is advisable to send it as a message.)

communication_during_exam_coach_bulk_action_v1_de.png

Video chat

Sometimes it is helpful if the coach and exam participant can see each other briefly in a 1:1 video chat. (Big Blue Button (BBB) is preconfigured and only needs to be activated by an administrator. However, Teams or another video conferencing tool can also be used.)

Only coaches can start a video chat (in the chat window at the bottom, below the input field).
Exam participants will then receive an invitation and can accept it.

communication_during_exam_coach_answer_video_v1_de.png

Note

If a BBB session is running and is changed in the chat (1:1), the old video conference is canceled. (Only 1:1 is ever possible. This ensures that other people are not unintentionally present in a video conference).

Supervising multiple exams

It is possible for coaches to supervise several examinations at the same time. For example, a subject expert can be available for technical problems, while other coaches take on the organizational tasks of exam supervision.

In this case, new chat posts are displayed in the general chat of the toolbar so that the coach does not have to go to the different courses to check the exam chats there.

However, when the exams are over, these chat messages are also gone. (Only available synchronously.)

Documentation of messages and chat history

Since messages may be relevant for appeals, they can only be deleted until they are published, and can only be withdrawn after publication. (They are then still available in the history.)

communication_during_exam_coach_documentation1_v1_de.png

communication_during_exam_coach_documentation2_v1_de.png

???

tbd

Archiving completed Chat histories is currently only possible for individuals.

communication_during_exam_coach_chat_archive_v1_de.png


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3. Communicate as a participant

Notifications from the coach

Messages (1:many) can only be sent by coaches (examination supervisors) to the examination candidates. The other way around is not possible. The exam chat must be used for inquiries from exam participants.

Messages appear in the header for exam participants. They remain there until a read confirmation has been submitted by clicking on the button.

A message is also displayed outside the test course element, e.g. if the test has not yet been started.

communication_during_exam_participant1_v1_de.png

Messages disappear after a read confirmation has been sent, but they can be displayed again at any time by clicking on the button in the header.

communication_during_exam_participant2_v1_de.png

Asking the coach questions

If the course owner has allowed exam participants to ask questions, a speech bubble icon will appear in the participant view in the header. A 1:1 chat can be started there in a separate chat window.

communication_during_exam_participant_chat1_v1_de.png

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4. Activate as administrator video chat

In order for video chats to be possible, BBB, for example, must be allowed in the exam chat. (Another video conferencing tool can also be activated, but at least one).

Administration > External tools > BBB (or other video conference tools) > Tab Configuration > "Activate for" > Exam chat

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German Video Introduction: Testing overview

German Video Introduction: How do exams work in OpenOlat?

Details on Assessment mode More about the Safe Exam Browser >


Checklist

  • Are there several coaches at the exam?
  • Should exam participants be able to ask coaches questions during the exam?
  • Are there opportunities for communication between the coaches outside of the examination course?
  • Should coaches be able to send messages to all exam participants during the exam?
  • Have messages of greeting, information about the imminent end of the exam, etc. been prepared and agreed?
  • Are all members of the exam supervisors aware of the communication options during the examination? (messages and exam chat)

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