Assessment management: Assessment mode
Note
You find the configuration of the assessment mode in the assessment management of the course: Course > Administration > Assessment management > Tab "Configuration assessment mode".
What is meant by "Assessment mode"?
An assessment mode is an assessment configuration with which participants take tests and exams during a specified time in a protected mode (so-called kiosk mode).
During this time, access is only permitted to previously defined course elements in the affected course. All other functions in OpenOlat, such as other courses, groups, notes, etc., are hidden during the duration of the assessment mode. Only a logout is possible during the test.
Create configuration
You create and configure an assessment mode in the assessment management of the course:
- Open the course with the test.
- Select
Course > Administration > Assessment management > Tab "Configuration assessment mode". - Click on "Add assessment mode".
- In the dialog "Create assessment mode", fill in title, start, end, prep time, follow-up and start / end mode, and click on "Create". OpenOlat then opens the exam with the tabs described in the following sections.
For an event of the course, the assessment mode is created in the event list instead: Assessment mode from an event
In the tab "Configuration assessment mode", you can see all examinations that have already been held, are in progress or are planned for a course. The mode of scheduled exams can still be edited up until the exam, but it is not possible to edit them retrospectively. The overview contains information on date and duration, lead and lag times and user groups.
You create an assessment mode before the exam. It contains
- a start and end time,
- prep and follow-up times if desired,
- restrictions to specific user groups if desired.
One assessment mode may apply
- only for the participants of the course,
- only for the participants of selected groups,
- only for the participants of selected products of the Course Planner, if the Course Planner module is enabled,
- or for the participants of the course and of the selected groups or products.
This makes it possible to hold differently configured exams for different user groups of the same course at the same time.
In addition to the user group, you can specify whether and to which course elements access should be restricted and whether one course element should be used as the start element.
Furthermore, access to the exam can be restricted to specific IP addresses or the use of the Safe Exam Browser can be required.
Tip
A conventional course is preferably recommended for the assessment mode. If you use a learning path course, you must ensure that the relevant course elements are accessible.
In conventional courses, you also have the option of selecting the option "Only in assessment mode" under the "Visibility" and "Access" tabs when editing a course element. This option is not available in learning path courses.
Set Pre- and Post-Exam Time to 0
When creating a new exam mode, the pre- and post-exam times are preset to 10 minutes each. Both fields are mandatory. This default value can be freely overridden for each exam mode: including to 0, if OpenOlat is not to be locked before or after the exam. A global default value cannot be configured; therefore, the value 0 must be entered individually in each exam configuration.
Tab "General"
Participants see the title and description in the exam notification. In addition, you define in this tab:
Start: Specify the date and time for the start of the exam here.
The prep time, which you specify in minutes, locks OpenOlat for the specified duration before the exam starts.
End: Specify the date and time for the end of the exam here.
If a follow-up time is specified in minutes, OpenOlat remains locked for this duration after the exam.
Prep time and follow-up time control how long OpenOlat is locked, not how long the test lasts. How assessment mode, test period, time limit and extension work together is shown in How do the times of an exam fit together?
Start / End mode: Choose whether the exam starts and ends "Automatic" at the configured time or "Manual". With "Manual", a person starts and ends the exam on the day of the exam themselves. Who may do this is described in the section Who can start and finish an exam manually.
Tab "Element restriction"
Restrict access to single course elements: To restrict the exam to selected course elements of the relevant course, switch on the toggle here and then click on the "Select course element" button. A list of all course elements of the course opens. Select the course elements that you want to be displayed to the participants during the exam. All other course elements are hidden for the duration of the exam.
First element shown: If you want a specific course element to be displayed to the participants directly at the start, click on "Select course element" and select one of the available course elements. Only the course elements that were selected for display in the previous step are displayed.
Tab "Access"
Limit to IP address: To only allow the exam to be taken on certain computers or locations, select the checkbox here and then enter the permitted IP addresses. You should be able to obtain these from your IT department. For example, you can use it to prevent participants from taking an exam from home.
Participants: Here you define for which participants the exam is valid. Select from the following options:
- "Course participants only"
- "Group participants only"
- "CPL participants only", if the Course Planner module is enabled
- "Participants of courses and selected groups", with the Course Planner enabled "Participants from course and selected groups or products"
As soon as an option with groups has been selected, you must always select the relevant groups using the "Select groups" or "Select learning areas" buttons. If the exam applies to participants of the Course Planner, select the products with the "Select product" button.
Apply exam setting for coach: If this option is selected, the assessment mode also applies to the coaches of the selected participants. Like the participants, they only reach the exam in OpenOlat during the exam. If a coach is to start the exam manually as supervisor, leave the option switched off.
Note
Course owners can continue to access their course as normal during the exam.
Tab "Safe Exam Browser"
Use Safe Exam Browser: The use of the Safe Exam Browser allows the secure execution of online exams by putting the computer into the so-called kiosk mode. This prevents the use of unauthorized sources during an exam. Participants are notified that the SEB is a prerequisite for the exam. The exam can only be carried out once OpenOlat has been started in the Safe Exam Browser.
SEB configuration : Define where the Safe Exam Browser takes its settings for this exam from. Three types are available:
- From template (recommended): The settings come from a template. OpenOlat checks the validity via the config key.
- Customised: You create your own configuration for this exam. It is prefilled with the values of the default template if this is a form template.
- With manual keys: You use your own SEB-File that is maintained outside of OpenOlat and enter its Safe Exam Browser Keys in the field "Safe Exam Browser Keys".
The choice only applies to this exam. The setting "Safe Exam Browser - Type of use" of the system administration does not affect it, but only exams from events: Assessment mode from an event
Template: Appears with "From template (recommended)". With the two buttons you choose the source of the template:
- System: Select one of the active configuration templates provided by the administration from the dropdown. The template marked as default is preselected. If a saved template is subsequently deactivated, it remains selected until another template is chosen.
- Custom: Upload your own SEB-File with "Upload". OpenOlat reads the settings from the file, calculates the config key and displays the settings read-only. The file must not be encrypted.
Template type: Shows whether the template is a "Form" or a "SEB-File". For a form, the button "Create a copy and customise it" appears next to it: it takes the values of the template into a "Customised" configuration that you can change for this exam.
Information for authors: If the selected template contains a note for authors, it is displayed here.
Under the legend Assessment mode-specific configuration you find the settings that apply to this specific exam:
Downloadable configuration file: Defines whether participants can download the SEB configuration file for this exam. The field appears with "From template (recommended)" and "Customised".
Information for participants: A text that is displayed to the participants together with the SEB configuration.
Allow the exit of SEB: Allows exam participants to quit the Safe Exam Browser after submitting the exam. The switch only changes this setting, the other values of the exam remain unchanged.
Password for quitting: Appears if "Allow the exit of SEB" is switched on. With this password, participants quit the Safe Exam Browser. For a SEB-File, from the system or uploaded, the password overwrites the password of the file for this specific exam. The note "Overwrites the template's password. The config key is automatically recalculated." then appears below the field. With "Customised", the password belongs to your own configuration, and the note does not appear.
Which value applies depends on the template. With a form from the system, the exam takes "Information for participants", "Allow the exit of SEB" and the password from the template; the fields cannot be changed then, only "Downloadable configuration file" is set per exam. With a SEB-File and with "Customised", the exam saves its own values. If you reopen the exam or switch tabs, the fields show the saved values of the exam. If you select another template, the fields take over its values.
With "With manual keys", the legend only shows "Information for participants". Below it, the mandatory field "Safe Exam Browser Keys" appears.
Under the legend Configuration from the template, a form and "Customised" show the detailed settings of the Safe Exam Browser, below them the "Config-Key of the saved configuration". They can only be changed with "Customised". For a SEB-File, the legend Configuration from the SEB-File template shows the settings of the file read-only instead.
Prerequisite
The template selection "System" is only available if at least one active template has been created in the System Administration under Administration > e-Assessment > Assessment management > Tab "Safe Exam Browser configuration".
Further information
Assessment mode from an event
Anyone who runs events in the course turns an event directly into an exam, without creating an assessment mode from scratch. If coaches or course owners choose "Mark as exam" in the 3-dot menu of an event, OpenOlat creates an assessment mode and opens the dialog "Exam setting". The page on the toolbar describes who receives the entry and why it can be missing: Mark an event as an exam
The dialog is shorter than that of a directly created assessment mode and has no tabs:
- Title and Description: The title is a mandatory field.
- Date and time: taken from the event. The prep time and follow-up in minutes are shown in brackets, for example "(-10/+10 Min.)". They come from the default values of the course or of the system administration.
- Participants: taken from the event.
- Select course element: Mandatory field. With "Select course element" you define which course elements the participants access during the exam.
- Use Safe Exam Browser: switches on the Safe Exam Browser for this exam.
- Admissible IP addresses: appears if the default values contain admissible IP addresses, and cannot be changed.
After switching on "Use Safe Exam Browser", the dialog shows no choice "SEB configuration". The system administration defines the type with the setting "Safe Exam Browser - Type of use" for all exams from events:
- From template (recommended): In the field "Configuration" you select one of the active templates, the one marked as default is preselected. "Show the provided configuration" shows the settings of the selected template. The system administration defines whether participants can download the configuration file.
- With manual keys: The field "Safe Exam Browser Keys" shows the keys from the default values of the course or of the system administration. They cannot be changed in the dialog.
An exam from an event also appears in the assessment management of the course and opens the same dialog there. Assessment modes created directly in the assessment management, in contrast, choose the type per exam in the field "SEB configuration", see Tab "Safe Exam Browser".
Perform Exam
Participants who have been assigned to an exam are informed about the start of the exam at the beginning of the exam or at the beginning of the lead time. If OpenOlat is still blocked at the end of the exam due to a follow-up time, they are also informed of this.
If the option "Manual" is selected under "Start / End mode", a person starts the exam themselves, for example the supervisor in the exam room as soon as everyone is ready. For this, the overview of the assessment tool shows the button "Start exam" next to the exam in the area "Assessment mode". The button appears from the day on which the exam begins, not only at the configured time.
If the exam starts later than planned, the prep time remains as configured. The end of the exam is postponed by the same time, so the configured exam duration remains the same.
During the exam, coaches follow the assessment mode in the overview of the assessment tool.
In the assessment tool, they also assess tasks and essay questions of tests directly and release the assessment for the participants. This allows the exam to be discussed right afterwards.
Who can start and finish an exam manually
Coaches see an exam with manual start in the area "Assessment mode" of the assessment tool, but the button "Start exam" only with an additional right. Therefore, decide before the day of the exam who starts the exam, and give this person the appropriate right.
The buttons "Start exam" and then "Finish exam" in the assessment tool are shown to:
- persons with owner rights in the course, i.e. owners, learning resource managers and administrators, as well as principals, course planners and master coaches
- members with the right "Assessment tool"
- coaches who are entered as teacher in the event of the exam (see Assessment mode from an event)
Members with the right "Assessment tool" and teachers of the event also find the same button in the course element "Test" in the tab "Assessment mode".
In the assessment management, persons with owner rights and members with the right "Assessment mode" or "Course editor" start and finish the exam with the buttons "Start" and "Finish" in the list of exams:
Course > Administration > Assessment management > Tab "Configuration assessment mode"
Owners assign the rights in the members management, for all course coaches or specifically for the coaches of a group, for example a group "Supervision":
Course > Administration > Members management > Rights
The two rights for starting the exam grant different amounts of access. What else each right allows is described in the members management under Assignment of additional rights.
- Assessment tool: The person starts and finishes the exam in the assessment tool and works there with all functions of the tool.
- Assessment mode: The person starts and finishes the exam in the assessment management. There, they also create, edit and delete assessment modes.
Important
With the right "Assessment tool", a coach sees all participants of the course in the assessment tool, not only the participants of their group. They assess all of them and can reset assessment data. Therefore, consider whether the supervisor needs this access or whether the right "Assessment mode" is sufficient.
If a coach is to start the exam, leave the option "Apply exam setting for coach" switched off in the tab "Access". Otherwise, the assessment mode also applies to them, and they only reach the exam in OpenOlat.
End Exam
A running assessment mode ends automatically or manually, depending on the setting under "Start / End mode".
With "Manual", the persons who may also start the exam finish it with the button "Finish exam" in the assessment tool, see Who can start and finish an exam manually.
The assessment mode is also ended when the corresponding course is ended or deleted.
Further information
Mentioned on this page
Safe Exam Browser >
How do I prepare an online exam? >
How do I prepare an exam with the Safe Exam Browser (SEB)? >
Toolbar: Events >
Module Events and Absences >
Assessment tool - overview >
Course Element "Test" >
Members management >
Further reading
Assessment management: assessment inspection >
Test settings - Administration >