This Wiki page contains all relevant technical information that you need to hold digital written exams in the Moodle learning platform of the University of Vienna.

(warning) The prerequisite for carrying out digital written exams in Moodle is that the participants are correctly registered via u:space for the relevant exam date (separate Moodle course).

You can find further information about carrying out digital exams on the CTL website. Information about study law and specifications (in German) are available on the Studienpräses website.


Contents

Before the exam

Variants of holding written digital exams in Moodle

Assignments in Moodle

Online quizzes in Moodle

Handling technical problems during the digital exam

After the exam


Before the exam

Before the exam checklist

  • Create a separate exam course in Moodle (recommended) or connect the exam date to an already existing Moodle course (not recommended teachers who are inexperienced with Moodle).
  • After the end of the registration period, check if the registered participants are also registered in the Moodle course.
  • Synchronise the Moodle registrations in u:space, if needed.
  • Create the required contents for the exam (assignments, quizzes, exam papers, etc.) in the exam course or import the contents from the template course and adapt them to your needs. For the moment, hide these contents from the students.
  • Test the exam course by switching your role to student.
  • Make the exam course visible for students or check if the course is visible.
  • Inform the participants in good time, preferably by e-mail via u:space, where and how the exam will take place (ideally with a link to the relevant exam course) and ask the students to check if they can access the course.
  • Carry out a mock exam.
  • If quizzes and assignments have tight submission deadlines, determine invigilator(s) and how and when they can be reached. Notify the students of this.


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Activating an exam date for Moodle

To carry out written digital exams in Moodle you need a Moodle course. You can connect an exam date to Moodle if you are registered as an examiner (Prüfer*in) or employee in charge (Sachbearbeiter*in) in u:space (or i3v).

(warning) For digital written exams, we recommend activating a separate exam course (and NOT to use the Moodle course of the course). Doing so ensures that only the students who registered for the exam are in the exam course. You do not have to check if the students are duly registered or if the exam papers are hidden from other participants.


To activate an exam course, take the following steps:

  • In u:space select from the top Teaching menu the Exams (grading) option.
  • Click the m icon in the line of the relevant exam date.



  • Select the Create new Moodle course option and click the Create course in the learning platform button.




(warning) We advise you not to tick the Make course visible in Moodle box. Otherwise, all registered students can immediately access the course and the contents could be mistakenly displayed to the students too early. Activate the course later directly in Moodle after having created the contents and checked their visibility.

(warning) Exam dates that are assigned to a previous semester are displayed in the Moodle Course overview next to that semester. If applicable, inform your participants about this. If the exam course should be displayed next to the current semester, change the course start date in the course settings (gear icon on the top right > Edit settings).


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Checking registrations in Moodle

Through the connection between the exam date and Moodle a Group is created in the Moodle course to which all participants with the status registered in u:space are automatically assigned. Participants who deregister in u:space are also no longer enrolled on the Moodle course.

After the end of the registration period, check if the students registered for the exam have been correctly transferred to the Moodle course:

  • Click Participants in the left navigation bar of the exam course in Moodle.
  • From the gear menu on the right-hand side above the list of participants select the Groups option.




The name of the exam group consists of the semester, the course number or teaching content, the exam date and a random number, for example SS2020-123456-1-20200630-2. The adjacent brackets contain the number of the participants enrolled on this group. This number has to match the number of registrations in u:space.


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Synchronisation u:space - Moodle

If the number of participants in the Moodle exam group (see above) does not match the number of participants registered in u:space, you can start the comparison of the registrations manually in u:space. Click the m icon in the line of the relevant exam date as described above. The box next to Update students must be ticked. Click the Update learning platform button.



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Creating exam documents and activities in Moodle

Depending on the type of written digital exam you chose, you can now create assignments or quizzes in your exam course in Moodle and/or upload and make available the necessary exam papers, e.g. questionnaires, instructions in the Moodle course, and provide information about the exam.

General instructions on how to add learning materials and activities in Moodle can be found in the "Einführungsskriptum" (Notes on getting started with Moodle) on page 34 (in German).


Using content templates

If needed, you can import a template (template course) provided by the CTL and ZID into your own course.

  • The first step is to enrol on the template course under https://moodle.univie.ac.at/course/view.php?id=144324 to obtain the permission to transfer its contents to your own course.

  • To import contents, change to your own exam course in Moodle and select from the top right gear menu the Import option. You can already decide in this step which contents you would like to transfer from the template course. Untick the boxes of the contents that you do not need.

  • Subsequently, adjust the transferred contents accordingly through changing the availability periods, adding your own documents and questions (a step-by-step user guide is available from the template course) and deleting unnecessary contents.

User guides:


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Making the Moodle course visible for students

In order for the registered students to be able to take the exam in Moodle the exam course has to be made visible for them. The relevant activities and documents also have to be displayed in the course.

We recommend taking the necessary steps in this order:

  • Activate a Moodle course for your exam as early as possible in u:space, but do not make it immediately visible for the participants (see above).

    You can see at a glance if your Moodle course is hidden from the participants by looking at the Course not visible for students link displayed on the main page of your exam course directly below the title.



  • Create the activities (assignments/quizzes) that you need for the exam in the exam course and upload the necessary documents and/or import the contents from the template course. For now, hide all these contents or enter the availability periods under the relevant access restrictions. You can find instructions in the u:wiki under Sichtbarkeits- und Verfügbarkeitseinstellungen (in German).

  • To make it more difficult for students to contact and consult each other during the exam, it is best to hide the contact list in exam courses. You can find the corresponding setting option in the course settings (gear icon top right > Edit settings) in the Privacy Settings section.

  • Ideally, you would use the upper section of the exam course for a welcome text or general information about the exam (see "Moodle-Einführungsskritptum" - Notes on getting started, starting - on page 25) (in German). Do not hide this message from students. Otherwise, students who enter the course before the exam may see a (supposedly) empty course and may be confused. You can also use this space to already announce any organisational and legal framework conditions.

  • Also create the relevant activities for a mock exam that you can make visible for the participants immediately.

  • A few days before the exam, check again if the exam contents are hidden or, in the case of set prerequisites for visibility, that the contents are only available at the start of the exam. You can recognise hidden contents by the Hidden from students note or in the visibility settings that are managed through an availability date by the note Restricted and the adjacent availability date (e.g. Available from 30 June 2020). The activities needed for the mock exam should not be hidden.
  • If you have checked the visibility settings and they are correct, make the course visible for the participants in the Course settings. To see the Course settings, click the Course not visible for students link displayed below the course title or select the Edit settings option from the gear menu on the top right in the course. To make the course visible for students, in the General section under Course visibility, select the Show option and save the settings by clicking the Save and display button.


  • After making your course visible, change to the students’ view by clicking your name on the top right and selecting the Switch role to... option from the menu. In the next window select Studierende/r (student) and check if the exam is being displayed correctly for students. Then return to your normal role.

  • Inform the participants preferably by e-mail via u:space that the course is now available. This way, students can check if they can access the course and take the mock exam. This ensures that any technical problems can be solved in advance.

  • At the beginning of the exam make all hidden elements visible manually or check if the elements controlled by availability dates in the access restrictions are visible. The Switch role to... option (see above) allows you to see the course from the students’ perspective.

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Carrying out a mock exam

Regardless of the exam type you chose, definitely give your participants the opportunity to take a mock exam. To do so, create an assignment or a quiz or use the relevant activity from the template course. The main goal is that students become familiar with the technical environment and can identify and solve technical problems in advance. It also gives you the opportunity to simulate the exam and avoid mistakes.

Mock exams should be made available approximately 1 week before the actual exam. Inform your students that they can participate on a voluntary basis and that it is not part of the grade.

Furthermore, we recommend creating a forum in the exam course that students can use to ask questions about the exam and report technical problems during the mock exam. If you do not want to moderate a forum, provide contact details students can refer to in the event of problems.

User guides for forums:

More information about mock exams are available in this Wiki in the sections Mock exams with assignments and Mock exams with quizzes.

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Managing invigilators

In the case of written digital exams with a tight submission deadline (i.e. online quizzes, assignments where exam papers must be downloaded) at least one competent person must be available for questions about the exam and in the event of technical problems immediately before, during and after the exam. We also strongly recommend offering communication channels outside of Moodle (in case anybody experiences technical problems with Moodle) and that at least one person can be reached by telephone. Inform your students prior to the exam who can be reached during the exam and how.

You can use the OpenScape WebClient to forward your land line extension from the office to your (official) mobile phone. You can find a user guide on the ZID website under Telephony – u:phone. If you do not have your own extension, do not own an official mobile phone and do not want to give your private telephone number to students, ask if administrative personnel can take the calls and forward them to you. Another option is to temporarily forward calls from an unused telephone extension, such as a telephone in a lecture hall or seminar room, to your telephone.

In the case of take-home exams, you should also inform the students about ways of communication in case of questions or problems. Due to the low time pressure (longer submission period) you may use only asynchronous means of communication (e-mail, forum in Moodle).

More information about invigilating online exams is available under:


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Variants of holding written digital exams in Moodle


In Moodle, the following types of exams can be implemented as digital written exams:


VariantDescriptionExamples of useAdvantagesDisadvantages/challengesImplementation in MoodleRecommendation

Take Home Exam

Students receive one or several assignments that have to be completed within a predefined period, ideally within several days.
(Comprehensive description)

  • Planning a course unit for a certain topic
  • Rectifying a statement by referring to literature
  • Applying a concept to a certain situation or circumstances
  • Low probability of technical problems (e.g. due to a bad Internet connection), since files have to be downloaded and uploaded only once during a longer period of time
  • Flexible time management and thus disruptions can be avoided more easily by students while working
  • Plagiarism check with Turnitin is possible
  • Making corrections takes a lot of time.
  • It is hard to standardise the assessment of the performance (sample solutions and assessment schemes are useful).
Assignment(thumbs up)

The students download an exam paper, work on it on their own computer and upload the completed paper within a short, specified period (e.g. 2 hours) to Moodle on the same day. The exam questions are open questions just like for a traditional written exam in the lecture hall.
(Comprehensive description)

  • Describing circumstances on the basis of examples that students have to come up with
  • Interpretation of data
  • Giving reasons for a decision
  • Low probability of technical problems (e.g. due to a bad Internet connection), since files have to be downloaded and uploaded only once during a set period of time
  • Plagiarism check with Turnitin is possible
  • Preparation of questions that are not aimed at demonstration of knowledge takes a lot of time
  • Making corrections takes a lot of time
Assignment(thumbs up)
Written exams directly in MoodleOpen question or questions of different formats are answered directly in Moodle during a set period of time.
(Comprehensive description)		Can be used for basically any type of written exam
  • Different question formats can be used
  • Automatic evaluation except for essay questions (=open questions)
  • Can be used for any type of written exam
  • Technical problems (e.g. due to a bad Internet connection) can result in an unintended discontinuation of the exam.
  • Additional workload for teachers who are not experienced in using Moodle
  • Cannot be re-used: Students may circulate the questions after the exam so they cannot be used for another exam date.
Quiz(thumbs up)(thumbs down)
Online multiple-choice exams in Moodle

Multiple-choice questions are answered directly in Moodle within a set period of time.
(Comprehensive description)

Questions for demonstration of knowledge, questions addressing comprehension, application or analysis with predefined answers from which the students have to select the correct one(s).

  • Automatic evaluation
  • Already existing question pools of Offline quizzes can be used
  • Technical problems (e.g. due to a bad Internet connection) can result in an unintended discontinuation of the exam.
  • Cannot be re-used: Students may circulate the questions after the exam so they cannot be used for another exam date.
  • Questions exclusively designed for demonstration of knowledge can be solved easily and quickly by using study materials or a second device with an Internet connection.
  • More difficult to implement as an open-book exam.
Quiz(thumbs up)(thumbs down)


(warning) It is generally recommended to prepare digital written exams as open-book exams. Students are permitted to use their study materials and any other available resources. Therefore, the tasks in the exam are not aimed at recalling knowledge but at transferring and applying that knowledge. This is useful for all exams that students take without an invigilator since the use of aids can neither be prevented nor appropriately monitored.

Open-book exams are also subject to good academic practice. To avoid any misunderstandings or plagiarism, inform your students about how to use literature, e.g. whether students can use direct quotations and how to quote.


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Assignments in Moodle

Take-home exams and digital written exams during which exam papers must be downloaded can be implemented in Moodle in the form of an Assignment.

(warning) For digital written exams that require students to submit files, it is imperative to use only the Assignment activity. The Student folder is not suited for this type of exam. Not only can you not give grades in the Student folder, but in the default setting the files uploaded by students are also immediately visible for other students. If you use assignments, students can only see the files they have submitted themselves.


Organisational aspects

If you want to hold your written exam in Moodle by using the Assignment activity, an exam date and registration via u:space is necessary. We also recommend activating a separate exam course for this purpose. The steps necessary to create and configure a Moodle course for an exam date can be found in the Before the exam section on this Wiki page.

User guides for creating and assessing assignments

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Tips and recommendations

  • (warning) Please note: In contrast to quizzes, you must not make the assignments visible for students before the exam. Otherwise, they could see the assignment and/or download the questionnaire beforehand. The availability dates only refer to the period of time during which solutions can be submitted.

  • Provide all relevant information in the assignment’s Description field. You can use the text from the template course as guidance and, if necessary, add specific requirements for the file that has to be submitted, such as the required minimum or maximum number of pages or the file format (e.g. PDF).
  • Files such as exam papers, templates, cover sheet or additional material that is needed to work on or complete the assignment can be directly attached to the assignment under Additional files. They do not have to be embedded on the course main page as separate files or as part of a folder.

  • For assignments during which exam papers must be downloaded and submitted within a short period of time, it is a good idea to set the Cut-off date 30 minutes after the Due date. This enables students to submit files even 30 minutes after the end of the submission period in case of technical problems (these submissions receive a Late note in the assignment overview). The cut-off date is not displayed to students. If you do not set a Cut-off date, students can upload files for an indefinite period of time beyond the due date.

    (warning) If you allow submissions after the due date and want to run them through a plagiarism check in Turnitin, you must NOT select the Generate reports on due date option in the Report Generation Speed settings. Otherwise, late submissions cannot be checked.


  • For reasons of legal certainty use the "Deckblatt für digitale schriftliche Prüfungen" (Cover sheet for written digital exams) (under Downloads) that must precede the exam papers. It contains all information related to study law relevant for students. You should use the Word file for exams. Please also insert the number of questions under the information about the exam to avoid misunderstandings.

  • Ask students to submit the file(s) as PDF files. This enables you in the assessment step in Moodle to view the file directly under the assignment and make comments or annotations, etc., if necessary. You can make this file available to students as feedback as part of the student viewing of examination documents online. Especially for exams with exam papers that must be submitted within a short period of time, inform the students already in advance about the fact that they have to submit a PDF file. This allows students to make the necessary technical adjustments or to test whether they can generate a PDF file on their device.

  • If the students have to create drawings, formulae, etc. as part of the exam, they can do so by hand on a sheet of paper. They can take a photo or scan the sheet and upload it to Moodle. Please note: A prerequisite for this is that you allow students to upload more than one file. Alternatively, you can also ask them to insert the picture taken in the file and save everything as one PDF file. It is a good idea to test this in a mock exam beforehand so that students can try the technical procedure and that you can check if the submitted files are sufficiently legible.


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Checking for text similarities with Turnitin

The files submitted in Assignments in Moodle can be checked for plagiarism. First, in the assignment settings in the Turnitin plagiarism plugin settings section under Enable Turnitin, select the Yes option. Then you can define the other settings for checking for text similarities. Brief instructions can be found in the Moodle tutorial course, on which you can enrol yourself, under Hilfe für Lehrende > Sonstige Anleitungen (Help for teachers > Other instructions) (in German).



(warning) Subsequent changes of the assignment's due date or of the Report Generation Speed (immediately or only on the due date) do not affect this. The similarity report is always generated on the basis of the initial settings (except for imported or copied assignments as long as there are no submissions by students and the other settings were not changed and saved).


Notes and tips:

  • Please advise your students that they must agree to the End User License Agreement (EULA) if they have never uploaded a file to an activity including a Turnitin text similarity check. If they do not agree, they can still upload files to the assignment, but they are not checked for text similarities.

  • If the file has been successfully forwarded to Turnitin, the Turnitin ID is displayed below the uploaded file. After the similarity report is created, a coloured field with a percentage figure is displayed. You can click it to view the similarity report.



  • Even if the assignment’s Turnitin settings specify that the similarity report is generated immediately, it usually takes a while until the report is actually available. The reports are normally generated within an hour.

  • If you choose to start the generation of the similarity reports on the due date, all submissions are checked simultaneously. In the event that students have copied from each other, this is displayed as similarity in all affected submissions. However, the disadvantage of this method is that assignments submitted shortly before the end of the submission period may have not yet been forwarded to Turnitin by the due date (since the transfer may take a while). Therefore, they cannot be checked for plagiarism. The same applies to assignments submitted late due to a cut-off date and, therefore, had no Turnitin ID on the due date.
    On the other hand, a drawback of generating reports immediately is that the first submitted assignment that contains plagiarised text from another student’s assignment is not labelled as plagiarism although the student may have copied the contents but may still have submitted the assignment before the original author.

  • The intended official cover sheet is also checked for text similarities. This results in a higher number of similarities. You can also ask the students to upload the cover sheet and the actual assignment separately to the assignment if you have activated Turnitin. In this case, you have to adjust the assignment’s settings so that 2 files can be uploaded. Each of the two files is checked for text similarities separately, but only the similarities in the actual assignment are relevant.


Further information and Turnitin user guides


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Mock exams with assignments


General notes on mock exams can be found in the Mock exams section.

If you are preparing a written exam with assignments in Moodle, we also recommend making a mock exam with a (short) assignment available to your participants, especially if...

  • ... the exam papers have to be submitted as a PDF file. This way, students can test if they can create PDF files and try to upload files to an assignment before the exam.

  • ... the students have to create drawings, formulae, etc. that they have to scan or take a picture of and upload to Moodle. Students can go through the technical procedure and you can check if the submitted files are sufficiently legible.

Inform your students about the opportunity to take the mock exam and let them know that they can participate on a voluntary basis and that the mock exam is not part of the grade.

If you do not want to have to remember that this is not part of the grade, you can change the settings in the Grade section under Type and select the None option. This enables you to give feedback on the mock assignment, but without assigning any points to it. This assignment is not included in the calculation of the overall grade (Course total under Grades).



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Obtaining a confirmation of the examination attempt

In contrast to online quizzes you cannot see in an assignment who has already started with the assignment, i.e. downloaded the exam papers or read the task. Therefore, we recommend obtaining a confirmation of the examination attempt from the students before the exam and activating the exam assignment only to those students.

In Moodle you can change the settings in the Grouptool and access restrictions:

(blue star) First, add a Grouptool (Note: You can import the grouptool from the template course into your exam course).

User guides for using the grouptool can be found here:

    • Inform your students in the Description field of the Grouptool that...
      ... they have to register again in the grouptool so that they can see the exam.
      ... this registration is binding and counts as an examination attempt, even if they do not submit an assignment.
      ... it is not possible to deregister.

    • Enter a date for the beginning of the exam (e.g. 15 minutes before) in the Availability section under Registration start. From this moment onwards, students can bindingly confirm their examination attempt by registering for the exam group.
    • In the Instance settings, allow self registration but no deregistration.



    • Save the settings by clicking the Save and display button.

(blue star) In the next step, create the exam group for which students should register.

    • In the grouptool, select the Administration register > Create groups and define the following settings:
      • Mode = Define number of groups N
      • Number of Groups N = 1
      • Allocate members = No allocation
      • Under name scheme, enter a meaningful name for the exam group, e.g. “examination attempt”




    • Then click the Create groups button. A preview is displayed. You have to confirm by clicking Continue to start the creation of the group.

    • Change to the Administration register > Administrate groups and check if the newly created group is active in the grouptool (green dot in the Status column).




(blue star) Finally, restrict access to the exam group in the exam assignment’s settings.

Instructions for restricting access:


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Online quizzes in Moodle

In online quizzes, students answer exam questions directly in the learning platform within a set period of time.

Organisational aspects

  • Since Moodle could be overloaded if too many exams with a large number of participants take place simultaneously, exam dates for online exams with more than 100 expected participants have to be announced to the responsible SSC/SSS and confirmed by the SSC/SSS. Please contact your SSC/SSS.

  • No more than about 500 persons should participate simultaneously in a quiz. If necessary, the exam has to be split, and two or more different quizzes have to be offered (subsequently) for an exam date. 
  • The period of time during which students can work on the quiz should not be too short so that students do not (have to) start at the same time. This can avoid a potential server overload. In this case, the period for taking the exam does not change for the students since the timer starts for each student individually as soon as they start the quiz. For an exam lasting 60 minutes, for example, it is recommended to allow at least 75 minutes (but more is better).

  • Under Time limit, you can define the maximum individual exam duration. However, this exam duration cannot exceed the closing time of the quiz. For example, if your quiz ends at 13:00 and the time limit is set to 30 minutes, only students who start the quiz no later than 12:30 can make use of the full 30 minutes. If students start at 12:45, they only have 15 minutes to complete the exam.
  • The necessary steps to create and set up a Moodle course for exams with quizzes can be found in the Before the exam section on this Wiki page. Please create a new Moodle course for the exam and do not integrate it into your Moodle course of the course.


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General user guides for creating a quiz


Recommended quiz settings and tips

Description

Use the Description field of the quiz to enter the most important information.

This includes the information from the Cover sheet for written exams (in the Downloads section). When starting the quiz, students also confirm that they have taken note of this information.

The description should also contain peculiarities of your quiz, such as...

  • ... a predefined sequence of answering the questions and no free navigation between the questions,
  • ... multiple-choice questions that are assessed according to the all-or-nothing principle (All-or-Nothing Multiple Choice question type),
  • .... possible penalty points in multiple-choice questions (One answer only setting and set point deduction for wrong answers).


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Timing

  • To define a period in which students can work on the quiz or to enter the maximum individual exam duration, you have to tick the Show checkboxes.

  • Open the quiz for a longer period than the intended exam duration. Set the opening time of the quiz to a few minutes before the official beginning of the exam. This ensures that not everyone starts the quiz at the same time. It also prevents students from clicking the quiz shortly before the beginning of the quiz and constantly refreshing their browser because they cannot start the quiz yet (this results in additional server load). Also allocate at least an extra 10 to 15 minutes for closing the quiz than the intended exam duration starting from the opening of the quiz. This ensures that students who have logged in a little too late or who needed more time to open the quiz can make use of the full intended exam duration.

  • Under Time limit, you can define the maximum individual exam duration. However, this exam duration cannot exceed the closing time of the quiz. For example, if your quiz ends at 13:00 and the time limit is set to 30 minutes, only students who start the quiz no later than 12:30 can make use of the full 30 minutes. If students start at 12:45, they only have 15 minutes to complete the exam.

  • The time limit can only be set for the entire quiz and not for individual questions.

  • Under When time expires, you should ideally select the Open attempts are submitted automatically option. The quiz attempt is submitted automatically after the intended exam duration or the closing time of the quiz has been reached. All other options require students to click the submission button actively. If a student forgets or overlooks this, the quiz cannot be assessed.



Please note: Giving a high number of questions in a short period of time to prevent the use of unauthorised aids is not recommended for technical and didactic reasons. Instead it is recommended that you prepare your questions as an open-book exam.

(warning) Inform your students that...

... the quiz is open for a certain period and that within this period the timer starts individually for each student.

... the period for working on the exam does not exceed the closing time of the quiz.

... the period for working on the exam cannot be exceeded and the quiz is automatically closed when the exam duration is over.

... the timer also continues to run if the Internet connection is lost or if the Internet connection is bad.


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Layout

  • Make sure that you choose the option that every question is displayed on a separate page. This ensures that already answered questions are cached and that not all answers are lost in the event of technical problems, such as losing the Internet connection.

  • We also recommend allowing students to answer the questions in any order so that they can put more difficult questions aside for the moment and answer them later. To do so, set the Navigation method to the Free option.


(warning) It is essential that you inform the students if the sequence of questions is predefined and no free navigation is allowed, i.e. that students cannot go back to another page. This configuration poses the risk that students skip a question if they double-click the “Next page” button.


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Question behaviour

  • Most of the question types that require you to predefine answer options also have a setting that displays theanswer choices for a question during each quiz attempt in random order. This setting has to be made for both the quiz and the corresponding questions.


    You can also shuffle the questions themselves. However, you can only make this setting after creating the quiz. You can find this setting in the view where you can add questions to the quiz (Edit quiz).


    By shuffling the questions and answers, every student working on the quiz sees another order of questions and answer choices within questions. This makes it harder for students to compare their answers.
  • In the Question behaviour section of the quiz settings, you can also define when the questions should be evaluated. We recommend using the default Deferred feedback setting. This means that a quiz has to be submitted before it is reviewed. 


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Review options

In the Review options section, you define what the students can see for the viewing of examination documents online. If you plan to let students view their examination documents online, we recommend ticking only the After the quiz is closed option. This means that at this time nobody can work on the quiz anymore. Thus, if information about the correct answers is circulated to other students due to the viewing of examination documents, it no longer influences their results.

Comments:

  • Immediately after the attempt displays the student’s own quiz results for about 2 minutes after they have submitted the quiz. Later, while the quiz is still open means that students who already worked on the quiz can see their results until the general closing time of the quiz. Both options are largely unsuitable when offering student viewing of examination documents online, because, among other reasons, other students are still working on the quiz and can receive information about answers from fellow students due to their viewing of examination documents.
  • Essay questions are not automatically evaluated. In this case, the points achieved are only displayed to students after the teacher has assessed the questions.

User guide:


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Extra restrictions on attempts

The access settings that can be made in this section primarily aim at allowing access to the quiz only from certain exam rooms. Therefore, they are not useful for quizzes on which students work at home. Additionally, the Full screen pop-up with some JavaScript security setting is rather ineffective. In any case, additional browsers can always be opened and in the case of some browsers also tabs and additional browser windows. Moreover, students cannot be prevented from working simultaneously with a second device, e.g. tablet or smartphone. Therefore, it is more useful to prepare an open-book exam. Comment: Please inform students also in the event of open-book exams what they have to consider when using literature (citation rules, etc.).


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Question types

Moodle offers numerous question types that you can use for your online quizzes. All questions are stored in the course’s Question bank, which you can access by selecting the relevant menu item in the left navigation bar. This way, you can create quiz questions either in the question bank or directly in a quiz. Students cannot see the question bank.

An overview of question types and user guides can be found under https://docs.moodle.org/38/en/Question_types (links to the individual user guides are available on this page under the relevant question types below).


Creating new quiz question

To create a new question in the Question bank, please follow these steps:

  • Click Question bank in the left navigation bar of the Moodle course.
  • Click the Create a new question ... button.
  • Select the desired question type from the list.
  • Click Add.
  • A form opens in which you can enter the question and make the individual settings for this question (see user guides for the individual question types below). Please note: The question name helps you find the question more easily in the question bank. Students cannot see it.
  • Save the question by clicking the Save changes button.


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Essay questions

For written digital exams it is recommended to primarily use essay questions because they are especially suitable for open-book exams and they allow students to write about a certain topic in detail.

Essay questions are the only questions in Moodle that cannot be evaluated automatically. They must be assessed manually.

User guides for creating and assessing essay questions are available on the official Moodle website under: https://docs.moodle.org/38/en/Essay_question_type

Students can prepare their answers in a text editor, Word or OpenOffice document in a rather unformatted version and can then copy them to the relevant answer fields in the quiz. The advantage of this is that the text is not lost if students experience technical problems when entering especially long answers before caching. It is important that students must not copy emoticons to the text fields in Moodle. Otherwise, the entire text cannot be saved in many cases.


(warning) Ask students to prepare their answers to open questions in an unformatted document locally on their device and to copy it to Moodle later.


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Questions with entry of short texts


Question types in MoodleBrief descriptionCommentsInstructions
Short answer

Participants must enter their answer in one word or a few words in a text field. The answer has to exactly match the teacher’s model answers.

  • It is recommended that you keep the required answer as short and unambiguous as possible so as not to give too much room for other wordings.
  • You can also define partially correct answers.
https://docs.moodle.org/38/en/Short-Answer_question_type

Embeded answers (Cloze)

The students have to fill gaps in a text with the right answers. Teachers can define three different types of gaps: Entry field for text, entry field for a number or drop-down menu with predefined answer options from which the students have to select the correct one.

  • The gaps cannot be created with a graphical, intuitive user interface but by entering syntax (see instructions on the right-hand side).
  • The size of the entry fields depends on the length of the desired answer and can give a hint to the correct answer.
  • You can also define partially correct answers.

https://docs.moodle.org/38/en/Embedded_Answers_(Cloze)_question_type


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Questions with predefined answer options


Question types in MoodleBrief descriptionCommentsInstructions

Multiple choice

A question and several answer options from which the students have to select the correct one(s) are predefined.

  • Partial points are possible.
  • Random order of answers is possible (Shuffle the choices?).
  • The Multiple answers allowed setting allows for no less than 0 points.
  • (warning) The One answer only setting and deduction of points (minus percentage) for wrong answers also allow penalty points. If you do not want to use penalty points, select the None option.
  • In addition to questions for demonstration of knowledge, multiple-choice questions can also be used for questions addressing comprehension, application and analysis. General notes on creating MC exams and on preparing competence-oriented MC questions are available in the info pool (in German): https://infopool.univie.ac.at/startseite/pruefen-beurteilen/
https://docs.moodle.org/38/en/Multiple_Choice_question_type
All-or-Nothing Multiple Choice

A question and several answer choices from which the students have to select the correct one(s) are predefined. Students can only receive points if they have selected all correct and none of the incorrect answers.

  • No partial points are possible.
  • Random order of answers is possible (Shuffle the choices?).
  • In addition to questions for demonstration of knowledge, similar to traditional multiple-choice questions, they can also be used for questions addressing comprehension, application and analysis. General notes on creating MC exams and on preparing competence-oriented MC questions are available in the info pool (in German): https://infopool.univie.ac.at/startseite/pruefen-beurteilen/
https://docs.moodle.org/38/en/All_or_nothing_multiple_choice_question_type

True/False

A simple multiple-choice question with only two answer options: “True” and “False”.
https://docs.moodle.org/38/en/True/False_question_type

Matching

A list of elements have to be assigned to the correct elements in a second list (e.g. countries – capital cities).
  • The second list can also contain additional elements that do not match any element in the first list.
  • It is possible to shuffle the answers.
https://docs.moodle.org/38/en/Matching_question_type
Embeded answers (Cloze)The students have to fill gaps in a text with the right answers. The gaps cannot only be defined as entry fields but also as a drop-down menu with predefined answer options from which the students have to select the correct one.
  • The gaps cannot be created with a graphical, intuitive user interface but by entering syntax (see instructions).

https://docs.moodle.org/38/en/Embedded_Answers_(Cloze)_question_type

Select missing words

The students have to fill gaps in a text by selecting words, parts of sentences, whole sentences or sections of a text from a drop-down menu for each gap. Teachers define gap groups. The predefined answer options for gaps in a group are always the same.
  • In contrast to Embedded answers (Cloze), the gaps do not have to be defined by complex syntax but by numbers in square brackets.
  • The answers do not have to be defined individually for every gap, but the gaps and the answers are grouped. For every gap in the same group, the same answer options are offered for selection.
  • This type is also suitable for a longer response text.
  • It is possible to shuffle the answers.
  • An answer option can also appear in several groups.
  • You can also define dummy answers.
https://docs.moodle.org/38/en/Select_missing_words_question_type
Random short answer matching

This question type looks similar to a matching question to students. From a technical perspective, the desired number of questions is randomly drawn from the available short answer questions within the selected category. These are summarised to a single question with a corresponding number of subquestions. One of the answers that are defined as correct from every drawn matching question is selected and offered in a drop-down menu for each of the subquestions.

  • For every quiz attempt, different short answers are randomly selected. For reasons of fairness, this question type is not recommended. It cannot be guaranteed that the questions created this way are equally difficult.
  • Dummy answers are not possible. The number of answers is the same as the number of subquestions. Every answer option is the correct answer to one of the subquestions.
  • You cannot individually define the value of the subquestions. Every answer has the same value.
https://docs.moodle.org/38/en/Random_Short-Answer_Matching_question_type

 

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Calculation questions


Question types in MoodleBrief descriptionCommentsInstructions

Calculated

Simple calculation questions give you the opportunity to create a whole class of numerical questions by using variables ({x}, {y}, etc.). The variables in every quiz attempt are allocated to randomly generated numbers from a predefined number range.

  • An error tolerance can be defined.
  • Units of measurements can be considered.
https://docs.moodle.org/38/en/Calculated_question_type

Calculated simple

Simple calculation questions give you the opportunity to create a whole class of numerical questions by using variables ({x}, {y}, etc.). The variables in every quiz attempt are allocated to randomly generated numbers from a predefined number range.

  • Simple calculation questions offer the most important functionalities of normal calculation questions but are easier to create and configure.
  • An error tolerance can be defined.
  • Units of measurements can be considered.
https://docs.moodle.org/38/en/Simple_calculated_question_type
Calculated multichoice

Calculated multiple-choice questions are similar to multiple-choice questions but have the additional feature that answers can contain formulae whose variable is randomly assigned to numbers from a predefined number range during the quiz attempt.


https://docs.moodle.org/38/en/Calculated_multichoice_question_type
Numerical

From the students’ perspective, a numerical question looks like a short answer question. The only difference is that numerical questions allow for an accepted error, i.e. that participants do not need to know the exact answer and that it is sufficient if their answer lies within an error interval.


https://docs.moodle.org/38/en/Numerical_question_type


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Drag-and-drop questions


Question types in MoodleBrief descriptionInstructions

Drag and drop onto image

Students have to drag and drop text modules or images from a list to visible, predefined places (drop zones) on a (background) image.https://docs.moodle.org/38/en/Drag_and_drop_onto_image_question_type

Drag and drop markers

Students have to drag and drop text modules or images from a list to predefined places (drop zones) on a (background) image, but they cannot see the drop zones.

https://docs.moodle.org/38/en/Drag_and_drop_markers_question_type

Drag and drop into text

Students have to drag and drop missing words into a cloze.https://docs.moodle.org/38/en/Drag_and_drop_into_text_question_type


Further instruction:

Video turorial: "Online-Test: Drag & Drop Fragen verwenden" (Online quiz: use drag & drop questions) (AMC) (in German)


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Mock exams with quizzes

We recommend giving students the opportunity to participate in a mock exam with a quiz. Students can familiarise themselves with the technology and clarify any technical issues in advance. Students are better able to concentrate on the exam content during the exam and do not have to worry about technical aspects. The same applies to you in your role as teacher.

General notes on mock exams can be found in the Mock exam section in this Wiki.

 

Special notes on mock exams with quizzes

  • Open the mock exam approximately one week before the actual exam.

  • Notify the students of the date of the mock exam. In contrast to the actual exam, you can leave the quiz open for several days. This lets students choose the time when they want to take the mock exam according to their needs and ensures that not all students take the quiz at the same time.

  • You do not have to notify the SSC of the mock exam and it does not have to be confirmed by the SSC.

  • Define the same quiz settings as for the actual exam (especially the Layout and Question behaviour), except for the timing.
  • Let your students know that they can participate on a voluntary basis and that the mock exam is not part of the grade.
  • The mock exam can be shorter than the actual exam and can contain fewer questions. Use all the question types that are also used in the actual exam.

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Excluding the mock exam quiz from the overall assessment

(warning) This section is particularly relevant if you would like to transfer the grades from Moodle to u:space.


By default, a sum is calculated under Grades in Moodle in the Course total column. If you offer a mock exam with a quiz, the quiz is automatically included in the calculation of the overall grade. To avoid possibly displaying wrong results for students or transferring wrong grades to u:space, you can apply one of the following three strategies.

Strategy 1 (the simplest): Set the Maximum grade of the mock exam quiz to zero.

On the top in the view in which you add the quiz questions you can define the Maximum grade (= the maximum number of points for a quiz). If you save the value 0, the quiz is not displayed in the grades. However, the students cannot see how they would have scored had it been an actual exam either.


Please note: You can also open the quiz content view later by clicking the quiz and selecting the Edit quiz item from the gear menu on the top right.


Strategy 2: Under Grades, hide the Course total column.

You can hide the Course total column from students and ignore it. For transferring grades to u:space you can then use the grade column for the exam quiz.

To hide the Course total column, take the following steps:

  • Click Grades in the left navigation bar of the Moodle course.
  • Select the Setup register and there the Gradebook setup subregister.
  • In the line that contains Course total, click Edit in the far right.
  • Select the Hide menu item (now a crossed-out eye and the text Show is displayed).



Strategy 3: Calculate the Course total column automatically with a formula.

If, for any reason, you would like to use the Course total grade column, e.g. to display both a point column and a grade column under Grades, you can determine a formula that considers only the grades of the exam quiz in the Course total column. You can enter a formula by taking these steps:

  • Click Grades in the left navigation bar of the Moodle course.
  • Select the Setup register and there the Gradebook setup subregister.
  • In the line that contains Course total, click Edit in the far right.
  • Select the Edit calculation menu item.



  • Under ID numbers, now enter an abbreviation for your quiz (1) and save it by clicking Add ID numbers (2).
  • Subsequently, under Calculation, enter the formula (3). It has to start with an equal sign. ID numbers have to be entered in double square brackets.
  • Subsequently, save the formula by clicking the Save changes button (4).



(warning) The maximum points in the Course total column are not automatically adjusted. You have to change them manually.

  • To change them, in the Setup register > Gradebook setup in the uppermost line of the table in which the course title is adjacent to a folder symbol, click Edit.
  • Select the Edit settings menu item.




  • Now enter the maximum points of your exam quiz in the Category total section under Maximum grade and save the settings by clicking the Save changes button.



More information about the required grade settings to show grades or to transfer grades to u:space can be found in the user guide for "Im u:space Noten aus Moodle übernehmen" (Transferring grades from Moodle to u:space) (in German).


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Checking the quiz settings


As teacher you can display a preview of your quiz to go through and work on it from a student’s perspective to check if your quiz settings and questions are correct. Your own quiz results, quiz results of other teachers, tutors or employees in charge are not displayed in the quiz attempt list, i.e. you cannot try assessing essay questions in advance, for example.

You can access the preview by taking the following steps:

  • Click the quiz.
  • Click the gear icon on the top right.
  • Select the Preview option from the drop-down menu.



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Handling technical problems during the digital exam


If students interrupt their exam without stating a legitimate reason or if they do not upload it to Moodle within the specified time period, you have to assess the exam with fail (grade: “insufficient”). Therefore, urge your students to contact the invigilator immediately if they experience technical problems via the specified communication channel and to clarify how to proceed.

Technical problems with assignments


Possible technical problems and solutions


Problem

Solution

Students cannot access the exam course

Check if...

... the exam course is visible for students. If not, make it visible.

... the student is enrolled on the Moodle course (displayed under Participants in the left navigation bar). If not, check in u:space if the student is registered for the exam. If this is the case, synchronise the registrations in u:space. If this does not work, enrol the student manually on the course (instructions can be found in the "Moodle-Einführungsskriptum" (Notes of geting startet with Moodle), starting on page 15) (in German). If the participant is not registered in u:space, they are not entitled to participate in the exam.

Students cannot see the assignment

Check in the assignment’s settings if the assignment is visible and if the availability settings are correct. If that is not the case, make the assignment visible or change the availability settings accordingly (instructions can be found in the "Moodle-Einführungsskriptum" (Notes on getting started with Moodle), starting on page 49) (in German).

Students cannot download the exam papers

You can also send the exam papers to the student via e-mail. Please only use the official u:account e-mail address (both your own to send the papers and the student’s to receive the papers).

Students cannot upload their file(s)

Allow the student to submit their completed exam papers via e-mail (promptly around the end of the submission period). You can still assess the assignment directly in Moodle.

(warning) Only accept e-mails from the student’s u:account e-mail address to the examiner’s u:account e-mail address for identification and data protection reasons.

You can also extend the submission deadline for individual students. This is especially recommended if you check the assignment for plagiarism with Turnitin and the check starts immediately.
Please note: If a plagiarism check is planned on the due date, it does not consider submissions after the original due date. For the purpose of a plagiarism check only, you could create an additional assignment that is not graded to which you or your students can upload late submissions.

Students have uploaded and submitted the wrong file

As long as the submission period is still open and students have not yet pressed the submit button, they can still delete their uploaded files or replace them. If they pressed the submit button, you can reset the assignment to the editing status.

In an assignment with Turnitin plagiarism check, students cannot see the file upload field.

  • Students who have never uploaded a file to an activity including Turnitin have to accept the EULA (or reject it) first to display the file submission field.
  • EULA was accepted, but file submission field is still not visible: Check if the submission period is already over. If yes, consider extending it.
  • Submission period is not yet over: The student should try another browser.

In an assignment with Turnitin plagiarism check, the student rejected the EULA and the assignment can therefore not be checked for plagiarism.

The student has to retroactively accept the EULA by clicking the relevant note below the submitted file. This can also be done if the submission period is already over.

The submission period has to be adjusted for ALL students because, for example, the assignment’s settings are wrong.

Simply change the Due date in the assignment’s settings.
PLEASE NOTE: Individual changes to the submission deadlines for individual users remain the same and have to be changed separately or deleted if necessary.


(warning) Many technical problems can be clarified already in advance if you give students the opportunity to take a mock exam with an assignment.



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Extending the submission deadline for individual students

If students experience technical problems when uploading their files shortly before the submission deadline, you can extend the deadline individually:

  • Click the assignment.
  • Click the gear icon on the top right.
  • Select the User overrides menu item.



  • Click the Add user override button.
  • Under Override user, search for the student’s name. Above the search field the names of the already selected students are displayed.
  • Then change the Due date. To change the date and/or time, the Show box must be ticked.

  • Save the settings by clicking the Save button.

Please note: You can see which changes you made for which users by accessing User overrides again.


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Reverting submission

If students have uploaded a wrong file and pressed the submit button, they cannot make any further changes on their own. However, teachers can revert the submission to the draft status:

  • Click the assignment.
  • Click the View all submissions button.
  • Tick the student’s box in the leftmost column.
  • At the bottom, from the drop-down menu, select the Revert the submission to draft status and click the Go button.





(warning) Students can edit a reverted assignment again only within the submission period. If necessary, change the individual submission deadline accordingly under User overrides.


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Technical problems with quizzes

Possible technical problems and solutions

Problem

Solution

Students cannot access the exam course

Check if...

... the exam course is visible for students. If not, make it visible.

... the student is enrolled on the Moodle course (displayed under Participants in the left navigation bar). If not, check in u:space if the student is registered for the exam. If this is the case, synchronise the registrations in u:space. If this does not work, enrol the student manually on the course (instructions can be found in the "Moodle-Einführungsskriptum" (Notes of geting startet with Moodle), starting on page 15) (in German). If the participant is not registered in u:space, they are not entitled to participate in the exam.

Students cannot see the quiz

In the quiz settings, check if the quiz is visible and if the availability settings are correct. If that is not the case, make the quiz visible or change the availability settings accordingly (instructions can be found in the "Moodle-Einführungsskriptum" (Notes on getting started with Moodle), starting on page 49) (in German).

Students lose their Internet connection during the quiz and cannot re-start the quiz/continue to work on it

If a student credibly shows that they have experienced technical problems when working on the quiz and could no longer work on the quiz, you can allow them another quiz attempt under User overrides. You can also delete the existing quiz attempt and allow a new attempt and extend the closing time of the quiz for the student under User overrides, if necessary.

The Internet connection was bad or is interrupted and the students can continue to work on the quiz, but the timer has continued as well

Even if the Internet connection is lost, the timer continues in the background. If a student credibly shows that they now have less time to work on the exam due to technical problems, you can individually change the exam duration for the student and the closing time of the quiz, if needed. (Please note: The exam duration cannot exceed the closing time of the quiz even if there was time remaining.)

Answers are not saved

To avoid the problem that a student cannot save their answers, change the quiz settings so that every question is displayed on a separate page. This way, the previous answers are cached when changing to the next question. If you forgot to change this setting in the quiz and a student could therefore not save any answers due to technical problems, you can either grant them a second attempt and an individual extension of the quiz period under User overrides or offer them an alternate date with a new quiz.

The exam duration has to be extended for ALL students

Under Timing, adjust the closing time of the quiz and, if necessary, also the exam duration. When changing to the next page, the timer will be updated for the student.

PLEASE NOTE: If you display all questions on one page, the timer is not automatically adjusted. Therefore, please change the quiz settings in the Layout section so that every question is displayed on a separate page.


(warning) Many technical problems can be clarified already in advance if you give students the opportunity to take a mock exam with a quiz.


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Extending the exam duration for individual students

You can extend the exam duration and/or the closing time of the quiz for individual students.

  • Click the quiz.
  • Click the gear icon on the top right.
  • Select the User overrides menu item.



  • Click the Add user override button.
  • Under Override user, search for the student. Already selected students are displayed above the search field.
  • Change the closing time of the quiz and/or the timing. To make changes, you have to tick the Show boxes.



  • Save the settings by clicking the Save button.

Please note: You can see which changes you made for which users if you access User overrides again.


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Delete faulty quiz attempts


If you allow only one quiz attempt, students who experience an interruption when taking the quiz may not be able to continue to work on the exam under certain circumstances, even if you give them an individual extension of the exam duration. In this case, you have to either allow the student a second attempt under User overrides or you delete the first quiz attempt.

To delete a quiz attempt take the following steps:

  • Click the quiz.
  • Click Attempts.
  • Use the Filter for the initial letter of the first name and surname to narrow down the list.
  • Under the relevant quiz attempt, click the Checkbox on the far left.
  • Click the Delete selected attempts button below the list.



(warning) When deleting a quiz attempt, all previous answers are lost. If you allow a second quiz attempt under User overrides, you cannot individually change the settings so that this attempt is based on the first attempt and that the previous answers are already included in the second attempt.


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After the exam

Assessing exams

If you created an assignment or a quiz, under Grades a separate grade column is automatically created for it in the Moodle course to enter the points achieved. You have to manually assess assignments and essay questions in quizzes. All other quiz questions are automatically evaluated.


Instructions for assessing assignments and essay questions:


Further user guides for grading in Moodle:

  • User guides on the official Moodle website:


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Plausibility check


It is recommended that you contact students at random after written digital exams during a previously announced period of time to ask them short control questions about the exam (“How did you arrive at this solution?”) or about the examination topics. This allows you to check if it is plausible that students have actually written the exam independently.

Inform your students before the exam...

  • ... that there will be plausibility checks.
  • ... about the period of time during which there will be plausibility checks.
  • ... about where there will be plausibility checks (e.g. with a video conferencing tool in the exam course).
  • ... about when and how they are invited to the plausibility check (e.g. via e-mail).
  • ... about the compulsory participation and that non-attendance or non-availability during the specified or agreed period of time without giving a valid reason will result in an exam graded with X (=cheating/plagiarism).

A video conferencing room can be created in the exam course in Moodle. Suitable activities for this are BigBlueButton or Collaborate.


User guides for the video conferencing tools in Moodle:

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Student viewing of examination documents online

You can but you do not have to allow students to view their examination documents online. This applies to both assignments and quizzes.

Ideally, you should hide the assignment or quiz for as long as you carrying out manual assessments and make them visible again after all results are available and you would like to offer the viewing of examination documents online.

In assignments, students can see how many points they received, any annotations that you made in the submitted PDFs in the Moodle view and, if applicable, the feedback you entered.


(warning) Note that examination results can also be viewed in Grades (menu item in the left navigation bar in the course). If applicable, check that only those grade columns are visible that should be visible. If the students should not see any assessments in Moodle, you can hide the Grades menu item entirely from the students. This can be done in the course settings (gear icon on the top right in the course > Edit settings) in the Appearance section under Show gradebook to students.


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Transferring grades to u:space

If you have generated grades in Moodle, you can transfer them to u:space.

Important prerequisites:

  • The registration for the exam was carried out in u:space.
  • The exam date in u:space is connected to the Moodle course in which the grades were generated.
  • The Grade display type of the grade column in Moodle from which the grades are to be transferred is Letter.


For the user guide, please see "Im u:space Noten aus Moodle übernehmen" (Transferring grades from Moodle to u:space) (in German)


(warning) Make sure that your mock exam is not considered when calculating the grade in the column from which the grades are to be transferred. The necessary steps can be found in the sections addressing Mock exams with assignments and Excluding the mock exam quiz from the overall assessment.


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