Canvas can appropriately deliver online tests, quizzes, and surveys for many situations at Notre Dame. The information provided here will help you avoid problems.

Encouraging academic honesty

• Use question banks to create unique tests for each student -  Create question pools for sets of questions, then set up your test draw randomly from those pools. Each student will get a unique version of the test, or students can take a formative test multiple times with different questions drawn for each attempt.
  
  
• Show answers in random order - When creating multiple choice questions, you can specify that answers be shown in random order. Don’t use this with answers like “all of the above” or “B and C”. This option can be chosen in the quiz's Details tab.
  

• Add Honor Code Pledge affirmation reminding students of the University's expectations for original work. Canvas does not have an Honor Code button to enable; some instructors simply create a single, unscored question in the quiz whereby students acknowledge the expectations.
  
  
• Deliver feedback afterwards - Do not provide answers immediately after completion to individual students. Feedback settings allow you to select the date after which the test and answers will display to students. In some cases, you will also want to delay releasing the grade in the gradebook. (How to use posting policies in a course.) 

Please contact the Teaching & Learning Technologies team at oithelp@nd.edu if you have any questions about using Canvas to design your test.

Ensuring best experience for students during test

• Share with students the Essential Tips for Taking an Online Test so they have their technology prepared before they start
  
  
• Understand the best test set-up options before publishing the test:
  
  
  • Set attempt options to only one attempt for summative, multiple attempts for formative.
    
  • Use Moderate this Quiz feature to allow extra time for individual students (only available after test is published)
    
  • Create unique testing windows for individuals or course sections in the test's Details page. (Note that this feature can be set for sections of students, not manually created groups.)
    
  • Understand your best options for presentation of the exam
    
    • If students will be answering long essay questions, we strongly recommend choosing Show one question at a time in the quiz Details page which will save answers after each question and protect students from losing answers due to wifi or other technical issues
    • students can review all questions before submitting by default; disable this feature by selecting Show one question at a time, and selecting Lock questions after answering in the quiz Details page. 

Live testing

Notre Dame does not have a dedicated testing facility with computers and proctors. As a result, some instructors ask students to bring laptops into the classroom to take a test or quiz with Canvas. It’s important to understand the limitations of that strategy. 

• Power - there will not be enough outlets for everyone to plug in. Tell students to charge their batteries ahead of time AND have a backup plan in case they do not.

• Wireless Internet - there may not be enough Internet bandwidth to handle a hundred students trying to take a test at the same time in one room.

• High Security - the Quiz Restrictions settings allow you to require an access code or password. There is also an IP address option, which is not likely to be useful with laptops that will use wireless access points.
  
  
• Preparation - A week or more before giving a test in a classroom, have students bring in laptops and take a brief practice test. This ensures that they (1) have the proper software, (2) understand battery issues and (3) can use the Canvas tools.