Brunel University's Guide: 'At Home' Digital Exams - Rules, Regulations & Support, Slides of Technology

Download Brunel University's Guide: 'At Home' Digital Exams - Rules, Regulations & Support and more Slides Technology in PDF only on Docsity! TAG, Academic Services, SSD July 2021 page 1 BUL Candidate Guide for ‘At Home’ Digital Examinations This document has been written to help you. Read it carefully and follow the instructions. If there is anything you do not understand or if you require further information email [email protected] Many students will see on their exam timetable that they are now doing what is an ‘At Home’ exam. The exact details of these assessments will be communicated with you via your department. In most cases the assessments will be using the WISEflow system. The guidance and FAQ below should give you an idea of how you will be using WISEflow and how you can seek technical support during your ‘At Home’ exam. The same regulations apply for students who may be travelling to the University to take their exams on campus (government guidelines permitting). If you can’t take the assessment please refer to the information provided on ECs and contact your Taught Programmes Office or Module Leads for specific advice. Conduct “Appropriate and Honest Manner” Your department should inform you of any examinations that will require the use of calculators, prepared notes or other equipment or materials. If you are allowed external sources then ensure you have all your references prepared. You are reminded that open book examinations require the same standard of attribution and referencing of material as coursework. In addition, unless you have been instructed to work collaboratively, these assessments are for individuals and you should not have contact with other students (or anyone else) during the examination. All work submitted will be checked for similarity to third party text such as that found on the internet or in books, as well as to the work of other students. The University does this using a text-matching service called Urkund. Any plagiarism detected in your examination submission will be treated in the same way as for coursework, and in accordance with Senate Regulation 6 and the Academic Misconduct Procedure. Allowing your work to be copied by another student is considered to be collusion and will result in similar action as set out above. Proven cases of misconduct are likely to attract a penalty that may affect your final degree classification. In the most serious cases (e.g. multiple proven cases) it could result in expulsion. You are reminded to follow the rules: • Candidates are expected to conduct themselves in an appropriate and honest manner during examinations. • You are not permitted to use the services of any agency or person(s) providing specimen, model or ghostwritten work in the preparation of the work submitted for open book examinations. • You are not permitted to give assistance to others during the exam, either by giving them help to access the paper or in providing specimen, model or ghostwritten work to other candidates submitting for open-book examinations. • Papers that have been submitted in the wrong format may not be marked and the exam may be given a mark of 0/Grade of F. TAG, Academic Services, SSD July 2021 page 2 • Senate Regulation 6 defines the academic and non-academic offences that may be committed in the course of an examination and any concerns about your conduct will be investigated in accordance with the Academic Misconduct or Non-Academic Disciplinary Procedures as appropriate. • Late work is unlikely to be accepted: You MUST notify us before the end of your exam if you are experiencing difficulties in uploading and/or handing in your work in WISEflow using the contact details provided in this document. Work sent via email will NOT be looked at. Please note that WISEflow time stamps your submission at the point Brunel’s server receives your upload and not at the time you press the ‘hand in’ button. Submissions are recorded to the nearest minute. • It is your responsibility to submit the correct document for assessment. Please double-check before submission. Submitting a draft by mistake is unlikely to be an acceptable excuse for plagiarism or collusion. Preparation What should I do to prepare? Know the dates and times of all your examinations. Check your timetable via the link from The Examinations Webpage or refer to documentation sent by your Department. Exam Start Times For some of you located abroad the time difference may mean you have to sit the exam early or late in the day. For fairness, all students doing a particular exam will start their assessment at the same time. WISEflow start times will reflect your local time zone as per your electronic device’s time settings. Ensure your computer has all the latest updates installed for the Operating System, web browser and any anti-virus software. It is recommended that all students use Google Chrome for their WISEflow exam. Please check to make sure you have any exam materials you might need i.e. graph paper. Most assessments will be timed, so ensure you are completely ready before the start. Make sure your exam area is set up and you have everything that you need, e.g. pens, pencils, paper, notes, books, water bottle, time reminder (clock). Check your internet connection is working and that you have your laptop charger and access to power should you need it. Plan to pace yourself through the exam time to ensure you balance answering the questions with any research that you might need to do. Log in to WISEflow a few days before the exam to check that the ‘At Home’ exam you are taking shows in your Flow Overview. Contact your Taught Programmes Office if you can’t see your ‘At Home’ exam. Try a practice exam Demo exams are available on the Flow Overview. Use the instruction guides to practise converting, uploading files and handing in ahead of your exam. Demo flows are at the bottom of your list of exam/assignments to access and test connectivity. Make sure you select the type of FLOW to match your exam. TAG, Academic Services, SSD July 2021 page 5 Overseas students The time shown on your computer will adjust to your time zone setting on your device. The exam will only be available during the times shown on your electronic device. Students in China WISEflow is accessible from China. Students in China may need to connect via a VPN. You may like to try accessing a demonstration to test your connection ahead of the exam time. Information on VPN use can be found on the connect portal How can I take photos of paper materials? This can be done by using a camera on your phone/tablet or by using the webcam on your computer. • Make sure that you take clear images, that show the entire page. • Your student number should be visible on every page and you should number the pages in the sequence that you want them to be looked at. • Make sure your drawings, workings etc are very clear in the photographs. • Ensure pencils are sharp and use black or dark blue pen ink. • Use white paper/light coloured paper. • Your photos need to be in focus – NOT blurry. • Remember, if a marker can’t read the information on your uploaded image, they won’t be able to mark it! • Use this instruction guide to help you put your pictures in the correct order for marking. You can add all the images to a single document and upload one file, or if your FLOW type allows you can upload photos individually. To upload images individually you can: • Transfer files to a computer and upload to the Flow by browsing your computer (i.e. the image file location) • Log in to WISEflow from your phone by using your phone’s internet browser then either browse your image gallery to select images or take photos directly after accessing the upload button. How do I create a PDF Most document editors (e.g. MS Word, Pages etc.) allow you to ‘Save As’ PDF. Please see the guide on the examinations webpage for more details. Other file types such as those created by Excel and PowerPoint can also be saved as PDF in this way. Do I need to buy MS Office? No, if your exams are of the FLOWassign type, you can use any software to write your exam answers. Just ensure that you can save as PDF so that you can upload and hand in. If you want to use MS Office, you can download this for free from the Office 365 Connect Portal What do I do if I lose connection to Wi-Fi during one of my exams? Ideally you should maintain a continuous connection throughout the exam. If you lose connection, you will need to re-establish a Wi-Fi/internet connection to submit your answers. If you lose your connection while taking a FLOWmulti exam you should download a local copy immediately as a backup to protect your work before reconnecting your Wi-Fi. TAG, Academic Services, SSD July 2021 page 6 How will I receive updates or announcements during the exam? If there is a question clarification or update to the exam paper this will be communicated via direct messaging on the Flow. IMPORTANT: If you are answering your exam on paper or in a separate document (i.e., your exam is a FLOWassign or FLOWhandin) you should keep WISEflow open during the exam and check regularly for any updates. For very long exams please ensure you log in regularly to see if there are any updates. At the end of the examination Before the participation period ends you will need to check your answers, upload files, fill in a coversheet (if required) and Hand in. For most students the overall exam time is split into writing time and upload time. This will be stated on the front cover of your paper. Once your writing time is over you should immediately start uploading your final answers into WISEflow and hand in before the deadline. The upload time is given just in case you have any technical problems; students should not use this time to answer questions as work handed in late is unlikely to be accepted. Students should report technical problems via the in- exam chat before the end of the exam. Please note that we are able to view the logs to verify student activity and any problems experienced. If completing a FLOWmulti you will need to click on ‘Go to hand in’. If you run out of time you can still hand-in as long as you don’t navigate away from the page. You must hand in your work so it can be marked, if you have any problems use the chat to ask for help. How can I get a submission receipt? When you have handed in your screen will change to show a timestamp. You can click the ‘request receipt’ button to have a submission receipt emailed to you. TAG, Academic Services, SSD July 2021 page 7 Further Information Will I need to install a Lockdown Browser? Most ‘At Home exams’ will not require this. You will be directed by your department if you do need to use this piece of software. If you see these padlock icons (left) in WISEflow this will show that your ‘At Home’ exam is using a lockdown browser – your department will advise you if you need to do this. Adjustments Can I use a screen reader and other assistive equipment? On FLOWassign and FLOWhandin you will be able to download the PDF exam questions and use screen readers or assistive technology to access the exam questions and instructions. You can then use your preferred applications and assistive technology to prepare your answers. We recommend you use the demo Flows to test how compatible your technology is with WISEflow and contact DDS or [email protected] if you need more advice. If you cannot take the ‘At Home exam’ please contact your department. If you need any adjustments because of a disability or dyslexia and do not already have a support profile, please contact the Student Support and Wellbeing Service Tel: +44 (0)1895 267045 or Email: [email protected] Adjustments made less than one full week before the start of the examination period cannot be guaranteed and will be limited to extra time for the assessment. Extra Time All Extra time will be added to your exam by your TPO using the following guidelines: • Students with Extra Time: Extra time will be added manually to all Additional Needs (AN) students in the WISEflow environment. • Students with Rest Breaks: As rest breaks are unmonitorable at home, extra time will be added (5 mins per hour), this is in addition to extra time. • Students who have requested time prompts will need to organise their own timekeeping e.g. setting an alarm on their phone or computer. Assistive Technology and Amanuensis/Scribe or Reader: • ATC: For students with assistive technology installed on their own machines we advise they use it. Students should use the assistive technology and then upload documents into WISEflow and hand in once they are done. Students who need edited question papers will be contacted by the DDS and advised on the procedures once it has been decided which modules are being assessed off-campus. • Students requiring an Amanuensis/Scribe or Reader will be given 25% extra time (in addition to any other extra time). If this is not suitable then students should contact their TPO.