DigiExam for teachers
Note this recent change:
As of Fall 2021, DigiExam has changed the way students sign in to start an assessment. Students now access the DigiExam web service via the Resources area in My DE then click on the link there to start the DigiExam client software. A student code is no longer required.
Students still need to install the client software first. An information page for students including installation directions is at this link: DigiExam
This information is intended for teachers. An information page for students including installation directions is at this link: DigiExam
DigiExam is a service D-E started using in Spring 2019 to provide secure testing using a computer or iPad. It's similar to using a Google Form to administer a test except that when a student runs the DigiExam client and starts a test, that student's computer or iPad is locked into just the DigiExam client and not released until the exam is handed in. No access to other programs or Internet websites is available while the computer or iPad is locked.
The most complete source of information about DigiExam is the Teacher-related page in DigiExam Knowledge Center.
However, some D-E specific stuff and common questions from D-E teachers are addressed below.
DigExam can be used for assessments during distance learning. An introduction to that is available at DigiExam And Remote Learning
Student Installation
To use DigiExam, students need to install DigiExam software. Ask students to install the software BEFORE the day of your test. Directions are at this link: DigiExam
Also, best practices on the test day are for students to restart their computer right before the assessment and not open any other software until after it is complete. (DigiExam won't run until all programs are closed anyway, but this avoids complications with some software that doesn't exit nicely.)
Teacher and Student Login
To take an assessment students use the software installed per the directions above and "login" using their @d-e.org email address for both student code and email address. (This is in the installation instructions above.)
Note that the student login procedure will/has changed for Fall 2021. See the student DigiExam help page for details.
To login to the DigiExam website to create or manage an assessment (Teachers) or to see assessment results (Students if permitted by teachers), log in to My DE and choose DigiExam under Resources > DigiExam login (or this link). This allows a teacher or student to login using the My DE password.
Creating, Administering, and Grading an assessment
Outline of steps: Quick Start for teachers using DigiExam for exams
Important Notes:
A. Time Limits:
While DigiExam has a feature allowing you to put a time limit on an assessment, folks at DigiExam (verified by some experiences at DE) recommend that you do NOT use the time limit feature. It will complicate the life of you and your students if you need to extend the time of an assessment due to accommodations or something unexpected (like a fire alarm). The suggestion is that you or a proctor manage time the same way you would for a paper assessment when you are in the room with students.
B. Student unable to hand in work:
You can avoid students not being able to hand in an exam by making sure they press the hand-in button BEFORE you end the exam. If a student is unable to hand-in the assessment due to you ending the exam first or due to a network connection issue: Restart the exam then use these Restore Answers That Did Not Hand In directions to permit the student to hand-in work. (If the teacher or student is off-campus, use the Monitor View not the USB stick method.)
C. Optional but recommended extra teacher step for on-campus only, high-stakes exams:
Most of the time, the following is not an issue, but folks have asked so if you want to be uber-prepared:
Once students have downloaded or started an assessment, they can continue to work offline (with multiple versions of work saved) even if they lose network or Internet connectivity. However, if you want to be ready for this, you will need a USB drive (e.g. keychain/flash drive) to "collect" this work completed offline. Note that most student computers (and your DE laptop) have USB C ports, which is smaller than what most USB drives have on them (for now). Adapters for teachers are available in the Taub Center. Once you've collected the work from the student machine, you can easily upload it to DigiExam using your computer in order to grade (or print) the assessment the same as for students who had no connectivity problems. More details on using the offline exam file are in the Offline Exam Files article at DigiExam Knowledge Center. Here are the general steps:
(on-campus only) To recover from a network or computer failure during an assessment and restart an assessment via USB drive:
Use the DigiExam website to download the teacher's offline file for the exam onto a USB drive.
Ask the student to open DigiExam client on the student's computer and enter the same log in criteria as when he/she took the exam first (this can be found in the monitoring view of the exam).
When the student has logged in you insert the USB drive in the computer and you will be asked if you want to restart the same exam again. Click yes and the student will be let in and also be able to hand in the exam or save it to the USB drive.
Assessment Creation Tips
(Click for details.)CopyPaste: The basic functionality of typing answers in the Digiexam application for students is that only text produced by the students themselves can be copied and pasted. Therefore, by default, students can copy and paste only their OWN text answers within a SINGLE answer block using the standard keyboard shortcuts on the device. (Cmd-C/Cmd-V on Mac or Ctrl-C/Ctrl-V on Windows or Chromebook.) They can NOT copy text from a question or between answers from different questions. However, a teacher can make a setting change to allow copy/paste BEFORE starting the assessment. For example, this could be useful for students to copy portions of a passage from a question. Details on changing this are here: Allow Copy-Paste In The Exam.
Spell Check: Spell check is not necessarily on for all students by default. A teacher can make a setting change to allow (or disallow) spell check for all students BEFORE starting the assessment for that particular test administration. Directions are here: How Do I Allow My Students To Use Spell Check On An Exam?:
Images: If you want to insert an image, you can do so by clicking on Insert image in the text editor when editing a question. You can attach one or more images. Digiexam supports JPEG, GIF, PNG and TIFF files and images are viewable offline without an Internet connection.
Other Media and Web page links: You can make video, audio, web pages and PDF accesible to student even during a locked-down assessment. However, students must have an Internet connection when taking the assessment for this to work. More information on adding media is available here: Media Links
External Tools: External tools allow students to access allowed web applications and online resources during an exam. This could include online calculators, online meeting links, chat bots, simulations and more. You, as the teacher, have to enable specific external tools when you create the assessment. However, before its first use, each specific tool has to be setup in advance by Computer Services. Please create a Help Desk request if you would like to allow your students access to an online tool not currently listed for you under External Tools. (Please do this at least a few days before the assessment to allow time for Computer Services to configure and test any new tools.) More information from DigiExam regarding this is available here: External tools in an exam
How to recover "lost" work
(Click for more.)While students work during a DigiExam assessment, answers are automatically saved every 10 seconds both to the local hard drive of the student's computer and online to DigiExam servers. If the Internet connection to the student computer is disrupted, saving continues to the local hard drive. After a disruption, students can submit results or continue working with assistance of the teacher following the steps in note B ("students unable to hand in work") under the heading Creating, Administering, and Grading an assessment above.
Additional Information
(Click for more.)Teacher-related page in DigiExam Knowledge Center - Lots of information here directly from DigiExam on everything above and more,
If you prefer a video demonstration: Demo webinar:
While the Exam ID is recommended as the easiest way for a teacher to start an exam, the Group ID method can be used if you create a class and a course first.
You can share grading or the results of grading with another teacher for an entire class or selected student. See the share grading work article here.
As of late Fall 2020, you can administer a secure, locked-down DigiExam assessment while students using computers (not iPads) are also connected to you via Zoom. For details, see Zoom Meeting And Remote Exams in the DigiExam Knowlege Center for Teachers. (The Account Manger setup has been completed by Computer Services.)