The practices below can help ensure a smooth online testing experience.
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| Email your instructor. | If you experience difficulty while taking an online exam (e.g. you are unable to get back into a quiz after a disruption with your internet connection), contact your instructor immediately via email and inform them of your situation. Be sure to include the time, course name, and quiz title in your email, along with any answers you have already selected or typed up. |
| Use a desktop or a laptop computer. | A mobile browser may lack the processing power as well as some features and functionality that are available when accessing Brightspace from a regular web browser. If you must use a mobile device to take a test, please download and use the Brightspace Pulse App, making sure you are in a location with a stable data or Wi-Fi connection. |
| Use the most recent version of your browser. | The list of recommended browsers to use with Brightspace are available in this help guide: Browser Support Even older versions of supported browsers may not function reliably, whether taking a test or doing other activities in Brightspace, so please update your browser. You may also want to disable any adblocker extensions, which can affect browser performance. This does not apply to tests requiring Respondus LockDown Browser. For more information, please visit this help guide: Using Respondus LockDown Browser. |
| Quit other applications. | To ensure a stable internet connection, close other applications, especially streaming services, which can slow and disrupt your connection. Also, before logging into Brightspace, it is a good idea to close open browser sessions, then re-open a new one to start a fresh session. |
| Ask your housemates for help… | …not on your exam, but to stop the crime documentary they might be streaming or pause their video game. Even watching quick videos while scrolling through social media can take up the bandwidth you need to take your test, so ask if they can refrain from heavy internet usage until after you’ve submitted your exam. |
| Compose long answers or essays outside of Brightspace. | Don’t lose your hard work! Compose this type of answer in a text editor such as Word, Notepad, or TextEdit, and save periodically. Then, copy and paste your answers, or upload it, to your exam in Brightspace. IMPORTANT: You will get timed out for inactivity if you do not click around or add content to the text editor in your exam. This may cause you to lose access to the exam altogether, so please ensure that you are going back to the exam and adding and saving your answers or otherwise clicking buttons to keep your session active. |
| Keep your quiz session active. | Similar to the tip above, click on the Save Answer buttons to keep your quiz session active. |
| One browser, one session. | If possible, have only the browser window where you are taking the exam open. Close all unrelated browser windows. This will give you a better chance of completing your test without issues. If you can, make sure there is only one Brightspace session per browser is open at a time. If you need to navigate your course during an exam (i.e. during an ‘open book’ test), use a different browser. |
| Call our 24/7 help desk | If you are taking a quiz and need technical assistance, please call the 24/7 help desk: (213) 740-5555 (choose option 1, then 2) While they may not be able to change any settings specifically set by your instructor, or assist with internet connectivity issues, they may be able to offer workarounds. |