BwLehrpool-Exams

bwLehrpool offers a virtual teaching environment and a secure system platform that can be used for application-based online exams (e.g. testing software skills).

bwLehrpool is recommended for online exams if you want to...

• organize an online exam using the pool computers of the University of Konstanz
• use locally installed software (e.g. statistics software)

In this guide, you will find the most important information on planning and conducting online exams with bwLehrpool in the PC pool rooms J213, BS217, and G310 on campus of the University of Konstanz.

The information on this page will help you estimate the time and resource requirements for online exams and show their flow.

To help you keep track of your organization, you can also use this checklist (in german). Basic knowledge about bwLehrpool exams can be found on the University of Konstanz website.

1. Planning bwLehrpool exams

Please note: You are responsible for the organization of your exam!
As for conventional exams, you as a teacher are responsible for the organizational implementation of the exam. If you would like to conduct an online exam with bwLehrpool, please contact the person responsible for exam planning in your department before (!) planning it.

1.1 Scheduling

• 10-15 minutes for arrival, information, registration...
• The planned writing time
• Plan for a time buffer for possible participants requiring academic adjustments in accordance with your department, e.g. approx. 15 minutes (max. 25% of the writing time)

With a writing time of 60 minutes, a room should therefore be reserved for a minimum of approx. 85 minutes. The time between lecture sessions should not be included in the planning.

1.2 Assistance

Please make sure you have staff and/or assistants available to supervise the exam and answer questions about the content. For a PC-lab, we recommend having at least one person available for this purpose.

1.3 Select PC-labs and check availability

It is possible to conduct bwLehrpool exams in the following PC-labs:

J213, 40 Plätze	BS217, 23 Plätze	G310, 19 Plätze
Check availability	Check availability	Availability and reservation

Please check availability and book the room for your desired date via this website. If available, all three PC labs can also be used simultaneously for one exam.

1.4 Check availability of desired software

The software you use on the pool PCs in your course can generally also be used in bwLehrpool exams. If you would like to use software that is not yet offered on the lab computers, please be sure to contact us before you continue planning, so that we can check license questions and install the software according to your wishes. Please mention your software wishes in your reservation request (see 1.6.).

Here you will find a list of available software for bwLehrpool
https://www.kim.uni-konstanz.de/en/services/learning-and-working/study-spaces-and-other-tools/bwlehrpool/

1.5. Should the ILIAS exam environment be used?

We recommend using the ILIAS exam environment for your exam.

• Assignments and data sets can be made available at specific periods of time.
• Exam questions can be marked automatically (e.g. multiple choice items) or manually (e.g. text questions).
• Uploads of exam results are automatically assigned to the registered exam participants.
• Exam results and grades can be made available for inspection.

1.6. Reservation request including event details

Please submit a reservation request for a bwLehrpool exam using this form:
https://www.kim.uni-konstanz.de/services/forschen-und-lehren/e-learning/formular-bwlehrpool-klausuren/

2. Preparing exam

2.1. Preparing an ILIAS-exam

Here you will find instructions on how to configure your ILIAS exam course:

>> ILIAS/Instructions/Configuring online exams on-campus in ILIAS

If you have any questions or wish to arrange a personal meeting, please do not hesitate to contact us: ilias-support@uni-konstanz.de

If files or links are to be provided outside of ILIAS on the Windows desktop, please send them to us as soon as possible, so that we can incorporate them into your bwLehrpool exam setting.

2.2. Exam without using the ILIAS-exams platform

If you want to conduct a bwLehrpool exam without using the ILIAS, you have to define your own procedures for distributing the tasks and data sets, as well as collecting and assigning the exam results (e.g. via cloud or file server upload). However, we generally recommend using an ILIAS exam.

2.3. Trial exam

Before conducting a bwLehrpool exam, we strongly recommend(!) holding a trial exam under real conditions (with the prepared software selection and network restrictions):

• Students can familiarize themselves with the login process (ensuring that they know their account name and password) and learn how to find, start, work on, and complete the online exam on the ILIAS-exams platform. Students who haven't yet used the ILIAS-exams platform will also have to complete their profile information on accessing the platform for the first time.
• Lecturers should test the functionality of the chosen configuration of the ILIAS-exam course: Please check if your settings for availability, the assigned period of accessibilty, and the writing time are conclusive and functional (also think about, if you need distinct settings for a disadvantage compensation!). Test all your desired question types for your real exam as far as possible, the point allocation for the answers (especially for multiple-choice questions) and (if desired) the functionality of the grading scheme.

Please plan and request a mock exam in the same way you would do for a real exam, as the same requirements should be met (room availability, ILIAS-exam course for the mock exam, software availability, etc.).

2.5. Inform students about the procedure

Share all information about your bwLehrpool exam with your students before the exam and inform them about the procedure.

Important Note:
Here you will find a prepared text template with the information that you can adjust and send to your students.

2.6. ILIAS-exam final check

Be sure to have made a final check to your ILIAS exam, to ensure that the test is accessible for the students in ILIAS on the day of the exam. This also includes a check whether all questions and the marking scheme have been entered correctly. We are happy to carry out this final check together with you. Please use this checklist as a guide for your final check:

Checklist for the final inspection of ILIAS exams

3. Conducting the exam

3.1. Security guidelines for bwLehrpool exams

• The use of any other digital device or handheld (phone, smartwatch etc.) must be prohibited.
• When using the ILIAS, it is crucial that a password is set for the online-test.
• The test password must not be announced before the start of the exam and may only be announced on site in the exam room.
• Students should not be allowed to leave the examination room before the end of the exam.

3.2. Access to the ILIAS exam platform

If the ILIAS is being used, the participants will find it as the start page of the browser by default (other configurations possible). The students can log in to the platform with their university account name (usually firstname.lastname) and the corresponding password.

4. Evaluation, post-exam revision, make-up dates

Please refer to our documentation on how to use the ILIAS exam platform:
https://www.kim.uni-konstanz.de/en/services/research-and-teaching/e-learning/online-exams/instructions/