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). 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.

Please note that, 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. Please also clarify with your department how you can receive support for your exam concerning room reservation, and how a subsequent change request of room reservations can be implemented.

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

For planning and reserving, we recommend this order, which also guides the following sections in this text:

Determine date, time, and duration of the exam.
Clarify the availability of assisting staff (e.g. student assistants).
Decide which PC-lab rooms you want to use and check the availability
Clarify the availability of the desired software together with us
Send us a reservation request incl. the event details and software requests

1.1 Scheduling

First determine the desired date, the time and the desired duration of the exam. In order to do this, check the availability at the room scheduling department. If you already have a PC-lab reserved for your course, you can also use it for your exam of course - in that case there is no need for a separate reservation. Please note that not the entire length of the reserved time slots can be used for writing the exam: Plan approx. 15 minutes at the beginning for starting the computers for loading the exam mode and for informing about the exam procedure. This should not include the break times before and after the time slots, as the availability of these times cannot be guaranteed, e.g. due to delays of previous events. If you need an exam processing time of e.g. 90 minutes, please reserve two time slots.

1.2 Assistance

Check whether you need additional personnel to procter the exam and to support the participants in case of problems: if you use the PC-lab room used for your course, you can procter the exam yourself and the participants know the bwLehrpool environment, this additional effort may not be necessary. However, if you reserve another PC-lab for your exam and possibly have an exam written in several pool rooms at the same time, you should plan with two people per room (supervisor + support).

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	Check availability

Please check availability for your desired date. If available, all three pool rooms can also be used simultaneously for one exam.

1.4 Check availability of desired software

Any pre-installed software that you use on the PCs in your course can also be used in bwLehrpool exams. In the exam, either the complete software selection that you have available on the PCs in your course can be offered, or we can prepare a special software selection ("image") for you, that contains only the software you need.

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/

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 below).

1.5. Should the ILIAS exam environment be used?

The ILIAS exam environment simplifies the handling of exam tasks, which is why we recommend to use it in your bwLehrpool exam:

Assignments and sample data sets can be made available at specific periods of time.
Time limits can be set for the submission and upload of exam-related data; the uploads are automatically assigned to the registered participants.
Additional exam questions can be graded automatically (e.g. multiple choice items) or manually (e.g. text questions).
Examination results and evaluations can be made available for inspection.

In principle, you can conduct bwLehrpool exams without using the ILIAS-exams platform, but then you would have to define your own methods of distributing the assignments and sample data sets, as well as collecting and assigning the student results (e.g. via upload to the cloud or to the file server). If you or the students do not have experience with such alternative procedures, we recommend using the ILIAS-exams platform - the access to the platform can easily be provided in the software configuration we prepare for you (e.g. as starting page or a direct link on the Windows desktop).

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. Configure an exam with bwLehrpool Suite

For the exam, the PCs in the computer labs will be used in a secure exam mode. We will carry out the necessary configuration and management of bwLehrpool for you, according to your wishes. If you want to do this yourself, we recommend a guided personal training session before doing so.

The program bwLehrpool Suite is used to manage virtual machines and configure online exams. The following instructions will help you through the process (currently only available in German):

On the bwLehrpool website, you will find an extensive wiki with additional details and instructions.

2.2. Preparing an ILIAS-exam

We create your exam course for you on the ILIAS-exams platform, and assign the necessary administration permissions. Moreover we configure its availability period, according to the information that you provide. From this point on, you can prepare the exam content, e.g.:

present assignments with the object "exercise", and set the time frame for uploading the answers / results.
provide files/data sets necessary to answer the assignments/questions
prepare additional questions (multiple choice, free text) in the object "test"

To prepare for the exam course, please refer to our documentation of the ILIAS exam platform
https://www.uni-konstanz.de/en/teaching/advice-aid-resources-service/digitally-enhanced-teaching/instructions/

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

2.3. Exam without using the ILIAS-exams platform

In principle, you can also conduct bwLehrpool exams without using the ILIAS-exams platform. However, you would then have to define your own procedures for distributing the tasks and example data, as well as collecting and assigning the exam results (e.g. via cloud or file server upload). If you and/or the students have no experience with such alternative procedures, we recommend using the ILIAS-exams platform, which can be made easily accessible in your personal software configuration (e.g. with a link on the Windows desktop or as the browser's start page).

2.4. Mock exam

To ensure that all participants are familiar with their account name and password, as well as the workflow and software usage, we recommend conducting a mock exam under authentic circumstances (including the selected software/network restrictions) before the "actual" exam.

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:

Checkliste zur Endkontrolle von ILIAS-Klausurkursen (in German)

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-exams platform, 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.
The test password 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. Starting and ending the exam mode

Before the bwLehrpool-exam all computers must be restarted in order to enter the exam mode. At the end of the exam, the exam mode must also be ended by restarting the computers again. The time has to be specified accordingly on the satellite server and in the bwLehrpool Suite. Please plan approximately 15 minutes each for these procedures.

3.3. Access to the ILIAS exam platform

If the ILIAS-exams platform 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. There they will find the link to your ILIAS-exam with the content you have prepared (items, questions, files, etc.).

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

Please refer to our documentation on how to use the ILIAS exam platform:
https://www.uni-konstanz.de/en/teaching/advice-aid-resources-service/digitally-enhanced-teaching/instructions/