avoid depending on either testing centers or online proctoring services; they’ll be swamped anyway.

Examity is our proctoring service, but many students do not have good experiences with it. Respondus proctor, I am told, doesn’t work at all – so I'd avoid it.

instructors should begin building exam question libraries and getting familiar with setting up quizzes. In the case of large enrollment courses, exam questions might be shared among instructors. Be sure to keep database structures logical and simple.

set up quiz questions so that options are scrambled. Set up exams so that questions are served randomly. Integrate JPGs into exam questions when possible to increase the quality of the question. Although the establishment thinking is that multiple choice questions are not good, I tend to differ. A lot of that negativity is because of Scantrons that allow only five choices. My online MC questions sometimes have 15 choices. My opinion. Map questions using jpegs are a cinch in the online environment.

use Canvas Discussions tool to manage proctored exam venues and timing with a self-reservation posting method. This is a huge time saver.

create facial recognition files and class folders to place into cloud storage for identification on your smartphone or tablet. This works well for identity verification at exams.

direct students to load OSU’s version of Respondus Lockdown browser onto their personal laptops and make sure their laptops are fully charged before exams. But using Lockdown browser still requires proctoring!

hold exams outdoors in locations such the south library lawn, the lawn north of the library, Theta Pond, north of old central, Murray patio, sports stadiums, basically anywhere reliable outdoor WiFi is available. (Perhaps IT will set up temporary WiFi routers to make outdoor setting available for testing.) Any outdoor venue with WiFi can essentially serve as a safer testing facility, especially when students use their own laptops. Even off-campus WiFi-enabled locations (i.e., I could use my backyard) can serve as a testing center for your own students.

hold outdoor exam sessions in one space over longer periods, and stagger multiple test sessions to reduce crowd size. I have students reserve sessions at 30 minute intervals throughout the day. The idea is that only a few people will ever interact in one place at the same time.

realize that it’s far easier to change access codes on exams throughout exam days than to worry about secure access codes. Develop a system that works for you. Mine is names of towns in Texas. I change the access code to a new Texas town every hour or so, and only the students who are onsite get that code from me. Do not use the same code (or exam) for students taking exams at testing centers or via Examity. In fact, because of the way Canvas is structured, you will have to have a completely independent version of the exam for Examity users.