Online exams can be created in cuLearn using the Quiz activity or the Assignment activity. With the Quiz activity, you can create a timed exam using multiple choice questions, or multiple question types, such as matching, short answer, true/false, and more. With the Assignment activity, you can create an exam submission dropbox where students can upload electronic text or media files within a specified time window. Below you’ll find instructions and tips for creating online exams, as well as information about student support for online exams and PMC online exam accommodations
Quiz Exams
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Assignment Exams
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Creating a Quiz Exam in cuLearn
When setting up a quiz exam in cuLearn, the best practice is to use a question bank category to organize and manage your exam questions.
See the step-by-step instructions below:
STEP 1: Set up a question category in your question bank
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Create a “Final Exam” category in your Question Bank.
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STEP 3: Add the quiz activity to your course
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STEP 4: Add the exam questions from your question bank category to your quiz
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QUIZ EXAM TIPS:
- Preview your quiz to see how students will view your exam.
- Create a practice test to help students prepare for the exam. Providing your students with a realistic practice test (complete with questions from previous exams/tests) can alleviate part of students’ anxiety and help familiarize them with the online exam format. To set up a practice test, create a zero point quiz (so it will not count toward their mark in the gradebook) and allow students an unlimited number of attempts so they can review and practice as many times as they wish.
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Reviewing and Grading Quiz Exams in cuLearn
Tips to Improve Security and Reduce Cheating
Whenever students are evaluated, instructors need to find ways to prevent students from sharing their answers. This can be especially challenging when administering online assessments/evaluations. Most online quizzes are completed outside the classroom environment (though that need not be the case necessarily), so there need to be security features in place to make cheating more challenging. For some tips and suggestions on how to prevent cheating, please review the strategies listed below:
✓ Shuffle the order of the questions presented to students
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✓ Randomize the order of the responses to each question
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- To randomize the responses, enable “Shuffle the choices?” in the Question Behaviour section of your quiz settings when creating questions
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✓ Give students different questions by randomly selecting from a larger Question Bank
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✓ Set a time limit for taking the quiz once started
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✓ Limit the availability period of an exam
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- The availability period can be set in the Timing section of your Quiz settings by enabling the “open the quiz” and “close the quiz” date/time. Students will not be able to access the exam before the specified open time or after the close time
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✓ Control which aspects of the quiz may be reviewed upon completion by adjusting the Review Options in your quiz settings
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- Review Purposes: If you are using a cuLearn Quiz for review purposes, you may want to limit Quiz feedback to: The attempt (what students selected for their answer) and General feedback (verbal feedback given to all students regardless of their response to the question).
- Test/Exam Purposes: If you are using a cuLearn Quiz for assessment/testing purposes, students should only see their attempt until the Quiz is closed (no further attempts may be made by anyone in the class-including PMC students). When the Quiz is closed, students should be able to see their attempt, whether it was correct, their mark and any relevant feedback.
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✓ Use the Calculated question type to allow the use of wild cards to randomize the values in the question
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✓ Require students to agree to an honour statement
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- You can add an honour code statement in your quiz description when setting up your quiz. The description should state that by attempting the quiz, you accept and agree to all statements made within the honour code. Another way to reinforce academic integrity is to have students sign a contract emphasizing the University’s academic integrity policy and outlining consequences for violations.
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✓ Make students aware of Moodle’s tracking and logging abilities
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- If students understand that their actions within cuLearn are recorded in log files, they will be less likely to attempt to circumvent technology. Student tracking data can be found in the Logs. If you would like some help pulling out specific data contact the EDC at 613-520-2600 x4433 or edc@carleton.ca.
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✓ Add extra restrictions on exam attempts
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- Require password: Students must enter a password in order to attempt the quiz. This is especially useful for a proctored quiz where you want to ensure that only students in a specific location are able to access the quiz.
- Require network address: Like the require password setting, this is useful when you want to limit quiz access to specified computer lab on campus, or just campus in general for example).
- Browser Security: If this option is selected, the quiz will appear in a full screen pop-up (students’ computers must allow pop-ups) that covers all other windows and has no navigation controls. Students will be prevented from using copy and paste features
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✓ Use Higher-order thinking Questions
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- Write questions that address higher-order thinking skills (such as case studies) to force students to evaluate a situation or a problem, engaging them in critical thinking
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✓ Display only one exam question at a time
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Quiz FAQ
- How do I make quiz grades visible to students?
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Making quiz grades visible to students
- Log in to cuLearn using your MyCarletonOne credentials.
- Click on your course link.
- Click on the Exam Link
- Click on the blue gear icon on the top-right side of the page.
- In the drop-down menu, select Edit settings.

- Scroll down to Review options. Click to expand this section.
- Under After the quiz is closed, check the box next to Marks.

NOTE: You can also decide to let them view their attempt (how they answer each question), whether their answer for a specific question was correct and what the correct answers are.
- How do I review students' exam attempts?
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If you want all the students to see their attempt you can modify the exam settings. You can also decide to let them see just their grade, their attempt (how they answer each question), whether their answer for a specific question was correct and what the correct answers are. See instructions below
If you are talking for review purposes you have a couple of options each with some caveats depending on if you want a digital copy of your exam out there.
- Send student a Pdf of their attempt – Easiest and most likely to invalidate exam for future use
See reviewing quiz results
Be careful, the pdf will have been marked and will contain the correct answers. Do not share PDF with the student unless you are okay with your exam with the correct answer potentially being distributed widely.
- Review the attempt with the student – Moderately easy, smaller possibility of invalidating exam
Same as #1, but instead of sending the student a file you would review it with them in a webinar with just the two of you (BigBlueButton or zoom or teams).
The only issue here is your time and it is still possible that the student will make a copy while watching the video.
- Over the phone – Hardest
Hard to do this as you have to read the questions/answers and go through the exam with the student.
- How do I manually grade short answer/essay questions?
See the instructions below from the Quizzes page:
To view and grade the text answers for a quiz:
- Log in to your cuLearn course page
- Click on the link for the Quiz.
- Click the Gear icon to access the quiz administration settings. (See the screen image below for a visual of this setting.).

- Click on Manual Grading. (See the screen image above for the visual).
- Click on the words Grade all underneath the Total column (right hand side of the screen) for the specific question you want to grade. See the screen image below for a visual of this screen and the grade all link.

- Scroll down to the first question.
- Enter the grade into the Mark box for each question
- Continue grading any other questions listed
- Click Save and go to the next page to save the grades. As you mark each question, the grade will be saved for each student and then tallied for the student’s quiz total once the short answers are all graded. The final grade on the quiz will be pushed to the gradebook column by cuLearn.
If you have any questions about this, please feel free to email edtech@carleton.ca or call extension 4433.
Creating an Assignment Exam in cuLearn
cuLearn’s assignments activity allows you to create a submission drop-box where students can upload their text or media exam files.
Assignment FAQ
- Can I change the assignment max grade?
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The max grade can be changed in the assignment settings, NOT in the gradebook.
To change the maximum grade:
- From your course homepage, click on the assignment
- Click on gear icon on the top right-hand side and select “Edit settings” from the drop-down menu.

- Scroll down to the Grade heading and click on it to expand the options.
- Change the “Maximum grade” to whatever you would like.

- Scroll to the bottom of the page and click “Save and return to course“.
- Can I see if a student has tried to submit an assignment?
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Yes, there are logs in cuLearn that can tell you if a student attempted to submit the assignment.
For successful submissions, the report should include the following:
- Submission form viewed.
- A file has been uploaded.
- Submission created.
- The user has accepted the statement of the submission.
- A submission has been submitted.
To see the logs:
- Click on the assignment from the course homepage
- Click the blue Gear icon on the top-right side of the page and select “Logs” from the drop-down menu.

- Click “All participants” and select the specific student from the drop-down menu.

- Click “Get these logs”
NOTE: In the assignment settings, if you do not have a “Cut-off date” set or have the “Require students to click the submit button” setting checked, students will be able to edit their submission at any time. These new submissions will be flagged as late if the deadline has passed.
Student Support for Online Exams
Exam help line message
If you have an urgent issue during your exam, Carleton’s Joint Online Exams Team is maintaining a toll-free emergency line (1-877-557-2930). Support for cuLearn, Information Technology Services, Scheduling and Examination Services and the Paul Menton Centre will be available. |
Online Exam Accommodations
For formally scheduled exams PMC accommodations will be applied by Scheduling & Examination Services. For exams that are not formally scheduled, you can apply a quiz override in cuLearn or contact the PMC for more information about the Accommodation Process.
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