• Hours: Mon - Fri 9am-9pm & Sat 9am-1pm
• Urgent enquiries (in an exam, or about to start an exam)
  • Live chat: https://app.sli.do/event/i0yfbjdr
  • eLearning internal support hotline: 39433901
• Other enquiries
  • ITSC Online Service Desk: https://servicedesk.itsc.cuhk.edu.hk
  • Email: elearning@cuhk.edu.hk
  • ITSC Hotline: 39438845

• Be prepared to execute the backup plan (e.g. use of alternative technologies, arrangement of makeup exams)

• Carefully read the information shared on RES website for Examinations and on eLearning website for Assessment Support and share the applicable information with students
• Remind students to:
  • use a computer and a reliable network to do the exam
  • get ready using the planned and alternative technologies (see below)
• Consider the following:
  • use a staggered model for answer script submission so as to distribute the system load to help ensure a smooth process
  • accommodate students with special needs (need more time, need to use screen reader, need to use VPN service to access non-China hosted technologies, unstable internet, unstable power supply, etc.)
  • extend the exam time to allow students to deal with issues
  • contact respective offices for help and support if needed

• Anticipate everything that could go wrong and use the information to plan mitigation strategies.

• Consider the use of multiple technologies and inform students in advance the alternative technology to get the question paper to help ease the anxiety of the students
• Set up a "dummy" question paper using the selected technologies and ask students to try and confirm they can get the question paper

• Blackboard Test:
  • Avoid "force completion", avoid "prohibit backtracking", and display questions using "one-question-at-a-time presentation" (Best practices)
  • A critical bug which can cause loss of part of the student answer has been identified for essay questions. Hidden declarative html codes were added each time students use copy and paste in the content editor when answering an essay question. An answer with less than 300 visible words can be over the size limit and can't be saved. Please contact the support team if you plan to use essay questions in the exam.
• Respondus Lockdown Browser: In addition to the teacher and student info pages, the troubleshooting guide kindly shared by the Faculty of Medicine is highly suggested for students having difficulties with Respondus Lockdown Browser.

• Consider the use of multiple technologies and inform students in advance the alternative technology to submit the answer scripts to help ease the anxiety of the students
• Set up a "dummy" submission dropbox using the selected technologies and ask students to try and confirm they can submit a dummy answer scripts
• Inform the support team of the chosen technologies if the class is big (>300), the exam is tightly scheduled (should avoid and consider the staggered model), and the submission file size is big (e.g. video submissions to Panopto).

• Blackboard: Ask students to use a computer and reliable internet. Uses of Blackboard App and mobile web browsers on mobile devices (such as iPhone / iPad) are common causes of failures and must be avoided
• VeriGuide: Ask students to read the VeriGuide Express info page and get ready to use https://express.veriguide.org/cuhk/login to upload their files when needed
• Panopto Video Assignment Submission: Time is needed for video processing. If the queue is long, the uploaded video may only be viewable the next day. Contact the support team to review if the Pilot Panopto (Cloud) system should be used
• OneDrive (demo video): Teacher(s) may ask the students to name the file with student id, skip the password and email the share link to the teacher(s) for the submission.

• Balance security and convenience to ensure a safe environment for the exam
• Accommodate students with special needs (need more time, need to use screen reader, need to use special VPN service to access non-China hosted technologies, unstable internet, unstable power supply, insufficient storage for local recording, privacy concerns over the use of mic/camera in the home environment, etc.)
• Set up "dummy/practice" sessions using the selected technologies and ask the student to try and confirm they can manage and fulfil the requirements
• Inform students in advance and ask students to try also the alternative technology to help ease the anxiety of the students
• Pay attention to the number of participants one invigilator can manage under the gallery view of participants of different technologies (e.g. ZOOM: 25; MS Teams: 4)
• Pay attention to security options of different technologies to prevent unauthorized access(e.g. ZOOM: waiting room; MS Teams: lobby)

• OneDrive (demo video):
  • If live recording using ZOOM / MS Teams is not feasible for a candidate, the teacher may consider asking the student to do a local recording of him/her doing the exam, and then use OneDrive to submit the local recording to the teacher.
  • The teacher may ask the student to name the file with student id, set the password and email the share link to the teacher for the recording.
• ZOOM:
  • Practical Advice for Online Security for ZOOM and Privacy Issues for teachers and students issued by RES.
  • Starting May 4, the Waiting Room feature will be automatically turned on by default. If you have created your meetings before May 4, please review and enable this option for the protection.
  • In addition to getting familiarized with the waiting room feature, be reminded to deploy TAs to check students in the waiting room.
  • If your class do not involve students with limited internet access (e.g. ML China) and students are familiar with the login steps, please consider turning on "Allow only authenticated users to join (domain: *.cuhk.edu.hk)" for better protection and getting the meeting report (after the meeting) for attendance taking.
• MS Teams:
  • MS Teams > "Meet now" feature is available for all staff and students. In case ZOOM is not available, an urgent meeting can be set up according to this demo and sharing the meeting link with the students.
  • For the Ug courses with exams with "self-arranged invigilation" scheduled during the centralized online course exam period, an MS team site has been created (demo). Interested teachers may contact the support team for the project account needed to manage the respective team site and use it to host online meetings with the students.

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