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Using Respondus 3.5
If you are a faculty member at the University of Kentucky, and are looking to use Respondus to import your exam questions into your Blackboard course shell, this page will offer information and directions on using the software.
Installing Respondus
Before you begin, please visit our Wiki that provides information on how to install the software.
Once you have reviewed the Wiki information and installed Respondus, you will want to open it and select Help and then Check for Updates. This will get you the latest version that interacts with Blackboard 9. If you have already installed Respondus and the "Blackboard 6.3-9x" option is not available in the drop-down menu, reinstalling the software (and then checking for updates) should solve the problem.
Preparing Your Exam Questions for Importing
Before you can import your exam questions you will need to set up your file in a format that works with Respondus. Respondus will import multiple choice, true-false, essay, fill in the blank, and multiple answer questions. Your plain text, rich-text, or MS Word file must be organized in a "Standard Format" before it can be imported into Respondus. For detailed information on formatting your file before importing, read the "Standard Format for Importing Questions" page, which is taken directly from the Help Menu in Respondus.
Importing Your Exam Questions
Once you have set up your file for importing, open Respondus and select Import Questions from the Start page.
When you click on that you will get a pop-up screen to fill in:
- Select the type of file you are importing (plain text, Word doc, etc)
- Browse for your file
- Enter in the name for the exam (what it will be called in Blackboard - which can be different than the file name)
- Select Preview.
When you select Preview, the exam questions will import and Respondus will look for errors. Common errors can be misnumbered questions, no correct answer indicated, failure to enter Type: MT or Type: F when indicated, etc. If you receive errors, you can go back to your file, make the changes, re-save it, and import it again.
If everything comes back with "No warnings" click on Finish.
Editing Your Exam Questions
After you click OK when the pop-up says "File Saved", you will automatically go to the Edit page. You can choose to edit your questions here if needed. Otherwise, you can move on to Settings.
Choosing Your Exam Settings
On the Settings page, you can choose to set things such as random blocks and availability. If you want to set Random Blocks, click on the button and a pop-up screen will appear. Choose your settings, and then click OK.
Next, choose your Availability settings. Note: these can be set/changed in Blackboard as well, but you have the option to set these prior to importing your exam into your course shell. Notice you have the option to lock down the student's browser once they enter the exam. This is helpful in preventing students from printing, copying, going to another URL, or accessing other applications during the exam session.
Under the option Other Settings you can choose whether the grades get calculated into the Gradebook, your preferred feedback options, and how the questions are presented to students.
Note: You may want to choose to NOT show the correct answers at this time. If you have multiple students taking the exam at potentially different times, this will prevent them from seeing the correct answers when they finish their exam and passing them to another student before all the exams have been completed.
Previewing and Publishing Your Exam
Once you are comfortable with all the settings, proceed to the Preview and Publish page. Here you can choose to preview your exam.
If everything looks satisfactory, select Publish to Blackboard to access the Publish Wizard. If you already have your Settings established, you can click on Next. If you don't, or if you need to change them, click on Edit Settings.
If you click on Edit Settings, you will be need to select one of the following:
When changing or entering your settings, you can enter in the URLs, or click on Extract for Respondus to fill in your information. Choose a Description (what you want to call it - I chose "My Bb server") and any other information.
When you are finished, click OK and then you are taken back to the "Publish Wizard" screen, where you then click Next. On the next screen, you will choose your course (from a drop-down menu) and select whether you want to create or replace an exam or survey. If everything looks complete, click Next.
Next you will see a screen that allows you identify where you want your exam to be imported. The list of folders reflects what you have set up in your shell already. Select where you want your exam to be placed, and click Next.
Respondus will now publish your exam with all the settings you have identified into your Blackboard course shell. When publishing is complete, you should see a message like the following. Note the pop-up message reminding you about the implications regarding choosing the Lock Down feature. Click Ok on the pop-up, and then click Finish.
Check Your Work
Congratulations, you are done! Open your Blackboard course shell and you should see the exam placed in the folder you identified and with the settings you indicated. You can, at any time, edit your exam and alter your settings if you need to in Blackboard.
Questions?
Contact Laura Orsetti with your questions or comments about this page.
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