Secure Quizzing Tools in BOLT

BOLT comes with several tools instructors may require you to use to take quizzes online.

Your instructor may require you to use Respondus LockDown Browser, Respondus LockDown Browser and Monitor, or Examity.

  

If your instructor requires LockDown Browser (or LockDown Browser and Monitor) for a quiz, we suggest

1. Downloading the LockDown Browser using our download link here: http://www.respondus.com/lockdown/download.php?id=666246493
2. Taking any practice quizzes your instructor has provided to make sure you are comfortable with how the browser works
3. Launching LockDown Browser from your desktop and logging into BOLT to take the quiz

If your instructor requires you to use Examity to take an online quiz, we suggest you
1. Go to the Examity dashboard (click the examity link in your course) right away to create your profile
2. Schedule your exam at least 24 hours prior to the posted exam start time (This is required!)
3. Arrive 15 minutes prior to the start of your exam to allow time to connect with the proctor and do any troubleshooting necessary.
4. Make sure your pop-up blocker is disabled.
5. Make sure your internet connection speed is 3 Mbps or higher.  Check here: http://www.speedtest.net/
6. Schedule then take any practice exam your instructor provides.

For step by step guides to using these tools, please go to http://www.bloomu.edu/imdc-bolt-quizsurvey

BOLT TIP: Give yourself time!

Give yourself enough time before deadlines to submit your work. If you login a minute before your paper is due, you may not be able to access the dropbox by the time you get to it!

BOLT TIP: If you have a problem, contact BOLT Support ASAP

If you experience technical difficulty taking quizzes, submitting to dropbox, posting to discussions, or taking surveys, contact BOLT Support right away!

The sooner we hear from you, and can get on-the-spot information, the sooner we will get you a resolution to your problem!

BOLT TIP: Submitting Work

Sometimes students contact BOLT Support to resolve issues related to submitting their work to instructors via BOLT. BOLT Support has a few tips that can really help Bloomsburg University students submit their assignments successfully.

Plan Ahead

Have a contingency plan in place in case you have difficulty submitting work. Know if and when BOLT will be unavailable for scheduled maintenance. Check BOLT news items and the BOLT Students Blog for notifications about downtime.

Keep It Simple

Name your files without punctuation, spaces, or special characters. If you can, submit one document once rather than five separate documents several times. Simplify your submissions.

Keep a Backup

Always back up your work. Keep a digital copy handy. You can keep backups on storage media such as flash drives or external hard drives, on Microsoft One Drive, on other cloud storage solutions, or on your Bloomsburg University P drive.

Give Yourself Time

Give yourself enough time to submit work prior to the due date. If your assignment is due at 11:59pm, give yourself until 11:49pm to submit or post. If you wait until the last minute, taking time to click through BOLT to the submission area might make your submission late!

Check For Verification

BOLT sends submission receipts by email for dropbox submissions. It is good practice to check blogs, journals, wikis, and discussion topics after posting to ensure your work was submitted. If not, re-submit or contact your instructor and BOLT Support immediately.

BOLT TIP: Keep Your Filenames Simple

When you are submitting work to BOLT, keep things simple.

Don't use spaces, punctuation, or special characters in your filenames!

BOLT doesn't like those things in filenames and may not accept your file.

EXAMPLE:

Your professor wants you to submit a paper to the Paper#1 Dropbox. You create a document file called paper#1yourlastname.docx. When you go to submit the document to BOLT, you cannot upload your file.

Q: Why does this happen?

A: BOLT does not like the # sign in your filename. 

Q: How can you fix it?

A: Remove the special character from your filename (paper1yourlastname.docx for example) and make sure there are no spaces or other punctuation marks in your filename. Then try submitting the renamed file to BOLT.

BOLT TIP: Don't use Safari to access blogs, journals, podcasts, or wikis

A wiki in BOLT

Using Safari to access blogs, journals, podcasts, or wikis in BOLT causes a login error due to the browser's security settings.

We recommend using a different browser such as Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome to access these tools in BOLT.

If you try to access a blog, journal, podcast, or wiki and are prompted to login, please try using one of the recommended browsers.