Put Excel to Work in Your Online Exams
Some exam questions require more than selecting an answer. Students might need to build a financial model, create a chart, calculate ratios, or analyze a set of data.
For those types of questions, instructors can allow students to use Microsoft Excel during an online exam with LockDown Browser and Respondus Monitor, while continuing to block access to other applications, websites, and resources.
And with screen recording, instructors can see more than the final spreadsheet or answer. They can review how the student approached the problem: the formulas they used, the calculations they performed, the charts they created, and the steps they took to arrive at their answer.
This makes the process part of the assessment, not just the final result.
Here are a few ways instructors are putting Excel to work.
Accounting
Provide an Excel spreadsheet in the assessment that contains a cash flow statement. Students use the spreadsheet to answer questions, then submit their completed Excel file.
With screen recording, instructors can review both the final spreadsheet and how the student worked through the problem.
Statistics
Provide students with raw data and ask them to use Excel to create charts, perform calculations, and interpret the results.
Students submit their spreadsheet along with the exam, allowing instructors to evaluate both their analysis and their final answers.
Finance
Excel can also be used without requiring students to submit a file.
For example, an instructor can provide an Excel file containing financial data as part of an exam question. Students open the file, perform the required financial calculations in Excel, and use their results to answer questions in the online exam.
Biology
Students might gather plant-growth data for a lab or an assignment. During the assessment, they can use that data to create scatter plots and trendlines, then answer questions that demonstrate their ability to analyze and interpret the results.
Have an Idea?
Want to learn more about using Excel with online assessments – or share how you’re already using it? Connect with our Customer Success & Training team at [email protected].
New to Respondus? Start a conversation with us at [email protected].
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