Quizzes – How to Set Up A Synchronous Quiz

Go to Activities > Quizzes > select quiz > Edit

Under the Availability Dates & Conditions tab, set a Start Date and Time for your quiz. Then enter the time you want the quiz to be available. The time you enter is when the quiz starts for students.

** An End Date/Time is not required for synchronous quizzes. 

Under the Timing & Display tab > click the Set Time limit > enter a Time Limit > click Timer Settings

In the Timing dialog, under Quiz Start, select Synchronous: Timer starts on the start date.

Note: If there is no Start time and date set for the synchronous quiz, a No start date set alert appears under the radio button option and you are not able to save the quiz. Due date is disabled for synchronous quizzes.

Under When The Time Limit Expires, select one of the following:

• Automatically submit the quiz attempt
• Flag as “exceeded time limit” and allow the learner to continue working
• Do nothing: the time limit is not enforced

For a learner taking a synchronous quiz, the Start Quiz button is disabled until the start date and time arrives. A countdown timer appears on the Quiz Start page to indicate the time remaining before the quiz becomes available.

If no start date and time is set for the synchronous quiz, the No Start date set alert appears under the selected option, and you cannot save the quiz. The Due Date option is disabled for synchronous quizzes.

The Grace Period option has been removed and is no longer available.

To ensure that learners are aware of upcoming synchronous quizzes, instructors should create instructional or manual solutions:

• Make a synchronous quiz visible in the calendar:
  • Instructors can select Add availability dates to Calendar or set up an event showing the whole time.
  • Instructors should use the Start Date parameter when setting up a synchronous quiz and leave the End Date field empty.
  • Learners must have the Allows Out of Date Quizzes to be Viewed in the User Quiz List permission to see the quiz in their calendar.
• Create an announcement with information about the synchronous quiz.
• Set up an event and give a link to the quiz to provide more context.

Instructors must modify or review quizzes one by one to avoid accidentally modifying quiz availability dates for synchronous quizzes.

A synchronous quiz starts at the Start Date and ends when the time limit has lapsed, regardless of any action taken by the learner. For example, if a learner clicks Start Quiz! 15 minutes after the start date on a 1-hour quiz, they only have 45 minutes left to complete it.

To indicate when a quiz becomes available, learners have a countdown timer on the Quiz Information and Start Quiz pages. The Start Quiz! button becomes available when the start date and time is reached.

Figure: A countdown timer on the Start Quiz page.

Instructors can provide learners with information about a synchronous quiz before it starts. Learners can access this information in the Quiz Information page if they have the Allows Out of Date Quizzes to be Viewed in the User Quiz List permission.

If this permission needs to be disabled for any reason, administrators must ensure that instructors can do the following:

• Make sure the activity is visible in the calendar (optional)
• Check that learners are aware of an upcoming quiz
• Provide effective reminders