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Tips for OWL Brightspace Online Exams

Added on December 17, 2025 by Allyson Steward

Preparing for and completing online assessments requires an additional level of consideration for both instructors and students.

The following best practices will help instructors deliver their online assessments and prepare students to complete their online exams. The tips and resources provide guidance on how to prevent potential technological disruptions to online exams and what to do in case any technological challenges do arise.

Tips for Students

OWL Brightspace Best Practices

In preparation for assessments in OWL Brightspace, you should follow these best practices prior to and during your assessment.

1. Review OWL Brightspace Help documentation and training resources ahead of your assessment.

Enroll in the Taking Flight with OWL Brightspace training course for students to learn about the tools you may be using for your assessment. Check the Learner FAQ in OWL Brightspace Help to anticipate any issues you may encounter during your assessment.

2. Use an up-to-date and supported web browser.

Ensure your web browser is up-to-date. It is recommended that you have a second browser installed as a back-up in case you have technical problems. For more information on OWL Brightspace-supported browsers, check D2L’s Browser Support documentation.

3. Disable any browser extensions or add-ons that could interfere with your assessment.

Browser extensions like ad blockers can affect OWL Brightspace pages. To avoid any potential interference with your exam, you should disable browser extensions for OWL Brightspace.

4. Log into OWL Brightspace at least 5 minutes before your assessment.

Logging into OWL Brightspace early will help to mitigate any slowness you may experience accessing your assessment.

5. Confirm your responses are saving as you complete the assessment.

OWL Brightspace Quizzes auto-save question responses as you complete the assessment. You should see a save confirmation appear every time you answer a question.

When answering essay or short-answer questions, click out of the text field to trigger the auto-save.

6. Use the navigation buttons in OWL Brightspace.

Instead of using your web browser’s forward and back buttons, use the navigation buttons in OWL Brightspace.

7. Confirm that your submission was successful.

After submitting your assessment, go to the assessment list to confirm that you have completed an attempt or made a submission. You can also check your Western email for a submission confirmation receipt.

General Best Practices

Regardless of what tools you are completing your assessment with, be sure to:

1. Restart your computer in advance.

This ensures your computer will be running at its best. Be sure to also complete any software updates prior to your assessment, so they do not interrupt you.

2. Review your assessment information and instructions.

Familiarizing yourself with the format and expectations of your assessment will help you to be prepared. Ask your instructor before the assessment about what to expect.

3. Have a reliable internet connection.

Connectivity issues can cause slowness or disruptions during your assessment. If possible, use an ethernet (wired) connection rather than Wi-Fi (wireless).

4. Close non-essential apps that may take up bandwidth.

Other apps may slow down your connection while you complete your assessment. Closing these apps may help prevent slowness and disruptions.

5. Use an up-to-date and supported web browser.

Ensure your browser (such as Chrome or Firefox) is up-to-date. It is recommended that you have a second browser installed as a back-up in case you have technical problems. Avoid using browser plug-ins or extensions that could interfere with the tools you are using for your assessment.

6. Restart your browser if you experience technical problems.

If you experience connectivity problems or an error, close your browser, log back into OWL, and resume your assessment.

Resources for Students

Technical Help

Academic Help


Tips for Instructors

OWL Brightspace Best Practices

If you’re using the OWL Brightspace Quizzes or Assignments tools for your assessments, follow these best practices prior to and during your assessment.

1. Inform students on what to expect from the exam format.

Providing an overview of your exam format for students will help them prepare and reduce the number of questions you may receive before and during your exam.

2. Let your students know how many questions and/or sections will be in your exam.

Tell your students what time and day your exam will become available and when it will close and whether they will have a time limit.

3. Communicate to students where to find technical support during their exam.

When facing technical problems during an exam, it's important for students to know where to go for support. Be sure to communicate these resources to students prior to their exam.

4. Avoid editing an exam while it is in progress.

While an exam is active and students are in progress, you should avoid editing the questions or settings of that published assessment. Editing an exam while it is in progress will only change the quiz for future attempts. Editing the quiz will not make any modifications to existing attempts or attempts-in-progress.

5. Expect that students could encounter problems.

When preparing for online exams, anticipating potential problems and having a contingency in place is important. Consider having an alternative submission method available and alternate exam questions prepared in case a make-up exam needs to be offered.

6. Be present while your exam is running.

Just like an in-person exam, it is important for you as the instructor to be present in case students need to contact you with questions or concerns regarding their exam. As the exam is running, you can see how many students are in progress and how many have submitted.

7. Communicate with your students if problems do occur.

If you become aware of problems with your exam, it is important to communicate that to all of your students. Using the Announcements tool in your OWL Brightspace course allows you to inform students and send a copy of the announcement via email.

Resources for Instructors

Technical Help

Academic Help