Activity — Online Exam
Attach a timed, auto-graded online exam whose scores flow into the gradebook.
What it is
An Online Exam activity attaches one of your Online Exam instances to the course. It is a timed, auto-graded assessment, and its attempt scores flow straight into the course gradebook. This is the LMS surface for the Online Exam product.
How to add it
- In Course content, click Add activity in a topic.
- Pick Online Exam.
Pick an existing exam from the list (configMode: instance, sourced from /api/online-exams) — or use Create new to jump into the exam builder and come straight back with the new exam attached (direct-create).
- Click Add to course.
Because this activity supports direct create, choosing it can take you straight to the exam builder pre-scoped to this course and topic; the new exam is auto-attached on save.
What students see
Students open the exam by navigating to the exam page in the app (openMode: navigate → /exam/:id), take it within the time limit, and submit. Auto-graded sections are scored immediately. The exam now opens right on the course page — embedded inline (with a fullscreen toggle) or in a clean full-page player with the rest of the app stripped away, so students focus on the exam. After they submit they get a View results button, and course completion is recorded automatically.
Teacher preview & dry runs
Teachers clicking the exam activity no longer see the student attempt screen — they get a Teacher preview card with the exam’s duration, marks, attempts and schedule window, plus Preview question paper, Analytics and Manage shortcuts. The headline button, Take a dry run — not recorded, plays the real exam player end-to-end: no marks stored, no results, no analytics, no attempts used, no completions or alerts triggered. Dry runs work before the scheduled start too — the whole point is checking the paper before it opens.
Grading & completion
An exam is gradable. Its score reaches the gradebook from the student's exam attempts (gradeSource: examattempts), and completion is automatic on submission. Because it is auto-graded, you can also attach completion conditions in the activity settings — mark it complete when the student opens it, or only once they score at least a set percentage — and course progress follows those criteria.