This article provides guidance for students taking quizzes on the U of A's new LMS Canvas. For general recommendations on taking online exams, the guidelines provided for eClass still apply.

Quizzes in Canvas

The Canvas learning management system has two types of quizzes, Classic Quizzes and New Quizzes, each with slightly different user interfaces. For the most part, answering questions in either quiz type is similar.

Compared to quiz types in eClass, one great advantage of both is that test takers do not have to worry about answers being saved only when they change pages or deliberately click a button to save them. Answers are saved automatically as they are entered.

Typically, you will find a link to your quizzes under Canvas Modules:

Click on the quiz name to get started.

If your instructor is proctoring the quiz with Smart Exam Monitor, you must load it in a new Google Chrome browser window as instructed:

Instructions for using Smart Exam Monitor are available at Using Smart Exam Monitor (SEM) - Students.

Taking a New Quiz

As mentioned above, a New quiz is usually accessed under Modules and may be proctored with Smart Exam Monitor. 

Important note: it can be confusing to access a quiz from the gradebook in a course - this shows the 'results view' of a quiz displaying messages that 'No preview is available' and that 'Grades are unavailable because the instructor is working on them.' To launch the quiz from there, click the quiz name in the top bread crumbs:

If your instructor has set an 'Available from' time on a quiz before which the quiz is not accessible and a quiz close time, students will see the quiz time range and when it is locked until:

After the launch time has passed, students will see their time limit, if one exists, the quiz due date and the box to enter an access code (quiz password), if one exists:

Note that if there is a specific closing time set on your quiz, this will not be visible on the quiz launch page so you should be aware of any limits in advance. If you launch a 1-hour time limited quiz LESS than an hour before the close time, the close time will be applied (this will shown by the quiz timer while taking your attempt.)

If your access code is entered correctly, you may Begin the quiz:

If your instructor has not added access code, simply click Begin.

Unless your instructor has restricted your ability to navigate freely in the quiz, you can navigate between questions with the Next and Previous buttons:

or by clicking a question number from the left side navigation menu:

The left-side menu can expanded to display the first few words of the question. You can access questions by clicking on the question name. You can also 'pin' a question you are unsure about to make it easier to return to later. Click the 'pin' icon to fill in the icon:

Your instructor may also allow using a built-in standard or scientific calculator in your quiz. The icon to open the calculator is located at the top of the quiz page by the timer countdown:

Text and essay answers

For any question type requiring text entry, you will have access to the Canvas Rich Content Editor with its variety of editing and formatting tools. If your instructor has set word limits, you will see the word count and word limit displayed at the bottom right of the editor window:

Note that if your instructor has set word limits, you will be allowed to exceed them - your answer will be flagged as exceeding the limit but you will not lose any part of your answer and your instructor will decide what penalty to apply.

Taking a Classic quiz

When you start a Classic quiz, you will see the following information about the quiz:

• When it is due
• How many points the quiz is worth
• How many questions are included
• When the quiz becomes available
• How much time you have to complete the quiz

Note: The number of points will not necessarily be the weight included in the final grade your instructor has assigned to the quiz.

When you are ready to start, click Take the quiz:

If your instructor has set an access code or password for the quiz, submit it here. Otherwise, this page will be skipped:

Once you have started, you will be presented with any instructions your instructor has included for the quiz overall, and you will see your first question:

Unless your instructor has restricted your ability to navigate freely in the quiz, you can navigate between questions with the Next and Previous buttons

You can also skip to questions by clicking on the question name at the top right of the quiz page:

If your instructor has not restricted your ability to navigate freely, you can also flag a question you are unsure about to make it easier to come back to later:

Once you are ready, you can click to Submit quiz:

You will receive a warning that once submitted, you cannot change your answers.