Respondus 4.0: Retrieving Exams From an LMS

Respondus 4.0 is known for making it easy to create an exam and publish it to a learning system, but the story doesn’t end there. Respondus 4.0 is loaded with features that make the management of exams easier within both the online and print world.

One such feature is located on the Retrieval tab. While the retrieval features differ somewhat by learning system,* a common feature is the ability to “retrieve” (i.e. download) an assessment from an online course to Respondus 4.0. And it doesn’t matter how the assessment got into the online course in the first place, they all retrieve the same way with Respondus.

Being able to retrieve exams from online courses opens up many possibilities for the instructor, such as the three listed below.

Print Assessments
Even if the majority of assessments are delivered online, there are times when a printed assessment is handy. For example, an instructor may prefer to use a printout for make-up exams, or to print an exam using a large font for visually impaired students. It’s also nice to print the exam and answer key for in-class reviews following an online assessment.

All of this is easily accomplished with the Retrieval task in Respondus 4.0. An instructor simply retrieves the assessment and selects whether to print it or save it to another format, such as a Word document.

Update Assessments
Instructors will often start a new term using a “course backup” from an earlier time. Updating the exam questions can be time-consuming in the learning system itself. The process is greatly simplified by retrieving the exams with Respondus 4.0. Once downloaded, it is easy to edit the questions, add new questions from a publisher test bank, bring in questions from a Word file, add media files and equations, and so forth. Once the exam is updated, simply publish it back to the online course.

Move Assessments to Other Courses or Learning Systems
If you’re good at connecting the dots, you probably now see that Respondus 4.0 enables you to move assessments from one course to another — and even to an entirely new learning system. The media files and formatting in the exams are retained during these migrations, and Respondus 4.0 even deals with the differences between learning systems. While it appears to work like magic, there’s some pretty cool programming behind the smoke and mirrors!

To see how easy it is to move an assessment from one learning system to another, take a look at this brief video.

If you’ve never used the Retrieval feature in Respondus 4.0, it’s worth checking out. It just might become your new best friend.

* The Retrieval feature is available for the Blackboard, ANGEL, Desire2Learn, eCollege, and Moodle personalities in Respondus. See the online help or user guide for more information.

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