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Using Schoolyear secure exam browser

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With Schoolyear connected, you can require students to take a test in the Schoolyear Browser, a secure exam browser. An admin connects Schoolyear once, with an API secret from Schoolyear. Teachers then turn on Require the use of Schoolyear for each test that needs it, after giving the test a start and end date.

Schoolyear is one of three secure exam browsers you can use when you deliver tests online with Examplary. Only students who are signed in to Examplary can take a Schoolyear test.

Before you start

You need a Schoolyear account for your school. Schoolyear works on every Examplary plan. Only admins and owners can connect it; after that, every teacher can turn it on for their own tests.

Connect Schoolyear to your workspace

An admin or owner connects Schoolyear once for the whole workspace. First, get the API secret from Schoolyear:

  1. Sign in to the Schoolyear dashboard.
  2. Click your name in the top right corner and choose Admin Console.
  3. Under Add-ons, click Add and select Examplary.
  4. Copy the Secret and save the add-on.

Then turn on Schoolyear in Examplary:

  1. Go to Account settings and, under Workspace, open Integrations.
  2. Click Enable on the Schoolyear card.
  3. Paste the secret into API secret. Leave API endpoint as it is, unless Schoolyear gave you a different one.
  4. Click Enable.

Examplary checks the secret with Schoolyear before it saves anything. When Schoolyear accepts it, you see Integration saved and the card shows Enabled.

Require Schoolyear for a test

  1. Open the test and go to Settings → Online assessment.
  2. Under Security, turn on Start and end dates and set the Start date & time and End date & time.
  3. Turn on Require the use of Schoolyear.

Changes save automatically. As soon as the test has both dates and Schoolyear is on, Examplary creates a matching test in Schoolyear. When you later change the test's name, its dates or Disable browser spell check, Examplary updates the Schoolyear test as well.

No dates, no Schoolyear test

Schoolyear needs to know when the test is open. Without a start and end date, the settings show Set a start and end date to be able to use Schoolyear. and nothing is created in Schoolyear yet.

Open Schoolyear's configuration and exam dashboard

With Schoolyear on and both dates set, the test settings show two buttons:

  • Configuration opens Schoolyear's settings for this test, such as its browser settings.
  • Exam dashboard opens Schoolyear's live dashboard, where you follow the students' sessions during the test.

Each click creates a fresh link, so always open these pages from Examplary instead of bookmarking them.

Share the test with your students

Examplary needs a student's account to start a secure Schoolyear session for them, so share the test with students who have one:

  1. Make sure your students have a student account in Examplary. See Importing users & groups.
  2. Invite the students or groups through Share → Manage access.... How that works is in Sharing a test with your students.
  3. Ask students to open the test before the day itself. The first time, Schoolyear asks them to install the Schoolyear Browser.

If the test is open to Anyone with the link, the settings warn that only signed-in students can use Schoolyear. Students without an account can't take the test.

What students see

  1. The student opens the test.
  2. If they aren't signed in, they see Sign in to continue and click Sign in.
  3. Under Open in Schoolyear, they click Open Schoolyear.
  4. Schoolyear opens the test in the Schoolyear Browser, after installing it if needed.
  5. The student starts the test inside the Schoolyear Browser.

Starting the test in a normal browser doesn't work: Examplary checks that the test runs in the Schoolyear Browser. A teacher or admin who opens the test sees Only students can take this test.

Turn Schoolyear off for a test

Turn off Require the use of Schoolyear in the test settings. Examplary archives the matching test in Schoolyear, which takes it out of Schoolyear's planning. Students who are already in a secure session aren't closed out.

You can turn Schoolyear on again later. Examplary then reuses the same Schoolyear test and brings its settings up to date.

Troubleshooting

I can't find Integrations. Only admins and owners see it under Account settings. Ask an admin in your workspace to connect Schoolyear, or email hi@examplary.ai.

Examplary doesn't accept the secret. Copy it from Schoolyear again, without spaces before or after it. API endpoint has to start with https:// and end in schoolyear.app. The error is in English, for example Schoolyear did not accept the provided secret. If it keeps failing, ask Schoolyear to check the secret.

I don't see Require the use of Schoolyear. Check that the Schoolyear card shows Enabled under Integrations. If Safe Exam Browser or Muute is already required for this test, turn that off first: a test can require only one secure browser.

The Configuration and Exam dashboard buttons are missing. The test needs a start and end date. Set both under Start and end dates.

A student is asked to sign in. That's how Schoolyear tests work. The student signs in with their student account, then clicks Open Schoolyear.

A student sees "Only students can take this test". They're signed in with a teacher or admin account. Ask them to sign out and sign in with their student account.

A student can't start the test. They're probably in a normal browser. Ask them to open the test link and click Open Schoolyear.

Schoolyear doesn't open on the school network. The network has to allow *.schoolyear.app. See Allowlisting Examplary on your network.

Further reading

Using Schoolyear secure exam browser · Examplary