Winter 2008 Laptop Exam Information

Students who plan to take in-class essay exams on laptop must install the most current version of the Electronic Bluebook (EBB) software.

NEW: The current version of EBB is v. 3.54.0015 (Windows) and v. 2.00.0021 (Mac). The version number can be found at the bottom of the Welcome screen in EBB. The current version of EBB was released on April 1, 2008.

The current version of the Electronic Bluebook (EBB) exam software is available from the EBB download and information Web site:

http://cgi2.www.law.umich.edu/EBBTest/home.aspx

Instructions for Downloading, Installing, Testing, and Configuring EBB are available on this Web site, as well as EBB General Information, Important EBB FAQs, Laptop Exam Power Settings Profiles, EBB Safety Tips, and an EBB Checklist.

There is not a specific EBB installation deadline, but we strongly urge you to update to the most current version of EBB and test EBB in both Blocked and Unblocked modes well before your first laptop exam so that the IT staff can assist you if you encounter problems. IT Help Desks are located in 200 Hutchins Hall, #6 and S-380B Law Library; walk-in hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30-11:30 a.m. and 1:30-4:30 p.m.

IMPORTANT REMINDER for Laptop Exam Takers: Please check your e-mail during the exam period! If there is a problem printing your exam, the Law School Registrar's Office will notify you via e-mail the same day to bring in your laptop for exam recovery.

Laptop computers have become a very important tool for most law students. The vast majority of students use them to write answers to essay questions on in-class examinations. If you are not already comfortable typing on a keyboard, we recommend that you take steps to become so in order to give yourself the option of using a laptop for in-class essay examinations. If you choose not to use a laptop computer for examinations, you will be permitted to hand write your answers (see section III. Hand Writing Exam Guidelines of Taking Law School Exams).
 

1. Exam Identification Numbers
2. Preparation for the Winter 2008 Final Exam Period
   Laptop Exams
1. EBB Installation -- NEW: EBB v. 3.54.0015 (Windows)
   and v. 2.00.0021 (Mac) Released April 1, 2008
2. USB Flash/Pen Drives
3. What to Do in the Event of a Computer Problem at an Exam -- NEW: Students Can Use the EBB Recovery Feature
4. EBB Number of Essay Sections
3. Blocked / Unblocked Laptop Exams
   Wireless Cards ON During Blocked AND Unblocked Exams
4. Wireless Cards
5. Laptop Exam Guidelines re: Hardware
6. Renting or Borrowing Laptops for Laptop Exams
7. Questions

I. Exam Identification Numbers
You must use your Exam ID number (not your name) to identify yourself at your exams. You have a different Exam ID for each exam; please bring the associated Exam ID with you to each of your exams. To view a list of your Exam IDs, visit the Law School Registrar's Office Web site at www.law.umich.edu/currentstudents/registration. Click on "Exams" then "Exam IDs Login"; enter your unique name and password at the login page; click on "Exam IDs."

Your Exam ID consists of the letter "E" followed by a 5-digit number. During a laptop exam, when Electronic Bluebook (EBB) prompts you to enter your Exam ID, please be sure to type the "E" as well as the number.

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II. Preparation for the Winter 2008 Final Exam Period
Information on "Taking Law School Exams" (general, laptop, and handwriting exam guidelines for in-class exams, as well as information regarding take-home exams and scheduling special examinations) is available at the "Exams" link on the Law School Registar's Office Web site.

Please consult the Final Exam Schedule for the date, time, and room(s) that have been assigned to each of your exams. The Winter 2008 Final Exam Schedule is posted on the Law School Registar's Office Web site, in the lobby of the Law School Registrar's Office (300 HH), on the Hutchins Hall first-floor bulletin board (across from the elevator), and on the touch-screen kiosks.

Laptop Exams
The University of Michigan Law School offers its students the option of using laptop computers on in-class examinations. If you are planning to exercise this option, you must install the Electronic Bluebook (EBB) software on your laptop.

Wireless users:  EBB should automatically take you to the Submit Exams Web site at the conclusion of the exam. Create a bookmark in your Web browser or place a link on your desktop to the Submit Exams Web site now for use in the event that EBB does not automatically redirect you to it: http://wg-inform.law.umich.edu/submitexams/home.aspx. After a laptop exam ends, prior to removing your flash drive, please upload your exam file from your flash drive to the Submit Exams Web site, EVEN IF you get a green screen which indicates that your exam saved to the Law School network. If necessary, reestablish a Network connection after the exam has ended so that you can complete this important step.

In the exam room, laptop exam takers should insert their flash drive into a USB port on their laptop prior to opening EBB. Do not click the "Start Exam" button until the proctor gives this direction.

1. EBB Installation

To take in-class exams on laptop, you must use a laptop on which the current EBB software has been installed. You can download the EBB software at the EBB Web site: cgi2.www.law.umich.edu/EBBTest/Home.aspx. Please see the EBB Web site under "EBB General Information" for technical and minimum system requirements, and "EBB Installation Instructions" for instructions to download, install, test, and configure EBB.

The Electronic Bluebook (EBB) program is available on CD or flash drive for students who are unable to download EBB through the Internet. Please bring your laptop to the Law School Registrar's Office, 300 HH, to sign out a CD or flash drive and load the program. The CD/flash drive cannot be removed from the lobby area of the Law School Registrar's Office.

Following ALL of the instructions on the EBB Web site under "EBB Installation Instructions" (including testing and configuring EBB) is strongly recommended for safe exam taking. The 7 steps for Downloading, Installing, Testing, and Configuring the Windows version of EBB are: (1) Download and Install EBB, (2) Test Blocked & Unblocked EBB, (3) Bookmark the Submit Exams Web site, (4) Configure Laptop Exam Power Plan Profile, (5) confirm English Language Settings, (6) Disable Dial-up Internet prompts, and (7) Remove Microsoft Works Suite Add-in for Microsoft Word. Please see the EBB Web site for detailed instructions for each step. Mac EBB users: Beyond downloading, installing and testing EBB, and bookmarking the Submit Exams Web site, you should disable the screen saver and sleep functions in OSX prior to taking an exam if you are using the Mac version of EBB.

If you have installed EBB on your laptop, you can still change your mind about taking an exam on laptop -- up until the day of the exam -- and handwrite an exam instead. You may bring bluebooks to the Laptop exam room and hand write your exam.

Students MUST use the current version of EBB for Winter 2008 laptop exams; prior versions of EBB cannot be used.

To be prepared to take laptop exams, beyond installing and testing the EBB software, please:

• Read all of the material available on the EBB Web site.
• Read the Laptop Exams Guidelines section of "Taking Law School Exams"
• Configure your settings for laptop exams:  Windows EBB users: Configure a "Laptop Exams" Power Plan Profile and make sure to select it before taking a laptop exam; Bookmark the Submit Exams Web site; Disable Dial-up Internet prompts; Remove Microsoft Works Suite Add-in for Microsoft Word; and confirm English Language Settings. Mac EBB users: Bookmark the Submit Exams Web site and disable the screen saver and sleep functions in OSX prior to taking a laptop exam if you are using the Mac version of EBB.

Please see the EBB Web site for detailed instructions for laptop exam settings configuration for Windows and Mac.

We cannot stress enough how important it is to configure your settings for laptop exams to minimize the chance of your laptop freezing during the exam. Most problems that students experience during a laptop exam are caused by incorrect settings.

2. USB Flash/Pen Drives

Students must save their EBB exam on a USB flash/pen drive [hereinafter "flash drive"].

Guidelines for using a flash drive at a laptop exam:

• You must provide one flash drive for each laptop exam.
• Because you may need to purchase several flash drives to cover all of your in-class laptop exams this exam period, we recommend that you buy low-MB flash drives (32 MB is sufficient).
• Flash drives will be returned to you after the exam period (around the middle of the next regular term). You will be notified by e-mail when your flash drives are ready to be picked up. Graduating seniors who are leaving Ann Arbor, please provide an address where you would like us to send your flash drives in the Law School Registrar's Office (300 Hutchins Hall) or send an e-mail message to lawrecords@umich.edu.
• Please test your flash drive with the EBB exam software prior to taking an actual exam to make sure that exam files save to your flash drive. Please note that you will be unable to read the text of the encrypted EBB exam files. Please delete any test files from the flash drive that you bring to an exam -- a blank flash drive should be used at an exam.
• At the exam, you will be asked to write your Exam ID, course name/section, professor's name, and class number on a labeled anti-static plastic bag provided by the proctor. After the exam ends, when instructed by the proctor, you will place your flash drive in the labeled bag and it will be collected by the proctor.
• IMPORTANT: It's best to insert your flash drive into a USB port prior to turning on your laptop so that the drive is recognized at start-up. Your flash drive must be inserted/recognized prior to starting EBB.
• At the conclusion of the exam, please upload your exam file from your flash drive to the Submit Exams Web site prior to removing your flash drive.

3. What to Do in the Event of a Computer Problem at an Exam

NEW: Students can use the EBB Recovery Feature. If your laptop crashes during the exam and EBB restarts, EBB will present you with the following message: "The last exam was not properly closed. Do you wish to make a recovery?" Click Yes. EBB should resume the exam.

In an effort to minimize the instances where students who intended to type their exam in EBB must resort to hand writing in bluebooks due to laptop failure at an exam, the Law School offers students the opportunity to type the remainder of their exam in EBB. Students may choose to continue hand writing their exam in bluebooks if they wish -- bluebooks will be available from the proctor at laptop exams in case of laptop failure.

Please note: It may still be necessary to continue hand writing the exam in bluebooks, but we will make our best effort to allow students to type the remainder of the exam in EBB.

a. Computer Problems PRIOR to the Start of the Exam:

If you receive a drive error message you should try a new flash drive if you have one. If you still receive an error message, if EBB won't open, or if the laptop crashes prior to the start of the exam, you may elect to obtain a Computer-Problem Form from the proctor that you will take to the Registrar's Office for assistance. You should not leave the exam room with any paper exam materials. You should:

• return to the proctor any paper exam materials that you received;
• obtain a completed Computer-Problem Form from the proctor;
• collect your belongings (including laptop and flash drive) and report to the Registrar's Office (300 HH).

b. Computer Problems DURING the Exam:

LIMITATION: You only have the option to type the remainder of your exam in EBB until 30 minutes prior to the end of the exam. If computer problems occur when there are LESS THAN 30 minutes left in the exam, you must obtain bluebooks from the proctor and continue hand writing your exam (LawIT assistance will be provided after the exam has ended).

In order to be eligible for the opportunity to type the remainder of your exam in EBB, you MUST try the EBB Recovery Feature at least once. The EBB Recovery Feature allows students to restart their latop, re-open EBB, and continue typing from where they left off. If the EBB Recovery Feature does not work (i.e., laptop will not restart, EBB will not re-open, OR the previously typed text does not reappear [YOUR WORK IS PROBABLY NOT LOST], then you may elect to obtain a Computer-Problem Form from the proctor that you will take to the Registrar's Office for assistance. LawIT staff will recover and print the previously typed portion of the exam and best efforts will be made to provide you with the opportunity to type the remainder of your exam in EBB. You should not leave the exam room with any paper exam materials (a Registrar's Office staff member will retrieve them from the proctor). You should:

• return to the proctor any paper exam materials that you received;
• obtain a completed Computer-Problem Form from the proctor;
• collect your belongings (including laptop and flash drive) and report to the Registrar's Office (300 HH).

In the event of laptop failure, you may choose to continue hand writing in bluebooks instead of taking advantage of the opportunity to type the remainder of your exam in EBB. Bluebooks will be available from the proctor for this purpose. You may obtain bluebooks from the proctor, return to your seat, and continue hand writing your exam.

c. Computer Problems at the END of the Exam:

LawIT staff will be available to assist you in the exam room after the exam has ended.

Caution: There is no guarantee that your exam answers will always be recoverable in every situation -- this is true no matter what computer testing program you use. Any time you use a computer you take some risk of an error occurring that cannot be corrected regardless of the best efforts made.

4. EBB Number of Essay Sections

Prior to the start of a laptop exam, the proctor will tell you the "number of essay sections." If the exam has more than one part (e.g., a multiple-choice part followed by an essay part), the "number of essay sections" refers to the number of EBB section tabs needed for the essay part of the exam. You must input this number when logging into a laptop exam. If the number is 1, your EBB screen will not have section tabs and you will be expected to place page breaks between your exam answers. If the number is 2 or higher, your EBB screen will have section tabs, and you will be directed to enter your answers in one of two ways: (1) one question per section tab (e.g., type answer to question 1 in "Section 1" tab, type answer to question 2 in "Section 2" tab, etc.); OR refer to exam copy for specific groupings of questions per section tab (e.g., type answer to question 1 in "Section 1" tab, type answers to questions 2, 3 & 4 in "Section 2" tab).

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III. Blocked/Unblocked Laptop Exams
Each professor chooses whether the Blocked or Unblocked version of the EBB software will be used at their exam. Consult the Final Exam Schedule to find out if an exam is Blocked or Unblocked.

Blocked = locks you out of the rest of your computer during the exam

Unblocked = allows access to files on your computer during the exam (i.e., you can access notes for research)

If you have a wireless card, please turn it ON for both types of exams (Blocked AND Unblocked).

Law students with wireless cards should automatically be connected to the Law School wireless network upon laptop bootup but, if you are not automatically connected or if you are a non-Law student with a wireless card, please log in to the Law School wireless network (prior to starting EBB) so that the exam can be saved to the Law School network.

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IV. Wireless Cards
Wireless cards are not required, but they are strongly recommended. Wireless cards are recommended so that your exam can be uploaded to the Submit Exams Web site and saved to the Law School network. Regardless of wireless connectivity, exams are saved to your hard drive automatically every 30 seconds during an exam, to the flash drive every 30 minutes, and to your hard drive and flash drive at the end of an exam. Without a wireless card, you will be unable to upload your exam file from your flash drive to the Submit Exams Web site at the end of the exam and your exam will not save to the Law School network.

Electronic communication between students is strictly prohibited at all exams.

Internet access is normally not permitted during any exam (unless it is specifically stated as allowed). At exams that prohibit Internet access, students are on their honor to not access information on the Internet during the exam.

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V. Laptop Exam Guidelines re: Hardware

• Please see the EBB Web site under "EBB General Information" for technical and minimum system requirements.
• Make sure your laptop is in working condition and you are familiar with its operation before the day of the exam.
• We are not requiring wireless cards, although we do strongly recommend them. [See supra part IV. regarding wireless cards.]
• Bring your AC plug-in cord. Do not rely on your battery!
• Make sure your battery is fully charged, in case you need it as a back-up.
• Please mute your speaker volume before the start of an exam.
• Your laptop must have a USB port so that you can save your exam to a USB flash/pen drive. [See supra section II.2. regarding flash drives.]
• Bring a blank flash drive to each in-class essay exam that you plan to type on laptop.

VI. Renting or Borrowing Laptops for Laptop Exams

• Students are responsible for providing their own equipment.
• If you do not have a laptop or yours is broken, consider renting a laptop or borrowing one from a friend.
• Resource for renting laptops: Computer Alley -- 4395 Jackson Rd. Phone: 734.769.8230

WARNING:

• Rented or Borrowed Laptops: If you are renting or borrowing a laptop to take exams, please see an IT staff member to move all exams taken on that laptop to the network before returning the laptop to its owner or vendor.

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VII. Questions
If you have any questions please contact Debby Hartranft by phone at 734.647.7589 or by e-mail at dmhart@umich.edu.

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