Accommodations for Time
Students can be given additional and/or alternative time arrangements for both types of tests that can be administered in Top Hat.
In-Class Tests
If the student(s) in need of additional time are taking the test at the same time as the rest of the class, the test administrator can lock out all students from the test at the end of the original time frame and then unlock only those students that need additional time.
Example:
A 60-minute test is scheduled to start at 1:00 PM. There are three students in need of accommodation that require an additional 20 minutes for the test. At 2:00 PM the test administrator would use the Proctor Report to lock out all students and then immediately unlock only those three students in need of additional time. At 2:20 PM, the test administrator would then close the test entirely.
If arrangements need to be made for students to take a test at a different time than the rest of the class, the same test can be reopened at an alternate time, and the access code for the test shared with only those students in need of accommodation.
Example:
A test is scheduled for 2:00 PM on a Monday. Two students in the class need to write the test on Wednesday of the same week. Prior to the administration of the test on Monday, the Gradebook would have to be disabled for students or the two students would have to be notified that they can expect to see a grade of 0 for their test in their Gradebook between Monday and Wednesday. The same test can then be re-opened on Wednesday for the two students writing at that time. The access code that is generated for the test would only be shared with those two students. The test administrator would then monitor the Proctor Report during the Wednesday test time frame to ensure that only those two students in need of accommodation are active in the test (to ensure that neither of the two students shared the access code with students that have already written this test or missed it on Monday).
Non-Monitored & Remotely Monitored Tests
To accommodate students in need of extra time for a non-monitored or remotely monitored test, instructors can set specific test timers for those students. After setting the initial test schedule for all students, instructors can add student-specific timers by once again clicking the Assign button and clicking Select Students in the assigned model.
This will bring up a list of students from which specific students can be selected to have a longer timer applied to their test. Once the students have been selected, instructors can then input the accommodated test timer length in the assigned model. Instructors must then click Assign Test to apply the schedule with the accommodated timer for those students. Instructors can repeat this process as needed for each alternate timer they need to apply.
In the example depicted below, an initial test schedule is applied such that the test will be available to all students from 12:00 PM on September 10th to 12:00 PM on September 15th, and students will have 60 minutes to complete the test once they start.
Two sets of accommodations are then applied to this test using the steps outlined above. The first set of accommodations allows 3 select students to have 75 minutes to complete the test once they start. The second set of accommodations allows 2 select students to have 90 minutes to complete the test once they start.
Left: Assign model when applying first accommodation set
Right: Assign model when applying second accommodation set
Each distinct test timer (the initial 60-minute timer and the two sets of accommodations) can be reviewed and adjusted by clicking Edit in the corresponding scheduling bar above the preview pane.
Print Versions of Tests
Instructors also have the ability to export Tests (and Pages) as PDF documents, for students that require print versions of their test. The ability to print Tests and Pages as PDFs is a functionality that has to be enabled by Top Hat's Support team. Requests (including the course join code) can be submitted to support@tophat.com.
Headers
Top Hat allows for the inclusion of headers in Pages and Tests. Visually impaired students can then use the rotor functionality on their screen readers to quickly inspect all of the headers on the Page or Test, to get an accurate sense of the length of the document they are about to engage with and how they should go about navigating it.
Alt-Text on Images
Top Hat allows users to add alternative text to images they embed into a Page or Test. The alternative text allows screen readers to dictate the description of the image (input into the alt-text field) to visually impaired users.
Alt-text can also be added to images attached to questions. Once an image has been attached to a question, instructors will see a field labeled "Alternative Text for Accessibility." In this field, instructors can add a description of the image to be read out by a screen reader. Full details on how alt-text can be added to an image attached to a question can be found here: Professor: Adding alt-text to images in questions
Professor view of question creation
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Student view of question in an assigned Page
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While we strive to make the creation and delivery of any content in Top Hat maximally accessible and inclusive, it is possible to create content that is harder to access or less inclusive. The following are some aspects of tests and exams in Top Hat that instructors should be mindful of when it comes to accessibility and inclusion:
Question Types
Top Hat contains numerous question types that are accessible to students using assistive technology. Specifically, the following question types are fully accessible:
- Multiple Choice
- Word Answer
- Numeric Answer
- Fill in the Blank
- Matching
- Sorting
- Long Answer
- FiIe Submission
When creating tests, quizzes, or exams in Top Hat, instructors should use question types that are fully accessible to all students. In instances where an inaccessible question type is used (Click on Target, Video Assignment, Math Response, Chemistry Response, or Graph Response), instructors should be sure to provide accessible versions of the test or exam for visually or cognitively impaired students.
Math in Questions
Top Hat allows instructors to write questions using LaTeX in order to represent math symbols and equations. Currently, math in questions that are written using LaTeX is not accessible to students using screen readers. However, math written directly into Pages and Tests is accessible to screen readers. Therefore, to avoid making inaccessible math questions, instructors should write their math on the Page or Test itself prior to the question and then make reference to the math in the question stem.
Not fully accessible
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Accessible
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