Blackboard requires that your internet connection to the server be stable and uninterrupted during the course of an exam. Even a brief disconnection between your computer and the Blackboard server can cause Blackboard to lock you out of your exam. While we cannot completely prevent this from happening, we do offer a list of best practices that we highly suggest you consider to minimize your chance of getting locked out of a Blackboard exam.
These are:
- Use a wired connection to the internet. Wireless connections can be very unstable, and even a brief loss of connectivity can lock you out of your exam.
- Close all open programs before taking an exam. Open programs may interfere with your connection to Blackboard, resulting in a lockout.
- Close all background programs that connect to the internet. Programs running in the background that connect to the internet, such as LimeWire, iTunes, etc... may cause your secure connection to Blackboard to be lost, resulting in a lockout.
- If you are on a home network that others are using, try taking your exam at a time when your network is being lightly used by others. If some other computer, video game console, or consumer electronics product with wireless capabilities is heavily utilizing the network, then you may lose your connection to Blackboard, resulting in a lockout.