Moodle, Canvas or an offline lab: where to run your test
The same 40-question test can run in four places: as a quiz in the learning platform your students already use, on an online exam platform, on the computers of a lab with no internet, or on paper. None of them is best for everything. The right choice depends on who the candidates are, how much rides on the result, and what happens in your building when the internet drops.
This guide compares the four honestly, including where ExamQR is not the right answer, and shows how to keep one Word test usable in all of them.
The short answer
| Situation | Usually the best place |
|---|---|
| Weekly quizzes and homework for students already enrolled in your courses | Your LMS (Moodle, Canvas) |
| An exam for people who are not in your LMS: applicants, external candidates, employees | An online exam platform |
| A supervised exam in a computer room where a lost connection is not acceptable | An offline lab server |
| A room without computers, or a test that must be written by hand | Paper, in several versions |
1. Your LMS quiz (Moodle, Canvas and others)
Good at: regular, low-stakes testing inside a course. Students are already enrolled, grades go straight to the course gradebook, and teachers know the tools. Moodle and Canvas both draw random questions from a bank, shuffle answers, set time limits and allow several attempts.
Where it struggles:
- Candidates outside the LMS. Every candidate needs an account and an enrolment before the exam, which is extra work for an entrance test or a certification day.
- Exam-day supervision. A quiz is built for self-paced work. Seeing who is stuck, adding time to one person or messaging a room is limited, and locking the computer needs an extra browser such as Safe Exam Browser.
- Internet. A cloud-hosted LMS needs the internet for the whole exam. A Moodle server inside your own network does not, but few schools run one.
Getting your test in: Moodle imports Moodle XML. Systems that read QTI 2.1 import a QTI package. The free quiz converter makes both from a Word test; see how to import a Word test into Moodle and what is inside a Moodle XML file. Canvas Classic Quizzes reads QTI 1.2, which the converter does not make, so for Canvas check what your quiz engine accepts before you plan on an import.
2. An online exam platform
Good at: exams where the candidates are not your enrolled students, and exam days that need supervision. On ExamQR online exams, candidates join with an ID or by scanning a QR code in the room and need only a browser. Supervisors see every candidate live, get an alert when someone leaves the exam window, and can add time or send a message. The exam is shuffled into as many versions as you need, up to 1,000, objective questions are scored on submission, and you get score sheets, statistics for every question and certificates.
Where it struggles: it is one more system next to your LMS, so course grades have to be carried over, for example from the exported score sheet. It also needs the internet for the whole exam, on every candidate's device.
Getting your test in: import the Word test directly; the same file format works for the quiz converter and the test shuffler.
3. An offline computer lab
Good at: supervised exams in a computer room where the internet is slow, shared or unreliable, and practical tasks in Word, Excel or other programs. With ExamQR Exam, one computer in the room is the exam server and the others connect over the local network. Nothing depends on the cloud on exam day. Answers are saved on each candidate's computer and on the server, so a crash or a power cut does not lose them, and kiosk mode locks the computer to the exam. It is free for up to 20 computers at a time.
Where it struggles: it only reaches the computers in that network, so it is not for candidates at home. Someone has to install the server and the candidate app before the day and test them in the room. Exporting and printing results needs a licence above the free use.
Getting your test in: the server imports the same Word format. For a full example with a theory part and a practical part, see how to run a theory and practical IT exam in a computer lab, which comes with a free sample kit.
4. Paper
Good at: rooms without computers, subjects where writing by hand is the point, and small groups. Nothing can crash.
Where it struggles: printing, copying from a neighbour and marking. Shuffling the test into several versions handles copying, and a key per version keeps marking accurate; see how to create multiple versions in Word and how to grade shuffled tests.
Getting your test in: the free test shuffler prints the versions from your Word file, in your own layout, with an answer key for each.
Comparing them side by side
| LMS quiz | Online exam platform | Offline lab | Paper | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Internet on exam day | Yes, unless the LMS is on your network | Yes | No | No |
| Candidates need | An LMS account and enrolment | A browser and an ID or QR code | A lab computer with the exam app | A pen |
| Live supervision tools | Limited | Yes | Yes | The invigilator |
| Different version per candidate | Yes | Yes, up to 1,000 | Yes | A few printed versions |
| Multiple choice scored | On submission | On submission | When papers are collected | By hand or spreadsheet |
| Practical tasks in Office programs | As file uploads | As file uploads | Yes, in the lab's own programs | No |
| Grades in the course gradebook | Directly | Through an export | Through an export | Typed in |
Keep one test, run it anywhere
The expensive part of any test is writing and checking the questions. Keep the master copy in one Word file, written to the rules in the Word test format cheat sheet. From that file you can:
- convert it to Moodle XML or a QTI 2.1 package for your LMS;
- import it into an online exam or into the offline exam server;
- shuffle it into printed versions with answer keys.
When you correct a question, correct it in the Word file and regenerate, instead of fixing it separately in three systems.
Questions
Can I mix them? Yes, and many schools do: weekly quizzes in the LMS, end-of-term exams in a lab or on an exam platform, and paper for rooms without computers. The shared Word file keeps the questions the same.
Is an LMS quiz secure enough for a final exam? It can be, with Safe Exam Browser, a supervised room and a reliable connection. The question is less about the LMS than about what happens on the day: who watches the room, and what you do when a computer or the internet fails.
Which is cheapest? If you already run an LMS, a quiz costs nothing extra. ExamQR has a Free plan for online exams, and the offline server is free for up to 20 computers; see pricing for more candidates and features.