Using the Safe Exam Browser, you can set up assessments so that students view the assessment questions on their own devices and submit answers by typing into submission boxes, by writing on paper and submitting it for automarking via the image uploader QR code, or by writing on paper for manual marking later.
Note: The SEB is designed to enable more secure, easier-to-administer in-class assessments and is not intended for remote invigilation. Use of SEB does not secure the students’ physical environment.
This guide will walk you through the steps to assign assessments while Safe Exam Browser is enabled.
What to Expect with SEB
When SEB is enabled for a Revision Village assessment:
- Students are locked into the exam – they cannot switch to other apps, tabs, or access their desktop without exiting the assessment
- All prohibited applications will have to be closed. This includes browsers, messaging applications, etc. Students should ensure any work in progress is saved before proceeding.
- Navigation is restricted – only the exam content is visible, along with any student tools chosen (e.g., a formula booklet). Course navigation, profile links, and logout options are hidden.
- Printing and right-click are disabled – students cannot print or access context menus.
The images below highlight how a student's experience differs when taking assessments in a standard browser compared to using a Safe Exam Browser (SEB).
Setting Up SEB for Your Exam
Step 1: Create Your Assessment in Revision Village
- When creating your assessment, toggle the SEB functionality on your Setup Assessment page
- When SEB is enabled, under Student Tools, the “Show markschemes and video solutions” functionality will automatically be set to “After Submission”, but can be changed based on your preference
- Create your assessment in the same way as usual (see here and here) for your students
Step 2: Ensure students have downloaded and installed the Safe Exam Browser
- Download and install the SEB application on students’ devices before the assessment day, or share this link with your students before the assessment begins. This link is also visible on the assessment launch.
Step 3: Share assessment with students
- Share the unique assessment link with students on exam day or assign it to your allocated class
During SEB Exam
Your Educator Dashboard provides an additional layer of visibility on the student activity and connection status for the given assessment:
The Student Submission tab shows you* students who are working through the assessment under “In Progress” and students who have submitted their assessment under “Submitted”
Under the ‘In Progress’ section:
- The ‘Time Spent’ column shows the total active time the student spent working on the assessment
- The ‘Viewing Question’ column shows the current question student is working on
- The ‘Assessment Connection’ column provides an overview of the students’ current status and clicking on the activity icon provides an overview of the logged events for that individual
- ‘Connected’ refers to student who is currently in session for the SEB enabled assessment
- ‘Connection lost” refers to student who has exited the SEB enabled assessment
- This status may occur for a number of reasons, including but not limited to: loss of Wi-Fi connection, device shutdown or power loss, or manually exiting the SEB assessment.
- Under the ‘Actions’ column, you have the option to manually click “Force Submit” to submit student assessments at the end of the SEB enabled
- The Assessment Activity Log shows you an overview of all the logged activities for all students for the given assessment*
*(note: this updates every 30 seconds)
After SEB Exam
Submitted:
- Once a student has submitted and exited the SEB assessment, they will show under the ‘Submitted’ section with a timestamp of their submission in the ‘Submitted’ column as well as the total time spent on the assessment in the ‘Time Spent’ column
- If auto-marking was enabled under the assessment settings during setup, you will see a green tick in the ‘Automarking’ column along with the respective marks in the ‘Marks’ column. As with all assessments, you have full control over the marking and feedback prior to publishing results to your students.
FAQs
1. What does SEB do for my assessments?
SEB creates a secure, locked-down exam environment for Revision Village assessments. It prevents students from accessing unauthorized resources by locking them into the exam - they cannot switch to other apps, tabs, or access their desktop without exiting the assessment. Navigation is restricted to only the exam content and any student tools you've chosen (e.g., a formula booklet), while course navigation, profile links, and logout options are hidden. Printing and right-clicking are also disabled.
2. Is the SEB meant for remote invigilation?
No. SEB is designed to allow for more secure, easier-to-administer in-class assessments and is not meant for remote invigilation. Use of SEB does not secure the students' physical environment.
3. How do I enable SEB when creating an assessment?
When creating your assessment, toggle the SEB functionality on your Setup Assessment page. When SEB is enabled under Student Tools, the "Show markschemes and video solutions" functionality will automatically be set to "After Submission," but you can change this to suit your preference. Then, create your assessment as usual for your students.
4. How do students submit their answers when SEB is enabled?
Students can view the assessment questions on their own devices and submit answers in several ways: by typing into submission boxes, by writing on paper and submitting it for auto-marking via the image-uploader QR code, or by writing on paper for manual marking later.
5. What do I need to do before the assessment day?
Ensure students have downloaded and installed the SEB application on their devices before the assessment day, or share the installation link with your students before the assessment begins (this link is also visible on the assessment launch). Then, on exam day, share the unique assessment link with students or assign it to your allocated class.
6. How can I monitor student activity and connection status while an SEB exam is in progress?
Your Educator Dashboard provides live visibility through the Student Submissions tab. Students working through the assessment appear under "In Progress," where you can see:
- Time Spent – total active time the student has worked on the assessment
- Viewing Question – the current question the student is on
- Assessment Connection – their current status ("Connected" = in session; "Connection Lost" = they have exited the SEB assessment). Click the activity icon for a log of that student's events.
- The Assessment Activity Log gives an overview of all logged activity for all students, updating every 30 seconds.
7. What should I do if a student's connection shows as "Connection Lost" or an assessment is left open at the end of the exam?
"Connection Lost" means the student has exited the SEB-enabled assessment. If you need to close out an assessment, use the Actions column to manually click Force Submit — useful for submitting student assessments at the end of the SEB exam. You can monitor the Assessment Activity Log to track what happened before taking action.