You're about to supervise your first exam with SMOWL and want to get it right from the start. This quick guide covers the basics: where to find the supervision panel, how to enable SMOWL on an exam, how to prepare your students, and how to review the results.
Before you start: check with your institution
Your institution decides which SMOWL tools you can use. The available settings depend on the contracted plan (SMOWL Class, SMOWL+, SMOWL Pro or SMOWL Enterprise).
Your institution also decides whether teachers can enable and configure SMOWL on their exams. If you don't see the configuration options, contact your platform administrator.
💡 Tip: Also ask your institution which rules students must follow during the exam. SMOWL collects evidence based on the settings you choose, but your institution defines the rules.
1. Find the supervision panel
The supervision panel is inside the course, on your learning platform (LMS). Where it is depends on the platform:
 | On Moodle and OpenLMS: look for the blue block with the link to the "Monitoring dashboard". |
 | On Blackboard and Canvas: open it from the SMOWL tool available in your course. |
💡 To learn about every section of the supervision panel, see the guide The SMOWL supervision panel.
2. Enable SMOWL on your exam
SMOWL is disabled by default on all activities. Follow these steps:
Open your course's activities panel.
Select the activity you want to supervise.
Click Configure. The SMOWL settings for that activity will open.
Enable supervision and choose the SMOWL services you want to use.
Save your changes.
Once SMOWL is enabled, the activity is marked in green in the activities panel.
⚠️ In Blackboard, activities are enabled outside the SMOWL LTI tool.
⚠️ Supported activity types: In Moodle, SMOWL supports all activity types (quiz, SCORM, H5P, assignment…). In Canvas and other standard LMSs, SMOWL only supervises quiz activities.
💡 Is your activity missing in Moodle? Make sure the activity is published and visible to students. If it still doesn't appear, contact your platform administrator.
3. Run a test before the real exam
We recommend setting up a test or mock activity before your first exam. To do this, set supervision to test mode.
Test mode has these advantages:
It doesn't use any licenses.
SMOWL only takes one image during the activity.
Your students get familiar with SMOWL before the real exam.
4. Prepare your students
Before the exam, share this information with your students:
They must register with SMOWL. Registration confirms that the student is the one taking the exam. The registration link is in the course's SMOWL Panel.
They must use a compatible browser. SMOWL works on Chromium-based browsers. We recommend Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge.
They must install the tools you've enabled. For example, SMOWL CM (computer monitoring) or the SMOWL browser extension.
They have their own guide. Share the article First exam with SMOWL: quick guide with them.
💡 Tip: if a student has technical issues, they can contact the Smowltech support team through the chat in their course's SMOWL Panel.
⚠️ If a student's registration is pending or rejected, SMOWL won't process their camera evidence until the registration is validated.
5. Review the results
Results are available in the results panel. The report is available no later than 24 hours after the last student finishes the activity. Evidence from SMOWL CM and the browser lockdown is available as soon as the student finishes.
⚠️ SMOWL doesn't decide whether a student passes or fails. SMOWL collects evidence so that you and your institution can evaluate it.
Each student's report includes three types of events:
Informational event: technical information without an image. For example: "computer monitoring started".
Evidence: recorded behavior with an image that isn't considered an infringement.
Incident: evidence or an event that is considered an infringement based on your settings.
To review faster, use review priority. SMOWL flags each session as high, medium or low priority based on how serious its incidents are. Start with the high-priority sessions.
When you finish reviewing a student, you can set the review status and add a comment.
What if a student has been expelled from the exam?
As a teacher, you can readmit the student with a new attempt from the activity's results panel. You don't need to contact the support team or your administrator. This applies to activities where the monitoring component is the SMOWL browser extension.
Next step
You're all set for your first exam with SMOWL. To learn about each filter or type of evidence in detail, see the related articles at the end of this page.
If you have any questions, contact our support team from the supervision panel.
Frequently asked questions
When can I see my exam results in SMOWL?
The SMOWL results report is available no later than 24 hours after the last student finishes the activity. Evidence from SMOWL CM and the browser lockdown is available as soon as the student finishes.
Does SMOWL fail a student if it detects an incident?
No. SMOWL collects evidence and shows it in the results report. The teacher and the institution review that evidence and decide the grade.
Can a teacher give a new attempt to a student expelled by SMOWL?
Yes. The teacher can grant the expelled student a new attempt from the activity's results panel in SMOWL. The Smowltech support team doesn't need to step in.
Why doesn't a student have any camera images in the report?
One possible cause is that the student's SMOWL registration is pending or rejected. In that case, SMOWL doesn't process camera evidence until the registration is validated. Check the registration status in the registrations panel. If the registration is correct and images still don't appear, contact the support team with the student ID and the activity ID.
How can I test SMOWL without using licenses?
Enable SMOWL supervision on an activity in test mode. Test mode doesn't use any licenses, and SMOWL only takes one image during the activity.