E-Learning and E-Assessment

Data Center supports final exams for Ukrainian refugees with technical infrastructure

In the past weeks 456 Students from Ukraine participated in digital exams which are obligatory for studies at a Ukrainian university. Together with the Center of Scientific Education (ZWW) the Data Center prepared  the framework for the exams, which are comparable to the German "Abitur".

For the E-exams the Data Center provided the E-exam-Rooms N33 in the faculty of natural sciences and the KISS on the Kisselberg. Both rooms offered enough computer seats to complete the exams on four consecutive days.

Already in advance established the Data Center participating accounts and created the possibility to download the necessary documents from the Ukrainian examsystem.

Dr. Stefan Röhle, the leader of the E-Learning area at the Data Center explains in retrospect: "Although some things naturally ran differently than usual, we were very well prepared for these exams. We offer electrical exams already for 20 years at the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, so that the supply of our infrastructure, the planing and execution went smoothly. We were lucky, that the exams took place in June and with that before the main exam phase of the Summersemester, because of that we could provide enough free rooms."


More news from the Data Center → may be found here.

First e-exam in the new room KISS

The first e-exam was written yesterday morning in the new e-exam room KISS “Am Kisselberg”. After the closure of SB-ANT in SBII, a new location for testing of this type had to be found. The university found what they were looking for in the newly rented JGU building “Am Kisselberg”, which is located across from Koblenzer Straße.

Dr. Stefan Röhle, head of the e-learning area at the ZDV, is very satisfied: "With KISS we are leaving the SBII behind and can now offer a modern, large and bright pool room for e-exams for the various departments. According to the calendar, we are already working at full capacity for the next few weeks and months.”

The e-exam room KISS (00-241) can be booked via the room planning process at the University of Mainz (RAPS) and selected in ILIAS.

More space and light

With 136 seats, the room has more workspaces than the previous room in SBII and can be booked for e-exams all year round. It is therefore also available outside of the actual core exam times for e-exams.

The room has separate entrances and exits, which allows participants to switch quickly between two exams. In addition, a wide window front offers sufficient daylight and air conditioning a pleasant working atmosphere.

  • Short name: KISS
  • Official room number: 00-241
  • Address: Isaac-Fulda-Allee 2b (Am Kisselberg)
  • Room size: approx. 305m²
  • Total seats: 138
  • PC places: 136 (plus 1 lecturer computer + 1 student assistant computer)
  • Examination places: 134 (2 computers remain free as an alternative reserve for exams)

Plan more time for the journey

In general, it is possible to get here by bicycle or by public transport. From Mainz main station you can take bus lines 54, 55, 56, 58 and tram lines 51, 53, 59 directly to the "Kisselberg" station. From the campus to the new e-exam room KISS, however, you should plan about 15-20 minutes on foot.

A look behind the scenes

The last few weeks have been characterized by moving and set-up activities for the ZDV e-learning team: First, all the furniture and technology had to be packed, moved and set up again in the KISS with the help of a moving company. The team then laid around 300 meters of cable, set up network connections and checked the network connection of all computers in cooperation with the ZDV network department. Last but not least, the media technology was installed in the room and anti-theft devices were attached to the computers.


More news from the Data Center → may be found here.

E-exam room moves from SB II to Kisselberg

The SB-ANT e-exam room in SB II (Col.-Kleinmannweg 2) will move to the “Am Kisselberg” building on Isaac-Fulda-Allee 2b in April with all its equipment. The move is necessary due to the current construction work in SB II.

The room, which will be available for future e-exams "Am Kisselberg" from April, has 5 more seats than its predecessor and offers daylight through a window front. Furthermore, separate entrances and two exits prevent students from meeting each other before or after the exam.

Details about the new e-exam room

  • Short name: KISS
  • Official room number: 00-241
  • Address: Isaac-Fulda-Allee 2b (Am Kisselberg)
  • Room size: approx. 305m²
  • Total seats: 138
  • PC places: 136 (plus 1 lecturer computer + 1 student assistant computer)
  • Examination places: 134 (2 computers remain free as an alternative reserve for exams)

The ZDV is still responsible for the on-site technical support. The room KISS (00-241) can be booked via the Room Planning Uni Mainz (RAPS) process.


More news from the Data Center → may be found here.

Create a Panopto video on linux

The University hosts a Panopto instance to provide online courses. You can find additional information on this service here.
The Panopto app doesn't work on Linux, therefore it can't be used to record videos. It is however possible to upload a video created elsewhere to Panopto.

Create a Video

You can use multiple applications to create a video. An easy solution is the website studio.opencast.org.

Create a video with opencast

To create a video with opencast, visit the website studio.opencast.org. Creating a video suitable for Panopto requires 4 steps.

  1. Select your video source
  2. Select you audio source
  3. Record the video
  4. Download and rename the video

Select your video source

After opening the website you can select your video source. You can choose between display, camera or both.

After you selected the video source, your browser will ask for permission for sending data to the website. In this dialogue you can choose what to record. You can choose between windows or the entire screen. This dialogue may be different depending on your browser.

A small preview will show the selected source.

If you are satisfied with your choice, click on Allow.

You will see a bigger preview of your video source. If you are happy with your choice, click on Next. To change the video source again, click on Reselect source(s).

Select your audio source

Next, you will be asked to select your audio source. You may also choose to record a video without audio.

As with the video, you need to grant opencast permission to use your microphone. As before, you can choose your audio source.

You will see a preview of your audio source. If you talk, you should see an amplitude curve on the yellow line, this shows that a singal is picked up.

If your audio source was set up correctly, click on Next. If you want to choose a different audio source, click on Back and repeat the audio setup.

Record the video

After choosing video and audio source you will be shown a preview. If you are ready to record the video, click on the red button below the preview.

If you have finished recording, click the same red button.

After you have finished your recording, a preview of the video will be shown. You can hit play and check your work. If you are satisfied with your work, click on Next, else click on Discard and record again to record again.

Download and rename

When you have finished your work, you can download the video.

The file ending will be .webm . This filetype is not recognized by Panopto. Therefore you need to change the file ending to .m4v.

This file can then be uploaded to Panopto.

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