Exams
By Porcospino
@Porcospino (31366)
Denmark
May 21, 2019 3:12pm CST
My husband had two exams this week. He already has an education, but he is studying part time. The second exam was an essay question where he had to write about a book. It was a computer-based exam like most of the other written exams that take place today.
Tonight we talked about the written exams we took in the past. I was a high school student in the early 90s. We wrote every exam by hand.
In most cases there weren't other options, but our German teacher but who was also a computer teacher told us that we would be able to write our German exam on a computer if we wanted to. Out of 20 students only 2 chose to use computers. I wasn't one of them. I wrote by hand.
12 people like this
12 responses
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
21 May 19
Yes, things were so different at that time 
I got my first computer when I was 14, but I only used it for games, I wasn't able to write on it, and of course there was no internet either.
I got my first computer when I was 14, but I only used it for games, I wasn't able to write on it, and of course there was no internet either.1 person likes this
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
22 May 19
@Janet357 My brother and I had many different games. Some of them were sports games like skiing and diving board games. We also had a cute came with a hippo. I don't remember the name of it.
1 person likes this
@Janet357 (75656)
•
22 May 19
@Porcospino trueeee. what games did you on it? mine were billards and solitaire. the laptops then we still.a bit thick hahaha and yes no internet yet.
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@Torunn (8609)
• Norway
21 May 19
My students write their exams by hand, as it's physics and they'd have to have something more fancy than a computer to make it easy with drawings and formulas.
In school I also make most tests so that they have to write by hand. For physics and math because it is easier that way, for German mainly because it's more difficult to cheat.
The university has exam computers so that the students can't cheat that easily, as we don't have that in school, many have gone back to having tests done by hand.
Did your husband do it on his own computer? We have some exams that are done at home, I think they're a bit weird and you have to set a really difficult assignment.
1 person likes this
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
21 May 19
Almost every exam my husband has taken since he started studying again has been a computer exam. I think that there was one of two handwritten exams, but that is all. I think that hand-written exams can be a better option sometimes like you mentioned, but there aren't many of them here, not anymore.
Yes, my husband used his own computer, but the exam took place at the school, so he had to bring his laptop. They were not allowed to use the internet.
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
21 May 19
@Torunn I can see how that could be a problem (programs that can be used without the internet) I used to have one that I could use without the internet. It was Russian language program, I just used it for fun and I never became that good at it, but it was very useful.
@Torunn (8609)
• Norway
21 May 19
@Porcospino Most exams that require lot of writing are done on computers. For languages it can be tricky, 'cause there's so many automatic translation programs you can download and use without internet.
1 person likes this
@yanzalong (18984)
• Indonesia
21 May 19
I had similar exams when I was in Senior High School exams back in 1976.
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@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
22 May 19
I am younger than you. I was born in that year (1976) When I was a high school student I had a computer at home. I only used it for writing and a few games. There was no internet at that time.
1 person likes this
@much2say (53909)
• Los Angeles, California
21 May 19
I went to high school a little earlier than you - all of our written exams were done by hand too. For my kids, they are already using the computer for their exams as well. My youngest is in 3rd grade right now and this week they have started with the standardized testing for this year - on tablets 
!
!1 person likes this
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
21 May 19
Things are so different today. My niece is in first grade and when she talks about the things they learn or the way that the lessons are organized today I notice so many differences. When I was in 7th grade our school had computers, but no one used them. They were very simple and there was no internet, and most students weren't interested in using them.
1 person likes this
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
22 May 19
@much2say We never learned programming, but I think that they did at some schools. My school only had a few computers, and most of the teachers didn't know much about computers. Yes, I remember the dot matrix printers. We had one of them at my school.
It is true that we don't depend on computers the same way the young generations do. I remember a story that somone told me. A mother told her daughter that computers didn't exist in her childhood, and then her daughter said: "But mom, how did you use the internet without a computer?" Her daughter doesn't remember the time before the internet, but some of us do
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@much2say (53909)
• Los Angeles, California
21 May 19
@Porcospino Oh yes, so many things are learned differently these days (even the math - which I do not like - but that is another story). We had computers back in 7th grade too - but not how it is today. We had some computer in math class - but it was all about programming. Go to . . . input . . . a whole language I never really fully comprehended - though some kids were interested and were quite good with it. Did you have those dot matrix printers too? If anything, I'm glad we didn't grow up depending on the computer . . . we don't rely on them as much as young generations today do.
1 person likes this
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104632)
• United States
21 May 19
Our exams were by hand as well, well except the exams taken in computer class.
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@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
21 May 19
I have never taken an exam in computer class. My German teacher in high school sometimes used computers in his lessons, but we never had an exam. I also had a computer at home, but there was no internet at that time. I just used it for writing and a few games.
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104632)
• United States
21 May 19
@Porcospino I graduated in 2005, so computers were being used more in schools but nowhere near as much as they are now.
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
22 May 19
Yes, a lot of changes have happened. When I was student we wrote everything by hand. A few of us had computers at home, but in most cases assignments and other things were handwritten.
1 person likes this
@just4him (305510)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
22 May 19
@Porcospino You know I can't even relate to that. When I was in eighth grade they started talking about the information highway, but I had no idea what it was. Computers didn't exist, not on the personal level.
@AKRao24 (27424)
• India
21 May 19
My wife and myself wanted to appear for Post graduate English examination in University and I am sure we need to answer the exam papers by writing! I am really concerned if I can really write continuously for three hours? As I never wrote more than few minutes since last 16 years! I have been always on my key pad!
1 person likes this
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
21 May 19
I think that I would find that challenging as well. 20 years ago I was used to that (writing continuously for hours), but not anymore. The exam my husband took today lasted 4 hours, but at home he never writes 4 hours without a break.
1 person likes this
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
21 May 19
I also liked the written exams. When I was a student we all wrote by hand, but of course things are very different today.
@amadeo (111948)
• United States
21 May 19
@Porcospino yes I also done most things by hand.I love to write
@wolfgirl569 (94780)
• Marion, Ohio
21 May 19
Our school didnt have computer when I went. But I graduated in the early 80s
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@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
22 May 19
We had computers from the 7th grade, but they were very simple and boring, and there was no internet of course. We didn't have computer lessons and most students didn't want to use the computers.
1 person likes this
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
21 May 19
When I took typing lessons (before high school) we used typewriters. When I was a high school student we had computers, but no internet. I enjoyed writing on a computer, it was a big improvement compared to the typewriters I used before high school.
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
21 May 19
Yes, now computers are used in so many ways. I still remember the first computer I had. There was no internet, but it was nice to write on it instead of using my old typewriter.
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