Caruso Law School Computer/Technology Recommendations

If you are just starting out at Caruso Law, or heading back to school and looking to upgrade your system, please review the below information before purchasing your new laptop!

Nearly all Pepperdine Caruso Law Students use laptops for class, exams, and homework. While laptops are not required, they can be a very valuable tool in law school.  The following recommendations take into account services and applications that are often used in conjunction with Caruso Law classes and other curricular and extra curricular activities.

The Information Services team at Caruso Law provides assistance in configuring your laptop for the network. Please think very carefully before choosing a laptop brand or other hardware/software choice outside the recommended list, as you may be limiting your potential sources of support.

As a law student your laptop computer is a key tool.  Please keep this in mind as you think about how you will use it, the software you install on it, the websites you visit with it, the files/attachments you choose to download and where you store it when you are not using it.  You will want it to be functioning at optimum levels.  Theft, drops, malware, and other untoward variables will detract from your laptop’s ability to help you succeed in law school.

Below are the minimum Computer/Technology Recommendations:

  • Internet: Strongly recommend a rock solid internet connection with a minimum 20 Mbps down and 10 Mbps up.  This exceeds the minimum requirements for synchronous Zoom sessions (the absolute minimum is 600 kbps in both directions while recommended minimum is 1.5 mbps) but note that if you share your internet connection you will need more bandwidth to ensure a reliable, continuous connection.  Also please note that the age of your hardware (router, modem, cabling, computer) will play a significant role in reliability.
  • Manufacturer/Model: Dell Latitude Series/Apple MacBook Pro or MacBook Air
      • NOTE: We strongly discourage the use of Microsoft Surface computers.  Microsoft Surface systems may provide some challenges with ExamSoft software, this software is used by most students to take exams at Caruso Law and is used by the California Board of Bar Examiners for the state bar exam … along with most other state jurisdictions. 
  • Display: Minimum 11” screen – for improved readability, consider 13” or larger
  • Operating System: Windows 10 /Mac OS 11 or better
  • Processor: Intel i5 processor, Apple M1 processor, or greater (Make sure your system is compatible with ExamSoft)
  • RAM: 12GB – 16GB is recommended
  • Solid State Drive (SSD): 120GB or higher
  • Integrated WiFi or WiFi adapter: Newer is often if not always better
  • Media Drives: None necessary, but it’s always good to have a few flash drives handy. Keep in mind that these don’t last forever, don’t rely upon one flash drive to keep your work safe. AND have a backup solution.  LESS DOWN TIME
  • Battery Life: 4-6 hours, much longer is much better.  MORE UP TIME.
  • Spare Laptop Charger: If you plan to bring your laptop with you, keep one for home and one for travel.  If you lose one you have a spare.  NO DOWN TIME.
  • Warranty: 3 year parts/on-site labor. LESS DOWN TIME.
  • Security Lock/Cable: Don’t ever walk away from your laptop if it isn’t securedLESS DOWN TIME
  • Malware Protection Software: Make sure you have Anti-Malware installed.  Use the firewall that is build into your computer’s operating system.  MORE UP TIME.
  • Personal Printer: We strongly recommend HP Laser Printers with an extra toner cartridge.  NO DOWN TIME.
  • BACKUP System: There are two ways to do this, traditional backups where a copy of all your files (or just critical files) is made to another storage device either over the web or to an external drive of some kind OR storing your files in the “cloud” to start with where they are backed up by that service provider (think Apple iCloud or Google Drive).  We strongly and urgently recommend a reliable automated backup system AND synchronizing your law school materials on a cloud-based service like Google Drive or iCloud. LESS DOWNTIME

Please visit the Minimum System Requirements page for the ExamSoft/Examplify system requirements to ensure that your system is compliant.

The Dell Latitude series is designed for a professional enterprise user and is not what you will find in a consumer-focused retail store.  We have found these systems to be very reliable and strongly recommend them to both students and faculty for their personal computing needs.  This recommendation is not meant to dissuade you from other manufacturers or even other lines of Dell computers, however, we know this line to be a great fit for a law student who needs a solid, reliable system for three years of challenging work (plus the Bar exam).

NO TABLETS, NO NETBOOKS: We do not recommend tablet-based systems. Nor do we recommend netbooks or Chromebooks.  You are certainly welcome to buy them but we don’t believe they will meet your needs in law school.  In fact, these systems do not work with ExamSoft Examplify at all so that should be a compelling reason to avoid the Chromebook/tablet acquisition unless you already have a serviceable laptop that meets the ExamSoft minimum requirements. Essentially, you can bring any device you want to law school. However, if you want to take exams and keep pace with the challenges of law school, you should purchase a high-quality, business class laptop, not a cheap, or off-brand version found on sale at a big box retailer. Remember, you want a system that is reliable and will last you through completing the BAR EXAM. You don’t want a machine that may crash in the middle of an exam!

MacBook ProThe Pepperdine University Computer Store (an online referral site) offers generous discounts to Pepperdine University students on software (MS Office is no cost to Pepperdine students and employees) and hardware. These discounts are often more than the typical education discounts that you will find online. The Computer Store can be accessed 24/7 online.

For purchasing as an enrolled Pepperdine student, please visit the Pepperdine University IT Department’s discounts for students web page or call Pepperdine University Tech Central at (310) 506-4811.

Please note that using a computer on the University network requires that you agree to the University Computer and Network Usage policy.

Examsoft: Restore Desktop Settings

Changes to your desktop screen (files moved around, missing buttons, replaced wallpaper, etc.) after exiting an exam is a common issue with Examplify, and the changes are part of the system lockdown imposed by Examplify during an exam.

These instructions will guide you on restoring your desktop to its original state if is altered after you have taken a closed Examplify ExamSoft exam.

While we cannot prevent the possibility of your desktop being changed, the Examplify website provides instructions on how to restore your computer in the case of this issue.

For Microsoft

*Examplify must be completely installed on your device before following these steps. You will be running the command:

  1. Open Windows File Explorer, and select “Local Disk (C:)” on the left-hand menu.
    Double-click on “Program Files (x86)”

2. Then double-click on ExamSoft and then Examplify

3. Double-click on “Services”

4. Then right-click on the “EsWinsr” file. Select Run as an Administrator. Allow the pop-up script to run, and it will close automatically.

5. Restart your computer, and your desktop should be restored.

For Mac

  1. Press Command + Space Bar together to open search. Type in “Terminal.” Double-click on the applicaiton.

2. A script box will pop up. Paste the command typed out below into the end of the script and press enter:

defaults write com.apple.finder CreateDesktop -bool YES
killall Finder
defaults write com.apple.dashboard mcx-disabled -boolean NO
defaults delete com.apple.dock mcx-expose-disabled
killall Dock
defaults write com.apple.screencapture type png
cd /Library/Caches
rm /Library/Caches/com.apple.desktop.admin.png

3. Restart you computer, and it should be restored.

IF YOU NEED ANY TECHNOLOGY ASSISTANCE, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO REACH OUT TO INFORMATION SERVICES AT (310) 506-7425 OR SUPPORT@LAW.PEPPERDINE.EDU. GOOD LUCK!

EXAMPLIFY INSTRUCTION GUIDE

The following guide is intended to walk you through the process of taking your Fall 2021 Examinations.  Please read these instructions carefully.

Unless you are otherwise notified by your professor, all final examinations will be administered remotely as “open book/open note/open Internet” exams this term. 

  • You will have the ability to “toggle” between your exam attachment, electronic notes, the Internet, and your essay responses in ExamSoft. 
  • Your exams will be timed.  You are responsible for starting the exam at the time you are scheduled to take the exam and uploading your exam on or before the time the e-mailed instructions indicate you must end the exam.  You are responsible for time-keeping if you begin the exam later than its scheduled time.  If you begin the exam late, the timer may suggest that you have time remaining, but the deadline for uploading your exam is the time indicated in the instructions.
  • You are responsible for following the instructions as well as the honor code, which are included with every exam. Your exam submission indicates your certification that you have read, understand, and agree to be bound by the terms of the Pepperdine Caruso Law Honor Code, which applies with equal force to examinations submitted online.

For an instructional video that discusses downloading Examplify, taking a Mock Exam, Examplify features, and more, please view the video below. (NB: As of 2023, the mock exam password is still: password!123).

Before taking your first exam, please do the following:

For further reference concerning requirements, installation and re-registration instructions and other features of Examsoft’s Examplify, please click here.

STARTING AND COMPLETING THE EXAM

On the day and time scheduled for your exam, an email will be sent to your class with exam-specific instructions, including the exam start and end time, password, and contact information should you require immediate assistance during your exam.

(Please note:  If you have been approved and scheduled to take the exam on another day or time, you will receive this information on the day/time your exam was originally scheduled.  Please save this information for the time your exam is scheduled. Your exam timer will begin the moment you enter the exam password. Do not enter your password until you are ready to take the exam.)

Once you have received the e-mail with your password information, please log-into Examplify and click on the exam you are taking in ExamSoft.

1. Under “My Exams” on the left-hand side of the screen, look for the name of the the exam you are taking and select it/click on it.

2. Enter the exam password that was e-mailed to you at the start of the exam.
(Note: this password is case-sensitive and must be entered exactly as shown. For mock exams, use your emailed username and the password: password!123).

3. Please read and acknowledge the “Exam Notice,which is the Pepperdine Caruso School of Law honor code for remote exams. (A copy is attached to this document for your thorough review.) Please read and scroll down to the bottom of the screen before clicking “Next” to accept the terms of the honor code.

4. The “Exam Controls” screen will appear, indicating that the exam includes an attachment and instructions where it can be found under the drop-down menu, “Exam Attachments.”

5. The screen, “Please wait until instructed to start” will appear.  Please disregard this statement to start your exam by clicking “Continue.”

6. Next, please check the box, “I am authorized to start my exam,” then click “Start Exam.”

7. Once you have entered the exam itself, you will have the ability to “toggle” between your computer notes, the Internet, the exam attachment, and your response.

As indicated above, you may access the exam attachment by clicking on “Exam Controls” on the top menu, then “Exam Attachments” on the drop-down menu.

8. A pop-up window of the exam will appear on your screen.To open and/or print the Exam attachment in your PDF reader, please click on the printer icon/Print.

9. The exam will appear in your PDF reader and allow you to Print from its application, typically using the printer icon at the top of the screen.

10. Please type your answer in the space provided. There is a  timer at the top of your screen. (Please note: It is your responsibility to start and end your exams on time.  Your exams must be uploaded by the exam end time and will not allow for a “late start/end time.”)

11. Once you are finished with the exam, click “Finish” at the bottom right hand corner.

  •  a. Before the time expires, you can upload your exam, as you typically do in
    Exam Controls as shown below.  
  • b. IF the timer expires, a screen will appear to inform you that your “Time Limit is Reached,” and the exam will be uploaded for youPlease keep track of your time to ensure your exam is uploaded at the scheduled end time.

c. If the time limit expired and your exam was uploaded for you, you will see the following screen, which will indicate the status of the upload:

  • If you have manually uploaded your exam, you will be asked to confirm the completion of your exam. If you are certain that you would like to submit your exam, check the box and click “Submit Exam.”

13. PLEASE make sure your exam is completely uploaded. Wait until you receive the green screen, “Your exam has successfully uploaded.”  Do not close your laptop until you see this screen.

(Please Note: If you do not receive an email confirmation of your exam submission, please open your laptop again to complete the upload process.)

Once you see this  green screen, you may click “Return to Dashboard.”

HONOR CODE STATEMENT FOR REMOTE EXAM TAKING

The following statement will be attached to every exam you will be taking this term. By clicking “NEXT” and entering the password for your exam, you agree to the following:

By checking the box below, you certify that you understand that the terms of the Pepperdine Caruso Law Honor Code apply with equal force to examinations administered online.  [link to the full policy]

In particular, you are aware of the following non-exhaustive examples of prohibited conduct that specifically apply to exams:

1. to consult with any other person during an examination, unless expressly authorized by the instructor;

2. to edit overtime on an examination;

3. to obtain unauthorized information concerning an examination one is to take, without immediately informing the Dean;

4. to take an examination for another student;

5. to divulge the contents of an objective or essay examination (note: all exams being administered online this semester should be considered as designated as an examination ‘not to be removed from the virtual examination room’)

6. to intentionally and unnecessarily disturb others taking an examination;

7. to incorporate into work offered for credit any passages taken either word for word or in substance from any work of another without properly crediting the original author and work;

8. to submit as one’s own work the work of another;

9. to submit for credit work that has been previously offered for credit or submitted to a journal;

10. to submit for credit work prepared in collaboration with another without securing the instructor’s permission in advance of submission;

11. to improperly reveal to a professor one’s identity in connection with an examination which is to be graded on an anonymous basis;

12. to unlawfully possess, distribute, or use prescription drugs without proof of prescription, to enhance academic performance;

In addition, it is a violation of the Honor Code to willfully fail to fulfill the duty owed by every law student to report promptly to the Board Chairperson or the Dean all circumstances which he or she believes to constitute a violation of the Honor Code and to identify the person or persons involved.

An honor code investigation may include, but is not limited to, collecting electronic data from computers, phones, and other potentially relevant data sources.  Violations of the Honor Code are extremely serious, can cause sanctions including expulsion, and must be reported to the bar examiners as part of the moral character determination, thus potentially hampering your ability to ever practice law.

IF YOU NEED ANY TECHNOLOGY ASSISTANCE, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO REACH OUT TO INFORMATION SERVICES AT (310) 506-7425 OR SUPPORT@LAW.PEPPERDINE.EDU. GOOD LUCK!

Building a State-of-the-Art Classroom?

What should you consider when you are looking at a new facility, buildout of new classrooms in an existing facility, or just remodeling your current classroom? As anyone can guess, there’s a lot to consider. Everything from lighting, capacity, sight lines, and style of teaching and more.

The great shutdown from the Pandemic of 2020 taught us all more about distance learning, the importance of good lighting, cameras, microphones, and a good measure on how to approach student engagement and assessment under challenging circumstances.

It’s my hope that this blog will address the most important aspects of classroom design. My personal interests lie in the intersection of technology and learning with a lot of emphasis on practical logistics… that is making things work. It’s my belief that good classroom technology should extend and enhance the learning. How to make such technology accessible to all instructors while benefiting all or most students is the $64,000 question.

In the end this blog may raise more questions than it answers but that’s probably ok as there are likely more right answers than anyone can imagine because every school, every instructor, every student, and too often, every classroom is different.

So what can you expect from this blog?

I plan to post information on new technologies as they are released, links to articles on teaching that are topical or strike my fancy for some reason, occasional musings, reviews, rants, and war stories as well as content from collaborators and guests. We might stray a bit into digital signage, conference rooms, study rooms, and other areas that may relate more to communication technology and less to direct teaching and learning systems but a lot of that is related and all of it ties back to serving my own law school’s needs which all boil down to one thing … serving our students.

If you see something lacking, a big hole or a detail, I’m all for learning and adding it to the fabric of what I hope to be a large quilt of resources that will help those of us in legal education navigate through the decisions we have to make for our schools to benefit our students and support our faculty.

Phillip Bohl

  • Assessment Tools
  • Audio Visual Control Systems
  • Projectors & Screens and Large Flat Panel Displays
  • Camera Choices
  • Microphones, Speakers, and Audio Processing
  • Lighting and Lighting Controls
  • Lectern Design: Features to Consider
  • Providing Support to Instructors in the Classroom
  • Back End Logistics: Power, Racking, Conduit, Cabling, etc.

How to Sign Up for Email and Text Notifications for Examplify

It’s easy to sign up for email and text notifications for Examplify.

Go to: https://ei.examsoft.com/GKWeb/login/pepperdinelaw

Log in with the same Student ID and Password as the one you use for Exampify when taking an exam.

Examsoft login page with the Exam Takers student login information highlighted.

Scroll to the bottom of the screen and enter your phone number for text confirmation and/or your email address if you’d like to receive email notifications.

Examsoft’s student portal with the Set Your Notifications highlighted.

If you have not received your email notification, please check your spam folder and report it as not spam.

A confirmation email in the spam folder with the spam folder and the report not spam option highlighted.

Text notification will look like this. Any issue with text notifications should be brought to Examsoft’s support team or your cell phone provider’s attention.

The lock screen on a phone with a text notification that an exam has uploaded.

This LawTech article details how to check to see if your exam has uploaded.

Please contact the CSOL-IS department at (310) 506-7425 or email support@law.pepperdine.edu if you have any further questions. 

How to Check if Your Exam Uploaded

There are multiple ways to know if your exam has uploaded. 

After you finish the exam, Examplify will upload the file to their servers. You will see this green confirmation screen when that finishes. 

If you have signed up for email notifications and have not received one, please check your spam folder and mark the emails as Not Spam.

You can also log into ExamSoft using the same Student ID and Password you use to log into Examplify. 

Select the courses tab at the top of the screen.

You will see a list of all of your courses and if there are any notifications on, then there is an exam you need to download or upload. 

After you select your course, you will see any required action in red on the left. There are also columns showing your download and upload timestamps. 

You can also email your exam upload confirmation by clicking on the envelope icon.

This LawTech article details how to sign up for Examplify text and email notification.

Please contact the CSOL-IS department at (310) 506-7425 or email support@law.pepperdine.edu if you have any further questions. 

Examsoft Support Information

So you finally finished that 3 hour exam. You’ve uploaded your exam file and got the green “All Clear” sign (cue enormous sigh of relief). Congratulations! You’re home free at last … but … you have your doubts … and you want some reassurance.

No worries!  The first thing you may want to do is check to see the status of the ExamSoft systems that run behind the scenes.   This site will give you the status of their systems in real time so you will know if for some reason an internet outage in some part of the country may be impacting the upload confirmation that you are expecting.  While rare, this has happened a few times and it’s nice to know that it’s just a slowdown.

For more support information visit their tech support self-help page for help fixing whatever ails your computer post exam. support.examsoft.com

If you experience a problem, remember that this is the exact same software used for your California Bar exam (and many other jurisdictions), so it’s best to sort out all these problems now, rather than when you’re sitting for potentially the biggest exam of your life.

You can also check out this page for the list of their latest minimum computer requirements for Examplify on Windows PC and Mac OS computers.

If you run into a message indicating that your computer does not meet the minimum system requirements like this one:

Image of the error message that says Minimum System Requirements Not Met

You should consult this helpful article from ExamSoft that goes over all the various things you can do to remedy this issue.

You can also check out this Quick Start reference list for all the support tips you might need.

And if you get Really lost, give ExamSoft’s tech support, use this form to enter your issue, use the live chat feature on that same page,  call at 866.429.8889. They’re just waiting to help!

Check here to find your Exam ID!

Try a Mock Exam to get an idea of how the software works!

IF YOU NEED ANY TECHNOLOGY ASSISTANCE, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO REACH OUT TO INFORMATION SERVICES AT (310) 506-7425 OR SUPPORT@LAW.PEPPERDINE.EDU

Examplify: The Application’s Service is Unavailable Message

So you’re all ready to rock this final, you’ve studied, have a stupendous outline, now all you need to do is type this essay portion and you’re practically on summer break. You double-click on the Examplify icon to launch the program and watch the load screen run up to 50% and then BOOM… you get a warning that says “The Application’s Service is Unavailable, please retry or contact your administrator.”

With the seconds ticking down to exam time you can feel the panic start to set in as your heart begins to race and your stomach starts tying knots like an Eagle Scout.

But it’s going to be OK! All you need to do is follow the below steps and you will be back up and running in time to still own this final!

Step1:  Right click the Examplify icon on your device, from the menu options, choose Run as Administrator. That’s it, this should fix the problem for most users. However, if you receive the same error message, proceed to Step 2.

Step 2: Navigate to the Services Console

Click the Start button and type in “Services” in the search field for the local services application. Launch the application

 

Step 3: Restart the ExamplifyService

In the Services application, find the item named ExamplifyService

Step 4: Double click the ExamplifyService. This will open up a new window. Ensure that the Startup Type is set to Automatic.

Step 5: Click the Start button on the left. After this service starts, Examplify will open as normal.

Note: If the service is not listed, you will need to re-install Examplify and/or check your antivirus settings to remove it from the quarantine.

Now go conquer this final exam!

MAC USERS

If you find yourself in a similar situation with the same error message, or worse, your Examplify simply won’t launch at all and just bobs up and down without ever loading, then your solution is similar.

Step 1: Simply create a new user profile on your computer. Make sure the new user profile is set as an Admin (Administrator) – For instructions on how to create a new user profile, please visit Apple’s support page for setting up new user accounts.

Step 2: Log into the new profile and launch Examplify.

That’s it!

See examsoft.com/support for additional information.

Turn Off Your Antivirus BEFORE You Take an Exam with Examsoft

We’ve all heard the stories, perhaps you’ve even had nightmares about it happening to you. You’ve stayed up for the past 36 hours preparing for an exam, you’ve checked and re-checked your notes and then checked someone else’s just to be sure you hadn’t missed anything. You’re ready for this, you’re going to own this exam. You sit down and open your laptop, open Examplify, and then… everything goes dark.

No your computer didn’t just transport you into a galaxy-sized black hole, but the alternative is almost equally terrifying and just as inescapable… you’re going to have to use a Bluebook. As you sit listening to your classmates happily typing away at what sounds like 1000wpm, you wonder to yourself… “where did I go wrong?” Your mind frantically searches for any trace of what could have caused this tragedy, when suddenly, you vaguely recall ignoring a post on Lawtech that warned you of this very scenario. A creeping inclination begins to gnaw away at the edges of your consciousness… Could this all have been prevented if you had only read it?

The good news is, this was all just a horrifying Hypo. And yes, the possible outcome is easily avoidable.

Just turn off your Antivirus software before you open Examplify.

Various antivirus programs have been linked to several computer disabling issues when used with Examplify. These issues include black screens, computer freezes, and crashes, or my personal favorite, desktop background changes to an Examsoft icon. These issues can occur intermittently and unpredictably so even if you have taken a mock exam without incident, you may still encounter a problem during an actual exam. Don’t let this happen to you!

Just remember, before you begin your next exam, and believe me you have no idea how painful this is for a tech guy to say, please turn off your antivirus.

But don’t forget to turn it back on as soon as you submit your exam!