SkieWhat should we change on school tablets during exams?
Move to a stricter app list or an exam window, keep the web filter on, hide the Play Store, and disable screenshots if you want. Use the impact preview and compliance score before exam day. When the window ends the normal list returns by itself. Nothing is deleted, so data comes back.
Exams change what a tablet should do. During the paper you want the test app and possibly a calculator. In the study week before, you may want fewer distractions. Skie handles both with the tools you already use for the timetable.
For the paper itself, attach a short app list to the group or create a window for the exact time. A one-app list locks the device to that app, and kiosk mode is available for full-screen use. In the weeks before, a stricter study list or a longer study window removes games and social apps without taking away what students need to revise.
A few switches are worth a look. Screenshots can be disabled by policy. Camera can be disabled. Bluetooth can be turned off, and USB data and file transfer can be blocked, which cuts off easy ways to move material onto or off the tablet. All are optional, and you choose them per group. The always-blocked list keeps VPN, proxy and alternative browsers out whatever the setting.
Check before the day. Run an impact preview on the change, then look at the compliance score and the online count. A tablet that has not synced recently shows up as due or overdue. Rules are stored on the device, so a scheduled exam window still applies if Wi-Fi in the exam hall is poor.
The exam-mode blog post covers the same ground from the invigilator's point of view. Skie does not do remote screen view or remote proctoring, which are not available yet.
A practical tip: do a short mock with one class under the real settings. Students and teachers then meet any problem on a day that does not count.