Sharing a test link on WhatsApp

The message to send, why students say "sir, link is not opening", and what to send afterwards. WhatsApp is where the loop actually runs, so it is worth getting the message right once.

The message

Everything a student needs to act, and nothing else. Fill the braces:

On ViJEEta this message is generated for you, word for word — the share screen has a Copy WhatsApp msg button and a WhatsApp button beside the link, with the test name, your name, the link and the window already filled in. The marking scheme is the one line you add yourself, because only you know what you set.

Why each line is there

• The test name and your name, first. A forwarded-looking link with no sender is the single biggest reason a message goes unread in a busy class group.
• "Nothing to download, no fee." Both of these are the questions you would otherwise be asked twenty times, and both are the reasons a student does not tap the link at all.
• Which account to sign in with. This is the one that generates support messages. Say the exact address if you are messaging a student individually.
• Questions, minutes, one attempt. A student who starts a 180-minute paper on the bus and loses it has been failed by the message, not by the product.
• The window, with dates. "Tonight" means nothing in a group of thirty.
• The marking scheme. Whether a wrong answer costs marks changes how the paper should be attempted. Telling them afterwards is not a test, it is a trick.

What not to put in it

• No emoji wall. Three lines of emoji makes a message from a teacher look like a forward from a channel, and forwards get skipped.
• No "hurry, limited time". There is a window; state it.
• No claim you cannot back. If you have not measured it, do not write it — that goes for "this is exactly like the real paper" too, unless you have set it at the real paper's pattern and difficulty.
• Not the answer key. Obviously — but also not the paper as a PDF alongside the link, which quietly turns the online test into an open-book one.

The three reasons "the link is not opening"

1. Wrong account.

   The student signed in with a different Gmail from the one you registered. The page says the test was shared with a different address and names the account they are signed in as. Fix: they switch accounts, or you add the address they actually use and re-share.

2. A typo in the address you collected.

   One character in an email address is the whole difference. Collect addresses in writing — a shared form or a message from each student — rather than by ear in class.

3. The window is closed, or has not opened.

   The page will say which. A paper already in progress can still be submitted up to 30 minutes past the close.

There is a fourth case that is not a fault: a forwarded link. A student who forwards the test to a friend outside the batch will be told, correctly, that the test was shared with a different address. That is the design — it is what stops your paper walking out of the batch — but it does mean the link cannot spread on its own, and you should tell students not to bother forwarding it.

Group or individual?

Send it to the batch group. The link is not a secret: it only opens for the addresses you shared it with, so there is nothing to protect by messaging thirty people one at a time. Message individually only when different students are sitting different papers — or when you need to name a specific student's sign-in address.

What to send after the test

The reason to run the test was to change what you teach next. Send that, not the marks list:

The last line is the one that matters. A class where most of the batch did not attempt has a delivery problem, and the only way to find out which one is to ask.

Where the link comes from

Every share on ViJEEta produces one link, plus a ready-to-send WhatsApp message. Students open it in any phone browser; the server checks the account, runs the timer, and grades the paper with its own marking scheme.

Questions teachers ask

How do I share a test with students on WhatsApp?

Send one message containing the link and six facts: what the test is, who it is from, that it opens in a phone browser with nothing to install and no fee, which account to sign in with, how many questions and how long, and the window it is open. A bare link with 'test link' above it gets ignored, and a link a student cannot open without asking you a question costs you thirty replies.

Why does a student see 'this test was shared with a different email'?

Because the account they signed in with is not the one on the share list. The three usual causes are: the student signed in with a different Gmail from the one they gave you; the address you were given has a typo; or the link was forwarded by a classmate, which never works by design. Add the correct address and re-share, or ask the student to switch accounts.

Can students forward a test link to their friends?

No. The link only opens for an address on the share list, checked on the server every time. This is deliberate: a paper cannot leak out of your batch through a single forward. It also means you have to collect your students' addresses before the test rather than relying on the link spreading.

Should I send the test link to a WhatsApp group or to each student?

A group is fine and usually better — one message, and students see the reminders. The link is not a secret, because it will only open for the addresses you shared it with. Send individually only when the students are in different batches sitting different papers.