---
title: Before your exam
description: What you need for a Hawkeye exam, and how to get your room and computer ready.
sidebar:
  order: 1
features: [sessions]
---

Hawkeye records your webcam, your microphone and your screen while you take an online exam. Your educator reviews the recording afterwards. This page tells you how to get ready.

## What you need

- A computer with a webcam and a microphone.
- A browser that can share your entire screen.
- One monitor, if your educator requires it. Then you must use Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge, because other browsers can't tell Hawkeye how many monitors are connected. Disconnect any second monitor before the exam, or set your displays to mirror each other.
- An internet connection that stays on for the whole exam. Hawkeye uploads your recording every few seconds.
- A Hawkeye account, unless you start the exam from Canvas. See [Find and join your exam](/docs/test-takers/join-an-exam).

## Get your room ready

1. **Find a quiet room**

    Hawkeye listens for loud sounds during the exam. Close the door and silence your phone.

2. **Be alone**

    Hawkeye can mark the recording when it sees more than one face on the camera.

3. **Use good light**

    Sit with the light in front of you. Your face must be clear for the face photo.

4. **Sit at arm's length from the screen**

    Keep your whole head inside the camera picture. Do not sit too far away.

## Get your computer ready

1. **Close other apps that use the camera**

    Another app that uses the camera can stop Hawkeye from starting it.

2. **Close tabs and windows that you do not need**

    During the exam, Hawkeye marks the recording when you go to another tab or window.

3. **Charge your computer**

    Connect the charger before you start.

> **The first exam can take longer**
>
> The face photo checks download to your browser the first time. The page shows the progress. Your browser keeps the checks for the next exam.

## What happens on exam day

1. You open the exam from your email, from My Exams, or from Canvas.
2. You do the pre-check: camera and microphone, face photo, and screen share. Some exams also ask for a few details first, such as a student ID.
3. You press **Start the Exam**. Hawkeye starts to record.
4. You take the exam and submit it.

Read [The pre-check, step by step](/docs/test-takers/pre-check) and [During the exam](/docs/test-takers/during-the-exam) before you start. To learn what Hawkeye keeps, read [What Hawkeye records](/docs/test-takers/privacy).

If something does not work, read [Fix common problems](/docs/test-takers/troubleshooting).