Certification

cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

notes at online CLD exam?

Solved!
Go to solution

I was wondering whether there is any option to take temporary notes during online PSI based CLD exam. I found it helps immensely to draw out a state diagram for a state machine before coding. But I know than in the offline version of the CLD exam (at a test centre) we needed to hand back all the notes. So I guess taking notes is not permitted. Can we use anything? Windows notepad app for example?

0 Kudos
Message 1 of 6
(3,741 Views)
Solution
Accepted by piterx

Notepad is allowed for writing notes

But any pen paper is prohibited.



Best Regards,
Certified LabVIEW Developer

Certified Architect
0 Kudos
Message 2 of 6
(3,707 Views)

Trying to go paperless and I'm struggling, anyone has an advice how to make notes digitally?My brain plans state machine much better in a pencil/paper form 😞

0 Kudos
Message 3 of 6
(3,585 Views)

The test environment also allows MS Paint, along with some other standard Windows programs:

For performance-based exams, the virtual machine is pre-installed with
• The NI Software necessary for the exam (LabVIEW or TestStand)
• An Exam folder on the desktop containing seed files to be used during the exam.
• Other standard programs which install with Windows (MS Paint, Notepad, and so on).
• The exam specification PDF.
The virtual machine will not have access to the Internet.

Although it isn't great, I think MS Paint would be better than Notepad.

If you use what it has built in:

  • Shapes (Line, Oval, and occasionally a Curve),
  • the Text tool, and
  • the Select tool,

you can do it decently quick.

(The Select tool can be used to move, resize, or delete, once you're used to it, so that cuts down how many tools you need to use.)

 

Here's a dummy state machine I made using only these MS Paint tools (and setting the Font size and Line thickness). It only took 4 minutes (I literally did it while composing this message).

 

Spoiler
4-minute state machine in MS Paint.png

Yes, it's is a terrible state machine (and I've used MS Paint for other things, so I would be faster than someone who's never used it), but with some practice with these specific tools, it shouldn't take long to get proficient in "Paint-based State Machines". Lol. Just don't use it for anything BUT this exam, it's not that great of a tool. 😉

 

If you do use MS Paint for your state machine, make sure you practice making edits to it, too: If you don't give yourself enough room when you first build it, making a change will be awful. (I'm glad I don't have to make any changes to this dummy machine, I think it's a little too cramped for what MS Paint can do.)

 

-joeorbob

 

Full disclosure:

My curvy "Polling" line is slightly cheated - I drew the curve and then moved it to line up with the circle. I think the Curve tool can be a pain to get right.

I did manually add the "arrow points" to each line, but it wasn't too hard. I prefer manually drawn arrows to MS Paint's built-in arrows.

0 Kudos
Message 4 of 6
(3,559 Views)

Follow up question on this. I am taking  the CLD in about two weeks and I am struggling going pen/paper less. Writing things out help my thinking process. But since CLD is all online right now, I am stressing out about this. If I have a touchscreen laptop, can I use my stylus on MS paint in the PSI Virtual Machine? I wish there is a way to test out the virtual machine environment days before the test.

0 Kudos
Message 5 of 6
(2,309 Views)

@acperlas wrote:

I wish there is a way to test out the virtual machine environment days before the test.


I absolutely agree with you - I find it immensely helpful to do a practice run of my testing environment before any online test. I think there's an NI certification email address we can propose things to, though I suspect this particular feature may have more to do with PSI than with NI.

 

Sorry that I can't comment on using the touchscreen laptop and stylus...

 

An additional note: Since my last post, I read this: Re: Terrible Online Exam Experience with PSI - NI Community. It indicates that MS Paint and Notepad were NOT available in that user's particular test. I'm not sure if the issue has been resolved, but you might practice other methods of note-taking using just Labview comments or the like... Y'know, with the ~5 days you have...

0 Kudos
Message 6 of 6
(2,274 Views)