Classroom Setup and Control
eTesting Setup

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Summary

The term "eTesting" refers to giving an exam with a computer.   In conjunction with Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence and the Smeal College of Business, CLC staff developed a specialized web browser ("NoPeeking") for use with a web-based testing system (LXR*Test -- no longer used). 

This feature is currently (Spring 2007) not in use.

When the "eTesting" mode is turn on, this browser is defined as the "shell", and prevents the computer from being used for anything but the exam it has been setup for.

Keep these points in mind:

1. The room must be assigned a course name by CLC staff that corresponds to an exam that is defined on the LXR*Test server before Classroom Setup can set the shell on the student computers.  While the course name can be edited before the command is sent to all the computers, the option to setup eTesting won't even appear unless a course name as be set in our central database.   A restricted-access page to do this is here.
    
2. Exam administrators must return the room to "normal" mode after the exam is over, otherwise classes using the room next will won't be able to use the computers.
    
3. If someone is logged on when the eTesting is turned on or off, they have to log off and on again to see the difference.
    
4. "Lock Screens" cannot be used with eTesting on.
    
5. Messages sent to computers cannot be seen with eTesting on.
    
6. You can force a logoff with eTesting on, but the user will not see any warning message. 

Procedures

1. Launch Classroom Setup as described in Getting Started.
    
2. Make sure all the computers are responding.  Turn on or reboot those not talking to Classroom Setup.  Wait a minute and right-click on the label for each computer you (re)started and click the [Contact] button.
    
3. You will see an additional control panel that looks like:
    
   
    
4. Click on the "On" radio button, and you'll see something like:
    
   
    
5. Be sure the course name is correct (the one defined for the exam).   A "+" will be substituted for blanks when the exam URL is generated for NoPeeking.
    
6. Don't check the "Debug Mode" check box unless you are really sure you want to do that (see below).
    
7. Click the [Send Cmd] button.
    
8. Wait for all to respond; the computer label for each should turn blue when they do.
    
9. Log onto one or two computers to be sure the NoPeeking browser is working and the right exam comes up.
    
10. Turn off the "eTesting" mode by clicking the "Off" button and then [Send Cmd]; as the computers acknowledge, the background color for each will change to the color shown on the legend.
     
11. At any time you can click the "Query" button then [Send Cmd] to verify the status of each computer or right-click a computer's label to query an individual computer.
     

Notes

1. Prior to setting up all the computers for a eTest, individual computers can be excluded from commands sent to all.  Click on an individual computer's label, and check the "Exclude computer from commands sent to all" option.
    
2. The eTesting command can be sent to just one computer by clicking on that computer's label and then clicking the [eTesting Setup] command.  The currently selected command and options will be sent to that one computer.
    
   For example, suppose one computer did not respond to the eTesting setup command because it was turned off.   After it is turned on and given a minute to start up, you can send the setup command to just that one computer.   Another use for this is to turn off the eTesting mode on just one or a few computers that perhaps a TA or proctor needs to use for something else.   Just select "Off" in the "eTesting Setup" frame before clicking on the individual computer's label.
    
3. The Lock Screens command cannot be used with computers that are setup for eTesting.
    
4. If Classroom Setup is started in a room where eTesting is set for all or some of the computers, a Query should be done to verify the state of each.
    
5. Debug Mode: this will cause the NoPeeking browser to show two status lines on the top of its window that will have messages about what it is doing.  This is for problem determination.