Washington Technical Training February 5, 2010

Washington Online Testing

Technology Session

February 5, 2010

Webinar Protocol

• All participants’ microphones are automatically muted to eliminate background noise.

• All participants may submit questions during the presentation by using the Questions Box on the GotoWebinar toolbar.

• All questions will be answered throughout the presentation.

• This presentation will be available on the Washington Online Testing website, www.WAtesting.com/online, under the Documentation link.

Introductions

• Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI)

• Data Recognition Corporation (DRC)

• Computerized Assessments and Learning (CAL)

Agenda

• Introduction• System Overview• System Requirements• Computer Lab Configurations• Installation Process• Remote Installations• Server Installations• Firewalls/Filters• Software Updates• Summary• Questions?

© Computerized Assessments and Learning - www.caltesting.org

System Overview


Management Tools• Accessed through

www.WAtesting.com/online

• For District Assessment Contacts (DAC), School Assessment Coordinators (SAC), and test administrators to manage testing process

• Add new students

• Print session tickets

• Monitor testing

Student Demos• 12-15 min flash-based interactive

demonstration

• First opportunity for students and teachers to get familiar with CAL testing interface

• Demonstrates login, navigation, tools and features available

Installation-based solutions

Student Testing Interface

• Java-based application used by students to take tests and Tutorials

• Needs to be available on every computer that will be used to administer tests and Tutorials

• Secure testing environment

• Tool and feature rich interface

Local Caching Software (LCS)

• Java-based component used to alleviate local bandwidth limitations and Internet connection interruptions

• Optional component

• To be installed on one or more computers in a school or district

Web-based solutions

Testing Engine System Requirements

• Student Testing Software – CAL 6.0– Operating System:

• Windows 98/NT/ME/2000/XP/2003/Vista/2008/7• Mac OS X 10.3 and above (with Java 1.4)

– Processor : 200 MHz– Memory: 64 MB, 128 MB recommended– Display: Monitors with a resolution of at least

800x600– Connectivity: Able to connect to the Internet

and the LCS (if used) through http/https


Management Tools System Requirements

• Management Tools and Demos (Browser requirements):– Most popular browsers: Safari, Internet

Explorer, Firefox, Opera, Chrome– Accept cookies for session tracking– PDF reader– Adobe Flash Player (version 7r63, 9r16

recommended)– Sound card (or onboard sound) and

headphones or speakers needed for audio tutorials

– Display size of 800x600 or greater© Computerized Assessments and Learning - www.caltesting.org

• No special Java installation required– No need to install your own version of Java– Windows:

• Java included as part of CAL installation• CAL Java version does not interfere with other

Java versions available in the workstations– Mac: installed by default as part of Mac OS

• Mac 10.5.8* and 10.6 exceptions


System Requirements

System RequirementsMac OS X 10.5.8

Special Note Regarding Mac OS X 10.5.8• Mac OS X 10.5.8

CAL has an automatic update feature that allows the testing software to automatically receive updates. Starting on December 3, 2009, Mac 10.5.8 systems have an option to get a "Java for Mac OS X 10.5 Update 6". If this update is installed on your computers, the use of Java 1.4 will be disabled. Since Java 1.4 is required for the CAL automatic update feature to work, your computers will not be able to get the next CAL update automatically.

• There is a temporary workaround posted on www.WAtesting.com/online under System Requirements.

System RequirementsMac OS X 10.5.8

Special Note Regarding Mac OS X 10.6

• Mac OS X 10.6These systems do not support Java 1.4 and will not be able to get automatic updates at this time.

• CAL is currently working on a solution that will solve this problem and allow CAL automatic updates for both Mac OS X 10.5.8 and 10.6.

System Requirements

• Local Caching Software – LCS 4.8– Operating System:

• Windows NT/2000/XP/2003/Vista/2008/7• Mac OS X 10.3 and above (with Java 1.4)• Linux

– Processor : 1.2 GHz– Memory: 512 MB, 1 GB recommended– Connectivity: Able to connect to the Internet

via http/https– A dedicated server is NOT required (but

access to port 8100 is necessary)


Case 1: Non-LCS Configuration


Lab Configuration

Case 2: LCS Configuration


Lab Configuration

Which Set Up Should Your School Use?

• Key elements: – Reliability of Internet connectivity – Bandwidth available– Number of simultaneous testers

• With a reliable T1 connection a non-LCS setup can support up to 115 simultaneous testers.

• But if you expect to test more than 115 simultaneous users with at T1 connection or if you have an unreliable Internet connection, the LCS is strongly recommended.

• When in doubt, verify installation and infrastructure during administration of the Tutorials.


• LCS: Easy installation, configuration and maintenance• An instance of the LCS can support up to 1000

simultaneous testers• If you need to support more, you can set up multiple

instances of the LCS• LCS allows students to continue testing in the event of

connectivity interruptions• Automatic caching (and purging) of test data• Automatic uploading of test responses• Students test responses are continuously saved• Communication between workstations and LCS is

through HTTP(S) protocol• LCS Monitoring Tool interface available for each LCS

Local Caching Software


LCS Monitoring Tool


• Web interface available to monitor daily activity in LCS.• Point browser to http://<lcs-ip>:<lcs-port>/

– Where <lcs-ip> is IP or host name of system running the LCS and <lcs-port> is default port

– Example: http://10.10.1.1:8100/

LCS Configurations

LCS at the School Level


LCS Configurations

LCS at the District Level


Good connectivity between schools and district office is required

School Capacity Calculator

• Because of the LCS technology, Internet connectivity is not the primary factor when determining online testing capacity.

• Primary factors:– Number of computers available for testing in your

school.– Number of days available/allowed for testing.

• The Spring 2010 MSP administration testing window is May 3 – June 4, which translates to 24 school days

– Number of Test Sessions Available per Day• Number of test sessions you can schedule in your

computer lab per day. Length of test session is typically around 90 minutes for taking the test, and 135 minutes for total test administration.

School Capacity Calculator

• Compute your school testing capacity

– For example, if a school has 100 computers available for testing, can schedule 2 test administrations per day, and has 24 days available for testing their school testing capacity will be:

This tool is available at www.WAtesting.com/online © Computerized Assessments and Learning - www.caltesting.org

100 2 24 4,800

Testing Software Installation

• Installation– CAL Testing Software is on

www.WAtesting.com/online

– Windows and Mac Installers • NOTE: Be aware of administrative rights restrictions that

may be on the computers where the software is to be installed

• Develop a plan on how that will be resolved if that is a known issue

• Deep Freeze implications

– In most circumstances the default installation will be sufficient to start testing


Testing Software Installation

• CAL Configuration. “Preferences” Program– Proxy settings (automatic detection)– Automatic updates– Local Caching Software– Troubleshoot– Your settings are stored within the installation

directory: <Installation Folder>\conf\system.properties


LCS Installation

• Download LCS from www.WAtesting.com/online

• Windows, Mac, Linux• LCS Manager

– LCS Port Configuration: default port 8100– Proxy setting– Troubleshoot– Your settings are stored within the installation

directory under \conf\lcs.properties– Log file: \log\lcs.log within the installation

directory


LCS Installation

• Setup workstations to use LCS– Available at <CAL Installation

Folder>/Preferences

Remote Installations

• Windows MSI installers available• Software Management Tools

– Active Directory – Group policy– Novell ZENworks Desktop Management

• Policy-driven automation• Can use an imaging solution to maintain a

standard operating environment

– Apple Remote Desktop

• Remote configuration:– Configure one workstation and “Push”

configuration file to all workstations:• <Installation Folder>\conf\system.properties


Server Installations

• Support for Thin Client Environments:– Windows Terminal Services (RDP)– Citrix (ICA protocol)– Xtenda– Make sure resources are sufficient for number

of users per server– 36 MB RAM needed by CAL, plus server

session set up

• Shared (network) drive installation also supported


Firewalls and Filters

• Use of HTTP(S) on port 80 and 443• URLs:

– http://wa-online.caltesting.org– https://wa-online.caltesting.org– http://wa-tde.caltesting.org– https://wa-tde.caltesting.org– http://updates.caltesting.org

• Able to download and upload binary data and these MIME types:– application/octet-stream– text/html– multipart/form-data– text/xml (LCS only)


Software Updates

• Minimal number of updates – projected dates shown on next slide

• Automatic updates available– Except for Mac OS X 10.5.8* and 10.6– Imaging Implications like Deep Freeze

• MSP patches available for Windows users

• MSP can be used with Active Directory and ZenWorks to massively deploy upgrades


Summary

Notes for Technology Staff1. Install/update CAL testing software and LCS2. Check to see that the Tutorials can be

accessed on a student computer using a student login for the district/school network (compared to logging in to the district/school network as a staff member)

3. For districts who use the LCS, at the end of each day of the testing window, check the LCS Monitoring Tool to verify that no operational tests are pending/unsent.

Key Dates

• Math Tutorials and updated version of the CAL testing software and LCS will be released on www.WAtesting.com/online on March 29

• Management Tools released on April 12– Usernames and passwords to be distributed by

OSPI to District Test Coordinators

• Training sessions scheduled for April, TBD

• Spring 2010 Online Test window – May 3 to June 4

Contact Information

SupportCheck www.Watesting.com/online for

updated information, Technical and General FAQs, etc.

OSPI Assessment Hotline [email protected]

Questions

• Please type in your question in the on-screen Questions Box.

• We will answer your questions as received.

• Washington Online Testing website– www.WAtesting.com/online

– This presentation and a summary of the FAQ’s from this session will be posted in the Documentation link on the website.

Washington Technical Training February 5, 2010

Documents

Transcript of Washington Technical Training February 5, 2010