Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Wireless for Exams
Neil, We have a couple of professors that are spearheading a move towards using wireless for exams. We have added additional capacity to several classrooms to facilitate this endeavor. The professors have said this has been largely successful. In a class of ~250-300 students, the students are given "5 module competency exams" as well as the final exam using 'Carmen' (our implementation of Desire2Learn) as well as the Respondus lock-down browser plus password protection. They have found that 85-90% of students have a functional laptop on which to take the exam. For those without a laptop or if their laptop battery is drained, they have a "backup location" staffed with a teaching assistant and approximately 20 computers. I agree with Chuck Enfield at PSU in that this usage of wireless is coming and we, as wlan professionals, should prepare ourselves for this. Students expect mobility, and as such, wireless networking. Wireless solutions (we use Aruba) are capable enough to provide sufficient performance and resiliency on wireless. Anything that has previously been done with wired networks are going to need to be supported on wireless. Technology in the classroom is becoming more and more prevalent, and we cannot simply ignore or refuse the need to support such uses of wireless LANs. If we are fearful that the wireless network cannot handle the load or cannot be relied upon, then perhaps we need to approach these as problems to solve and not problems to accept. Is our job more difficult? Yes. Is it more exciting? Yes. == Ryan Holland Network Engineer, Wireless Office of the Chief Information Officer The Ohio State University 614-292-9906 holland@osu.edu On Aug 18, 2010, at 12:54 PM, Johnson, Neil M wrote: > We are getting inquiries concerning the use of the wireless network for > computer based exams in large lecture halls. > > Although we provide coverage in most of our lecture halls, our current policy > states that given the unlicensed nature of 802.11 spectrum we can’t guarantee > network availability and performance and therefore don’t recommend using the > wireless network for this type of testing. > > I was wondering how other institutions approach this. > > Thanks. > -Neil > > > -- > Neil Johnson > Network Engineer > Information Technology Services > The University of Iowa > Work: 319 384-0938 > Mobile: 319 540-2081 > Fax: 319 355-2618 > E-mail: neil-john...@uiowa.edu > > > Spam > Not spam > Forget previous vote > ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE > Constituent Group discussion list can be found at > http://www.educause.edu/groups/. > ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/.
RE: [WIRELESS-LAN] Wireless for Exams
Our Law School is successfully using wireless for exams. I don't know all the details, but the software is called Exam 4. It's marketed specifically to law schools, but it would probably work for any essay exam application. The client software, which is installed on a laptop owned by the student, controls user access to computer resources - including the network. In their implementation, I think they hand out printed exam questions, the answers are entered into the software and the client uploads the completed exam to a server. This does not seem to put much strain on the network and the software automatically saves a local copy of the exam. If the client loses its network connection during the exam they don't worry about it. They finish the exam, exit the software, restore the network connection, and upload the exam. Maybe there's similar software that's better suited to undergraduate testing. The WLAN takeaway for me is that if the exam system can tolerate the network connection being lost and restored then wireless may be suitable. Like anything else, you have to match the application with the medium and the benefit must outweigh the risk, but I'm inclined to believe there are plenty of instances when this will be suitable. I also doubt that we as networking professionals can avoid this indefinitely. Wide-spread online testing is coming. For proctored exams the alternative to using wireless in existing instructional spaces is large, expensive, scarce, specialized e-testing facilities such as are required for GRE's, professional exams, and the like. We'll never be able to afford enough such spaces to satisfy undergrad testing requirements and I don't see anything changing on the wireless front that will significantly reduce the risks associated with using it for testing, so now is probably as good a time as any to try to crack this nut. Chuck Enfield Sr. Communications Engineer Telecommunications & Network Services The Pennsylvania State University 110H, USB2, UP, PA 16802 ph: 814.863.8715 fx: 814.865-3988 From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [mailto:wireless-...@listserv.educause.edu] On Behalf Of heath.barnhart Sent: Wednesday, August 18, 2010 2:31 PM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Wireless for Exams We are not doing it here, but if asked I would advise against it do to wireless networks being a shared contentious medium. If you could confine the signal to a specific area were the testing would be going on, then it might be ok, as only the people in the testing area would have access to the resource. Another issue though would be ensuring user integrity. Unless you are providing the laptops for the users and restricting access locally, someone will have to be actively checking to make sure they are not using online resources during the testing time. You could create a new network with access restrictions, though managing it might be tough if the area is used for general lecture as well. Heath On 8/18/2010 11:54 AM, Johnson, Neil M wrote: We are getting inquiries concerning the use of the wireless network for computer based exams in large lecture halls. Although we provide coverage in most of our lecture halls, our current policy states that given the unlicensed nature of 802.11 spectrum we can't guarantee network availability and performance and therefore don't recommend using the wireless network for this type of testing. I was wondering how other institutions approach this. Thanks. -Neil -- Neil Johnson Network Engineer Information Technology Services The University of Iowa Work: 319 384-0938 Mobile: 319 540-2081 Fax: 319 355-2618 E-mail: neil-john...@uiowa.edu ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. -- Heath Barnhart, CCNA Network Administrator Information Systems and Services Washburn University Topeka, KS 66621 ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/.
Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Wireless for Exams
We are not doing it here, but if asked I would advise against it do to wireless networks being a shared contentious medium. If you could confine the signal to a specific area were the testing would be going on, then it might be ok, as only the people in the testing area would have access to the resource. Another issue though would be ensuring user integrity. Unless you are providing the laptops for the users and restricting access locally, someone will have to be actively checking to make sure they are not using online resources during the testing time. You could create a new network with access restrictions, though managing it might be tough if the area is used for general lecture as well. Heath On 8/18/2010 11:54 AM, Johnson, Neil M wrote: We are getting inquiries concerning the use of the wireless network for computer based exams in large lecture halls. Although we provide coverage in most of our lecture halls, our current policy states that given the unlicensed nature of 802.11 spectrum we can't guarantee network availability and performance and therefore don't recommend using the wireless network for this type of testing. I was wondering how other institutions approach this. Thanks. -Neil -- Neil Johnson Network Engineer Information Technology Services The University of Iowa Work: 319 384-0938 Mobile: 319 540-2081 Fax: 319 355-2618 E-mail: neil-john...@uiowa.edu ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. -- Heath Barnhart, CCNA Network Administrator Information Systems and Services Washburn University Topeka, KS 66621 ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/.
Wireless for Exams
We are getting inquiries concerning the use of the wireless network for computer based exams in large lecture halls. Although we provide coverage in most of our lecture halls, our current policy states that given the unlicensed nature of 802.11 spectrum we can't guarantee network availability and performance and therefore don't recommend using the wireless network for this type of testing. I was wondering how other institutions approach this. Thanks. -Neil -- Neil Johnson Network Engineer Information Technology Services The University of Iowa Work: 319 384-0938 Mobile: 319 540-2081 Fax: 319 355-2618 E-mail: neil-john...@uiowa.edu ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/.