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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
© Computerized Assessments and Learning - www.caltesting.org
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
© Computerized Assessments and Learning - www.caltesting.org
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
© Computerized Assessments and Learning - www.caltesting.org
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)
© Computerized Assessments and Learning - www.caltesting.org
Case 1: Non-LCS Configuration
© Computerized Assessments and Learning - www.caltesting.org
Lab Configuration
Case 2: LCS Configuration
© Computerized Assessments and Learning - www.caltesting.org
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.
© Computerized Assessments and Learning - www.caltesting.org
• 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
© Computerized Assessments and Learning - www.caltesting.org
LCS Monitoring Tool
© Computerized Assessments and Learning - www.caltesting.org
• 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
© Computerized Assessments and Learning - www.caltesting.org
LCS Configurations
LCS at the District Level
© Computerized Assessments and Learning - www.caltesting.org
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
© Computerized Assessments and Learning - www.caltesting.org
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
© Computerized Assessments and Learning - www.caltesting.org
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
© Computerized Assessments and Learning - www.caltesting.org
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
© Computerized Assessments and Learning - www.caltesting.org
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
© Computerized Assessments and Learning - www.caltesting.org
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)
© Computerized Assessments and Learning - www.caltesting.org
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
© Computerized Assessments and Learning - www.caltesting.org
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.