EOCEP Fall/Winter INSIGHT Technical Training

1. EOCEP Fall/WinterINSIGHT Technical Training South Carolina Regional Workshops October, 2012 This presentation is available on eDIRECT: Under Documents/Presentations EOCEP Fall/Winter 2012-13

2. Introductions • DRC’s INSIGHT Technical Experts • Michelle Gronemeyer • Andy Gasser • Gene Rees

3. Session Agenda • Key Dates • Student Workstation • System Requirements • Installation Process • Local Caching Service (LCS) • System Requirements • Installation Process • Software Updates • Documentation & Support • Questions

4. Key Dates for Online TestingEOCEP Fall/Winter 2012-13

5. System Overview Web Browser Student Workstation SC eDIRECT SC Online Assessments (Student Interface) LCS Manager Page System Readiness Check SC Online Tutorials Link = Used by Student = Used by Technology Coordinator

6. Supported Configurations • Student interface software is primary delivery engine for test content to the students • Desktop installed client-server application • Supports automatic updates • Configurations: • Standard single-user desktops • Remote desktops/Terminal Servers (Citrix, Microsoft Remote Desktop, NcomputingVspace)* • Virtual machines* *Oral administration functionality not supported on remote workstations or virtual machines

7. Bandwidth • Difficult to determine precisely, but can be estimated • Each test is delivered in its entirety at student login to ensure a smooth and consistent testing experience (most bandwidth is used at this time) • Bandwidth can be estimated by dividing the size of the test by the desired “wait” time • If we assume an average test size of 1MB and an average wait time of 60s, then each student would need .1333Mbit/second (oral administration increases test size by 15-65 MB) • Boost capacity by increasing wait time or staggering logins • Use of an LCS decreases internet bandwidth requirements by approximately 50%

8. System Requirements for Student Workstations Windows Installer • 256 MB of RAM or greater • Updated graphics drivers with a screen resolution of 1024 x 768 or greater • Mouse and keyboard • 100 MB of available hard disk space or greater (300 MB for Oral Administration) • 700 MHz or faster processor • Must have connectivity to the Internet • Supported Operating Systems • Microsoft® Windows® XP with SP 1 or greater • Microsoft® Windows Vista® * • Microsoft® Windows® 7 • Microsoft® Server 2003 • Microsoft® Server 2008 • * NOT supported for Oral Administration

9. System Requirements for Student Workstations Macintosh Installer • 256 MB of RAM or greater • Updated graphics drivers with a screen resolution of 1024 x 768 or greater • Mouse and keyboard • 10 MB of available hard disk space or greater (200 MB for Oral Administration) • 400 MHz or faster processor (PowerPC not recommended) • Must have connectivity to the Internet • Supported Operating Systems • Apple® Mac OS X® 10.5 • Apple® Mac OS X® 10.6 • Apple® Mac OS X® 10.7

10. System Requirements – Oral Administration for Student Workstations • A separate installer (HVA) is available that includes the Oral Administration feature • This installer should only be used on workstations where oral administration will be used • If a workstation installation needs to be changed from a standard installation to the oral administration installation, the previous version should be uninstalled before installing a different version • Schools are responsible for supplying headsets for this functionality • Requires the use of the LCS • Does NOT run on remote or virtual configurations • Does NOT run on Windows Vista • Requires additional disk space from standard configuration (refer to slides 8 and 9)

11. Future Plans(post Spring 2013) • Currently in development • Web-based version that will utilize a secure browser to lockdown the student interface • iPad version that will utilize iOS 6 and Apple’s new “Guided Access” to lock down the student interface for security • Both of these versions will be available after Spring 2013

12. Network Requirementsfor Student Workstations and LCS • Network Connectivity • All workstations used for student testing should have access to the Internet and should be able to access the servers using HTTP/HTTPS protocols on ports 80 and 443 • Firewalls at the local workstation and the network level should allow Java connectivity on ports 80 and 443 • All the URL’s corresponding to the testing servers should be white listed on content filtering or other proxy software used locally https://sc-insight.drcedirect.com http://sc-insight-client.drcedirect.com

13. Installation • Easy process; testing engine and LCS installed in minutes • DTCs will be notified via email when installers are available on eDIRECT • Under Test Setup/General Information • eDIRECT account with “Online Testing – Secured Resources” permission is needed to access installation software

14. Installation • eDIRECT Testing Software Downloads • Installation document will be available

15. Installation • Silent/unattended installs for Windows • Windows MSI installer is capable of running in silent mode • Custom attributes can be sent to MSI, such as ENABLE_AUTO_UPDATE=false • The software can be installed using tools such as Microsoft System Center, IBM Tivoli, and Symantec Altars • Automatic updates available

16. Installation • Software downloads require administrative rights • Similar process for Windows and Macintosh • Mac installation requires a reboot of each computer once download is complete • Windows XP Demonstration

17. Local Caching Service (LCS) • Same system requirements with one exception: requires 1 GB of available hard disk space or greater • Runs on a computer within the local network • Increases reliability by caching student responses when Internet connection fails; responses will be automatically transmitted by LCS every 15 minutes • Reduces Internet traffic by caching test content • Student workstation must be configured to use an LCS

18. Local Caching Service (LCS) • Installed using an installation wizard; requires administrative rights • Populated with test content using the LCS Manager; test content updates are automatically downloaded • Student workstations must be connected to LCS or Internet otherwise test will terminate • LCS highly recommended whenever possible • LCS mandatory for the oral administration online testing accommodation

19. Local Caching Service (LCS)

20. Installation LCS • Windows XP LCS Demonstration

21. LCS Manager • After installation, the LCS can be loaded with test content using the LCS Manager • Updates are automatic • Can be used to manually update content

22. LCS Client Configuration • Student interface must be configured to use a LCS can be configured during the software installation, and can also be modified through the System Readiness Check application

23. LCS Student Responses • Student Responses sent to LCS if Internet connection dropped • Responses will automatically be transmitted by LCS every 15 minutes • Responses can be manually transmitted

24. LCS Student Responses • Student Responses must be transmitted before a test can be continued

25. Future Plans - LCS • Monitoring Enhancements: • Drill down capabilities into stored responses • Historical response data activity reporting • Automated pinging DRC and reporting of latency • Automated capacity indicator with indicator if over capacity • Automated bandwidth availability collected and displayed

26. System Readiness Check • Runs as part of the installation • Can be run afterwards or on-demand for debugging purposes

27. Software Updates • The student interface is capable of automatically updating itself with the latest published version of the code • There is an Automatic Update property that is set initially on the software installation, and can also be modified through the System Readiness Check application

28. Software Updates • If Automatic Updates are enabled, the student interface software will check the version each time the application is started • If an update is necessary, it will download and install automatically • The updates do not require administrative rights

29. Software Updates • If Automatic Updates are disabled, the student interface software will not check the version when the application is started • When a student tries to log into a test, they will be notified they are not on the latest version and will not be able to continue • The software will need to be updated manually by getting the latest version from eDIRECT and reinstalling • You can run the System Readiness Check application at any time to see if you have the latest version

30. Software Updates • The software previously installed can be updated by the Automatic Update process • To avoid delays at the start of testing, it is recommended that you update the software before testing begins by executing the installer

31. Documentation & Support • Documentation available: • Workshop Presentation • INSIGHT Technology User Guide (November 5) • South Carolina Project Team • For any technical-related online testing questions, Technical Coordinators may contact DRC directly, given DTC approval • Direct Line: 1-800-451-7834 • Fax: 1-866-237-9314 • E-mail: scproject@datarecognitioncorp.com • eDIRECT: https://sc.drcedirect.com

32. Questions?