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Presentation Agenda

Presentation Agenda. Overview of the SAGE Online Systems Network Preparation Hardware and Software Requirements Secure Browser Installation Text-to-Speech. SAGE Systems. American Institutes for Research (AIR) based in Washington DC

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Presentation Agenda

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  1. Presentation Agenda • Overview of the SAGE Online Systems • Network Preparation • Hardware and Software Requirements • Secure Browser Installation • Text-to-Speech

  2. SAGE Systems • American Institutes for Research (AIR) based in Washington DC • AIR systems are delivering tests in Delaware, Oregon, Minnesota, Ohio, Hawaii, over 20 Smarter Balanced states, and soon to be Michigan and Missouri • All use the same basic systems that are configured for the individual client

  3. SAGE Help Desk • The SAGE Help Desk will be open Mondays–Fridays from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.MT(except holidays). During Utah’s summative testing windows the Help Desk will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. MT. • SAGE Help Desk Contact Information • Toll-Free Phone Support: 1-855-570-7239 • E-mail Support: SAGEHelpDesk@air.org

  4. TIDE Test Information Distribution Engine (TIDE) • TIDE is responsible for: • Student registration • Gathering of demographic data • To be deployed: 10/1/13

  5. TDS • Test Delivery System (TDS) • TA Interface - provides the interface through which test administrators establish and monitor testing sessions and authenticate student users. • Student Testing Site - is the testing system as it appears to the student, on which students take tests. TDS delivers tests to students, records responses, and forwards data to downstream systems. • To be deployed: February 2014

  6. Secure Browser • A special build of the Mozilla (Firefox) browser that is modified to protect the security of the test and support certain accommodations. • Available for download from the SAGE Portal • Includes a diagnostic tool

  7. Training Site • Training Site • TA Training Site • Student/Guest Training Site • Public access • Secure access • To be deployed: December 2013

  8. ORS • Online Reporting System (ORS) • provides a secure interface to assessment data and associated demographic information. It provides educators with a powerful tool to explore the data and turn them into actionable information. • Test Management Center • Score Reports • To be deployed: February 2014 • participation reports only

  9. SAGE Formative • integrates with the reporting system to provide resources targeted to identified areas of weakness or to extend standards-aligned topics for students who are excelling. • provides immediate access to standards-aligned professional development, lesson plans, and student activities. • Both educators and students (and their parents) can access the system to obtain or use learning resources. • To be Deployed – October 2013

  10. SAGE Portal • Access to SAGE Systems and all things SAGE at: http://ut.portal.airast.org

  11. SAGE User Access Classes and students are loaded from LEA student information systems by UTREx • Weekly or Daily (TBD) upload through January • Daily upload February through June No manual addition of students If a new student enters a school, their data must be in the local student information system, uploaded to UTREx, which uploads to TIDE TIDE provides the users for SAGE Formative and Summative

  12. Network Preparation Network and Internet Requirements • A stable, high-speed (wired or wireless) Internet connection is required for online testing. • The response time for each assessment depends on the reliability and speed of your school’s Internet network.

  13. Network Preparation Network configuration settings should include the following: • Content filters, firewalls, and proxy servers should be configured to allow traffic on the protocols and to the servers listed on the following screen. • Session timeouts on proxy servers and other devices should be set to values greater than the average scheduled testing time. If testing sessions are scheduled for 60 minutes, consider session timeouts of 65–70 minutes. This will help limit network interruptions during testing. • Data cannot be cached. • If your client network uses any devices that perform traffic shaping, packet prioritization or Quality of Service, the IP addresses to be provided should be given a high priority to guarantee the highest level of performance.

  14. Network Preparation Allow traffic on the protocols and to the following servers:

  15. Network Preparation Common Bottlenecks • Routing traffic to and from the Internet • Performance dependent on several factors: • Bandwidth • Average test typically consumes less than 41kbps per student • During startup, the test can peak at 60kbps • After startup, usage drops to about 10kbps per student • Total number of students simultaneously testing • Size of test content • Science simulations consume more bandwidth than the average item • Secure browser installation • Proxy server (if used) • Wireless networking system (if used)

  16. Network Preparation: Performance of the Test Delivery System Bandwidth • Performance can be affected by: • Internal network (LAN) traffic • Internet traffic from the router • LAN should always be analyzed to determine potential traffic for bottlenecks: • Schools need to factor bandwidth requirements of testing. • Internal bandwidth is not typically a problem. Switches generally operate between 100 megabits per second and 1,000 megabits per second. • Most common bottleneck for Internet networks is the ISP’s router connection.

  17. Wireless Networking • Wireless Security • Due to the sensitivity of test-related data, the use of WPA2/AES data encryption is highly recommended. • Using encryption/decryption might slightly decrease overall network speed. • A properly configured wireless network should provide adequate bandwidth for testing applications: • 802.11n is the fastest and most recent IEEE wireless standard, with a throughput of up to 300 megabits per second. • 802.11g has a theoretical throughput of up to 54 megabits per second. • 802.11b has a theoretical throughput of 11 megabits per second. • Ratio of wireless systems to wireless access points (WAPs) of no more than 20:1.

  18. Wireless Networking: Networking Standards

  19. Hardware Requirements – Desktops and Laptops *Headphones are required for all students

  20. Hardware Requirements – Tablets *Keyboards are required for all touch screen devices *Headphones are required for all students

  21. Hardware Requirements – Chromebooks Chromebooks may be used “as is,” provided they are running ChromeOS version 18 or higher. While they are intended for use with the student testing sites, they may be used for other sites as well. *Headphones are required for all students

  22. NComputing NComputing and Terminal Services are supported on the following platforms: NComputing is supported on computers running Windows XP and Windows 7. Terminal Services is supported on the Windows 2003 and 2008 servers.

  23. Secure Browser for Online Testing

  24. Requirements for Non-Secure SAGE Components

  25. Requirements for Non-Secure SAGE

  26. Requirements for Non-Secure SAGE Components

  27. Network Diagnostic Tools

  28. Network Configuration All communication with the Test Delivery System takes place over the following IP port/protocol combinations.

  29. Firewall, Content Filter, and Proxy Servers You will need to ensure that the IP addresses to be provided are open for the online systems below. Note: If the client network utilizes any device that performs traffic shaping, packet prioritization, or Quality of Service, the IP addresses should be given a high level of priority in order to guarantee the highest level of performance.

  30. Certificate Revocation List Schools should open their firewalls to allow the secure browser to check the certificate authenticity at VeriSign’s Certificate Revocation List (CRL) at http://crl.verisign.com/. Alternatively, schools can open their network to the IP addresses to be provided.

  31. Mobile Device Support for Test Administrator Sites

  32. Installing the Secure Browser – One-by-One One-by-One (Manual) Installation • From each computer to be used for testing, access the Internet and download and install the browser; OR • Download and save the browser onto a media device (such as a Flash drive), and then copy and install the files onto each computer; OR • Download the browser and save it to a network folder and copy it onto each computer. Additional instructions are available on the SAGE portal if you need to install the secure browser on computers for which you do not have administration or installation rights.

  33. Installing the Secure Browser – Network Installation There are several methods to deploy the AIR secure browser depending on your platform. Windows Deployment Methods • For the Windows platform, AIR provides the secure browser in an MSI package file. This file type enables deployment using a number of tools including: • Active Directory Group Policy • Microsoft SMS • Microsoft SCCM • Microsoft WSUS • Windows NT Batch

  34. Installing the Secure Browser - Macs Mac OS X Deployment Methods • For the Mac OS X platform, AIR provides the secure browser as a DMG package file. This file type enables deployment using: • Apple Remote Desktop • Munki (http://code.google.com/p/munki/) • Filewave (http://www.filewave.com/en/home)

  35. Installing the Secure Browser - Linux Linux Deployment Methods • For the Linux platform, AIR provides the secure browser in a generic TAR.bz2 package file. This file type enables deployment using a number of tools including: • Shell scripts • Puppet http://projects.puppetlabs.com/projects/puppet

  36. Secure Browser

  37. Site Readiness: Diagnostics Tools The secure browser has a diagnostics tool available: • Text-to-Speech Diagnostic Tools • Network Diagnostic Tools

  38. Text-to-Speech Text-to-Speech is no longer an accommodation but is an accessibility tool so it is available to all students on all tests • Text-to-speech technology requires that voice packs be pre-installed on computers. • For Windows and Mac operating systems, default voice packs are generally pre-installed. • For computers running Linux Fedora Core 6 (K12LTSP 4.2+) or Ubuntu 9–12, voice packs may need to be downloaded and installed. • Text-to-speech technology is available only through the secure browser.

  39. Windows XP, 7,8 and Vista Approved Voice Packs

  40. NeoSpeech™ Julie Voice Pack “Voice Pack” Tab in TIDE “Voice Pack” Page in TIDE

  41. Mac OS X Approved Voice Packs

  42. Linux Approved Voice Packs

  43. Additional Configuration Information

  44. Utah Assessment Items Are in Verdana Font Windows and Mac Users • The system will default to Verdana font. Linux Users • The End-User License Agreement restricts the direct inclusion of the Verdana font in Linux distributions. • Please ensure that Verdana has been installed on all machines that will be used for testing. • Fedora Core 6 users: Follow the steps in the “How to Install” section of this website: http://corefonts.sourceforge.net/ . You will need to build an rpm package of the fonts prior to installing them. • Ubuntu 9–12 users: In a terminal window, enter the following command to install the msttcorefonts package: “sudo apt-get install msttcorefonts.” • For instructions on “authorizing” Verdana use with supported Linux OS, please refer to the Technical Specifications Manual for Online Testing document.

  45. SAGE Help Desk • The SAGE Help Desk will be open Mondays–Fridays from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.MT(except holidays). During Utah’s summative testing windows the Help Desk will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. MT. • SAGE Help Desk Contact Information • Toll-Free Phone Support: 1-855-570-7239 • E-mail Support: SAGEHelpDesk@air.org

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