Exam Software Information and Registation Procedures

Transcription

1 Exam Software Information and Registation Procedures During the Spring 2017 exam period, students will be given the option of taking their exam on their personal laptop by installing exam software product called SofTest from ExamSoft. SofTest allows students to take essay and multiple choice exams for closed-computer exams while preventing access to the computer hard drive or outside sources. For open-computer exams, the software allows access to other files and programs outside SofTest including internet access. The software automatically saves the typed answers in an encrypted format and frequently backs up the entire exam file. At the completion of the exam, the SofTest program will upload the exam answer file to a secure server using the Internet. It is recommended that you arrive early for your exams to select an eligible color-coded seat and set up your laptop, as the exam will begin on time. You are responsible for the connection from your laptop to our power supply and network. You should have a back-up battery for your laptop if possible. The Law School does not support the use of SofTest on older, non-intel Macintosh computers. See PC and Mac requirements below. There will be no technical support available to individual students during an exam. You assume all risk of equipment and equipment power failure. It is your responsibility to be proficient in using your laptop and familiarizing yourself with the software. You cannot delay the start of an exam if you have computer problems. You will not be given additional time if your computer malfunctions. If your computer malfunctions, you will have two options: 1) shut down your computer and reboot (1 time only); 2) shut down your computer and handwrite the remainder of your exam. You should safeguard your laptop hard drives until grades for your courses have been issued in case a printing problem arises and we need to retrieve exam answers from the hard drive. If there is a problem with your laptop and no exam answers can be recovered, the Director of Student Academic Affairs has the final decision about how to handle your case. Any attempt to disable or tamper with the security features of SofTest will be considered a violation of the Honor Code.

2 Returning students, who already have a waiver form on file AND who downloaded a current version of SofTest and registered with ExamSoft, should download a blank exam file for EACH laptop exam you will be taking. Establish an Internet connection. Double-click the SofTest icon. Click the Download Exam Files button. Enter your Student ID and Password (created and used in the previous semester). Then click Next. Select your exam from the list. Click the Download button. New students will be notified via an of your Student ID and a temporary password for your ExamSoft account. (You may change your password in your Account Settings after your first login but not your Student ID.) Please COMPLETE the following 3 STEPS before your exam: 1. Download SofTest from On the Exam Takers section, enter your Student ID and password, select the Login tab. After logging in, complete all steps to download and install SofTest. 2. Register to use SofTest Launch SofTest and enter our institution ID (masonlaw) and your Student ID and password to register. After registering SofTest, you will receive a registration confirmation from support@examsoft.com and the registration number. You may also visit and log into your account to confirm your registration completion. For Windows PC users, all the blank exam files are downloaded to this default directory: C:\Program\Files\ExamSoft\SofTest\exams. For Mac Users, all the blank exam files are downloaded to this default directory: Macintosh HD/Library/Application Support/SofTest/152295/Exams. Note: these files do not contain exam questions but are blank exam files. You will not be able to open an exam until you are given the password on the day of the exam. Completing only some of these steps will not qualify you to take your exams on your laptop. If you do not complete ALL 3 STEPS of the registration process, you will have to hand-write your

3 exams. If you have any questions or problems with registration, contact ExamSoft technical support at or call toll-free If you want to test all aspects of the software related to esaay and multiple-choice, download MockTest Essay Multiple-Choice Secure, MockTest Essay Multiple-Choice Open and MockTest Essay Multiple-Choice Internet Block which you can take as many as ten times. They simulate all aspects of a closed, open and internet block essay and multiple choice exams with SofTest. Password for mock exams is mason17. What must I do on exam day? Bring your laptop, power cord, battery. Arrive to the exam room at least 15 minutes early, plug your computer into a power outlet, turn on the computer and launch your browser in order to make sure that you can get an Internet connection. Follow the SofTest Laptop Exam Launch Procedures (available at on exam day to begin launching SofTest. Exams will not be delayed or suspended due to computer problems. No administrative relief will be granted for incorrect use of the software. ExamSoft recommends that you disable your firewall and/or anti-virus software. After completing the exam: At the completion of the examination, you exit SofTest and upload the exam answer files to a secure server through the laptop s Internet connection. You should receive an confirmation from ExamSoft for each exam that you successfully upload. Do not uninstall SofTest until you receive your exam grades. ExamSoft Technical Requirements/Features: SofTest can be used on most modern Microsoft Windows based computers (i.e. purchased within the last 3-4 years). Please see specific system requirements as noted below. SofTest Windows - PC Requirements: Operating System: 32-bit and 64-bit Versions of Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10 Only genuine, U.S.-English, French, Portuguese, Swedish, and British versions of Windows Operating Systems are supported ExamSoft does not support Tablet devices other than Surface Pro as detailed below CPU Processor: 1.86Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo or greater RAM: highest recommended for the operating system or 2GB Hard Drive: highest recommended for the operating system or 1GB of available space For onsite support, a working USB port is required (Newer devices may require an adaptor) Screen Resolution must be 1024x768 or higher

4 Surface Pro Requirements: Surface Pro 1, 2, & 4 (Non-Pro Surface devices are NOT supported) Surface 3 (Pro and Non-Pro devices ARE supported) External keyboard (USB or Bluetooth) required. Bluetooth keyboards must be paired prior to launching exam Hard Drive: 1GB or higher available space Adobe Reader XI is required for exams containing PDF attachments For onsite support, a working USB port is required (Newer devices may require an adaptor) Screen Resolution must be 1920x1080 SofTest for Mac Requirements (Native OS): ipads may not be used. SofTest can be used on most modern Mac OS X based computers (i.e. purchased within the last 3-4 years). Please see specific system requirements as noted below. SofTest cannot be used on virtual operating systems such as Microsoft's Virtual Machine, Parallels, VMware, VMware Fusion or any other virtual environments. Operating System: OS X 10.9 (Mavericks), OS X (Yosemite), OS X (El Capitan), mac OS (Sierra). Only genuine versions of Mac Operating Systems are supported. CPU: Intel processor RAM: 2GB Hard Drive: 1GB or higher available space Server version of Mac OS X is not supported ExamSoft SofTest Features: Cut & Paste within document Spell check Find & Replace Word Count (under Sidebar/Stats) Character Count (Automatically appears in the status bar at the bottom of the SofTest) Timer Undo capability (up to 50 previous actions) Auto-save every 60 seconds Upload via wired or wireless internet connection Calculator Maximize typing area

5 Power Management During extended periods of non use, some computers may go into sleep or hibernate mode which can sometimes be difficult to exit during an exam. To adjust your Power Management settings, navigate to the Control Panel (Start/Control Panel/System and Security) and select Power Options. Change the settings as listed below. You may reset to the desired settings after your exam. Power Schemes All options should be set to Never. Hibernate This feature should NOT be enabled.