Running an Exam on iPads

Owned by Pavel Kunc
Last updated: Jan 04, 2022 by Hannah Pietruszewska
7 min read

This document describes workflows and necessary steps in order to run an exam using the Practique App. Document focuses solely on running an exam that has been prepared and published.

Requirements

This document is valid for Backend versions 8.x.x and iPad application versions >=6.1.3.

Make sure following requirements are met before continuing:

  1.  Latest Practique application is installed on the iPads (paperless exam only)
  2.  Exam is correctly prepared on the backend to be pushed to iPads (items, candidates, examiners)

Workflow

Overall exam workflow is the same no matter if the exam is run on paper or paperless using iPads. It is possible to run exams online or offline, differences in behaviour are described later.

Overall steps for running an exam “OSCE December 2021” (example)

  1.  Click View sessions from Pending exams screen for the “OSCE December 2021” exam
  2.  Set the exam as current using Publish to Devices button. This operation can take up to a few minutes depending on the number of candidates and items in the exam.
  3.  When finished navigate back to Dashboard
    1.  iPads which have application running and are online will immediately synchronise the exam
    2.  iPads which don’t have application running or iPads are offline will synchronise automatically when application is opened and iPad is online
    1.  “OSCE December 2021” is now the current exam
    2.  Exam has not started yet, all sessions are waiting to be started
    3.  Exam will be automatically synchronised to the iPads
    4.  Users can’t log-in the iPad application until sessions have been started
  4.  Click Start session to start the a session
    1.  It is now possible for Users to log-in into the iPad application (not in off-line)
    2.  Time at which the session has been started is important for Mark validation
  5.  Marking - Exam is in progress and being marked on the iPads or paper
  6.  When all marks has been collected end session using Stop session button
    1.  iPads will log-out any currently logged in users (if on-line)
    2.  Time at which the session has been ended is important for Mark validation
  7.  Exam is now finished, if it has more sessions start the new session, see number 4.

Important

When running an exam in off-line mode, please keep in mind that you still need to Start and Stop sessions as you progress thought the day, see steps 4 & 6 above.

Practique checks date & time of marks received and if it is before the Session started it will accept you marks (you won't loose them) but won't apply them to the current exam (you won't be able to see them).

In fully off-line mode it does not matter if all sessions are started (and stopped) in the morning or you Start/Stop them through out the day but session must be started before marks are submitted on the iPads.

Marking

This section describes in more detail the marking workflow.

There are two crucial points in the overall workflow that require the iPads to be online. The first one is the initial data synchronisation and second is the final mark synchronisation.

At any other time it is possible to work with the system online or offline.

Online exam

Exam is fully online, there is a good Wi-Fi connectivity. Application automatically synchronise initial exam data and any changes during the exam. Marks are automatically synchronised to the server and exam progress is managed via backend and Marshals (if OSCE).

Off-line exam

It is not possible to run exam online either due to the poor Wi-Fi connectivity or there simply is not Wi-Fi at the venue or there is a technical issue with the Wi-Fi.

In this case initial data synchronisation need to be done at the location with Wi-Fi connectivity. Later when exam starts users login into the Application with their credentials and mark the exam as they would normally do. During off-line mode and only for OSCE exams, examiners will need to manage rounds (start/stop/advance to next one) manually via Practique app user interface.

At the end of the exam, devices needs to be moved to the location with the Wi-Fi coverage and the application will automatically synchronise pending marks to the server. Users don’t need to be logged-in into the Practique app in order for the marks to be automatically synchronised. So it is possible to collect devices by the exam team in case of OSCE for example.

Semi-online exam

It is possible to run exam in the areas with poor network. Practique app is designed to automatically attempt synchronisation with the server any time it is possible for it to do so. When users become offline application will switch to offline mode and when network connection is established again app will synchronise and switch to online mode automatically. 

User logins

Users use login credentials assigned to them by Practique to log-in into the iPad application. User logins are available in Practique via View logins button & screen for the current exam for each of the sessions.

There are two login methods available:

  1. Examiner and Marshal credentials consist of their User IDs imported into the Practique prefixed with single random letter. This letter is assigned to the session at the time it is made current for the iPads. If the session is reseted it will be assigned new random letter. 

For example if examiner ID is ‘123’ defined in Practique and current random letter for the session is ‘A’, then he/she will use ‘A123’ as login credentials to login into the application.

      2. Examiner and Marshal login via QR code. A unique code can be exported for each user, per session in the exam. The code is scanned using the camera on the iPad, which will automatically log the user into the correct circuit and session. Note that the Practique App will need permission to access the iPad camera in order to use this login method. 

Candidates login into the application using their student IDs (Matric No.) which are imported to Practique automatically (only applicable if providing candidates with iPads to allow viewing of exam resources) 

User roles

There are three user roles for paperless OSCE exam. Users are assigned their role on the backend and just login into the application with their credentials. Application then presents correct user interface depending on the user’s role.

Administrator & Support

Special role which does not login into the application but knows the Administration password to perform administration/troubleshooting tasks or tasks which may cause data loss.

Tasks which could potentially cause data loss are protected by the password to prevent performing those tasks accidentaly. Administrators use the Application details to perform diagnostic & administration, see section Diagnostic and Synchronisation checks.

Marshal

Marshall is an administrative role in the OSCE exam. Marshall manages his assigned circuit and provides support to Examiners and/or Candidates.

Marshall uses the application to perform following tasks:

  1.  Start/Stop/Advance examination rounds
  2.  [Online] Check that all Examiners and Candidates are logged in for current round
  3.  [Online] Responds to the help requests issued by the Examiners and Candidates
  4.  [Online] Checks that all marks has been submitted for current round

Examiner

Examiners mark candidate performance using the marksheet and access station documents and resources.

Examiners use application to perform following tasks:

  1.  View their schedule for the session
  2.  Fill in mark sheet
  3.  Access station documents (case notes, etc…) and resources (documents, multimedia resources)
  4.  [Online] Release resources to the Candidates in the real time
  5.  [Online] Request help from the Marshals
  6.  [Offline] Start/Stop/Advance examination rounds

Candidate

Candidates use the application mainly as the resource tool. They access all their exam documents and released resources using the app.

Candidates use application to perform following tasks:

  1.  View their schedule for the session
  2.  Access station candidate station documents and released resources
  3.  Mark which rounds has been finished
  4.  [Offline] Unlock station resources using PIN numbers released by Examiners

Overview of iPad application features in online or offline mode

Application basic features such as synchronisation and login management are the same for all exam types and all user roles.

Online

  •  Session start / stop is managed by backend
  •  Users can only log-in into currently running session
  •  Users are logged-out when session finishes
  •  Marks are synchronised immediately as they’re submitted on the iPad
  •  Exam is time limited (if set on the backend) and user is logged out when time expires
  •  Marshall has real time overview of the circuit progress
  •  Marshall manages rounds within their circuit
  •  Examiner and Candidate iPads move through rounds according to Marshall
  •  Resources for Candidates are unlocked in real time
  •  Examiners and Candidates can request help from Marshal

Offline

  •  Session start / stop is managed independently by Users
  •  Users can log-in into any session (user chooses session) synchronised onto the iPad
  •  Marks are synchronised when iPad becomes online
  •  When iPad becomes online it will synchronise to current state of exam (e.g. sessions, changes, marks)
  •  Exam is time limited (if set on the backend) and user is logged out when time expires
  •  Marshall iPad does not manages rounds
  •  Examiner and Candidate iPads move through rounds independently
  •  Resources for Candidates are unlocked using PIN numbers
  •  Examiners and Candidates can not request help

Notification bars

Application uses notification bar(s) to inform users about certain events or status changes which requires their attention. There are two types of information which are communicated using notification bars - errors and successful operations.

Any user error/state is presented as Red bar, any successful operation is communicated with the green bar.

Diagnostic and synchronisation checks

Exam data are automatically synchronised to the iPad when user opens application (in online). Progress of the synchronisation process is displayed on the Startup screen.

Application details

There is an Application details screen accessible using  button in the Startup screen and Login screens.

Application information provide access to the diagnostic information and administration tasks. For diagnostic purposes the most important information is:

  •  Application version information
  •  Application is online / offline - is there an actual connection to the server
  •  Device information - name, iOS version
  •  Pending messages - when there are no pending messages (0 is shown), device is fully synchronised
  •  Message exchange status - is exchange in progress, status of current synchronisation message, can be Idle, Sent, Pending, Processing, Failed
  •  Pending messages reset - Reset message processing button used to delete all pending messages and set message processing to Idle state, protected by the Administrator password
  •  Document & Resource package download - Number of documents, download status, Force download of packages and Delete downloaded packages buttons used to refresh downloaded packages
  •  Network configuration - current network configuration of the iPad including it’s IP address