Integrating thin client systems for secure e-assessment
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This project has demonstrated that thin client technology, allied to systematic institutional procedures and processes, can deliver effective and efficient summative e-assessment to learners in a flexible, secure, and accessible way.
Executive Summary
Thin client technology has enabled major improvements to this University’s delivery of e-assessment and offers a number of advantages over ‘traditional’ PC clusters. Benefits to the sector include ‘proof of concept’ in the application of this technology to e-assessment and guides and exemplars to assist institutions who wish to expand or improve their provision in e-assessment and examination timetabling.
Major learning points for the HE community lie in the development of the infrastructure to support large numbers of thin client workstations using VDI technology and in the secure delivery of online assessments using Questionmark Perception, with Appsense used to control the facilities that students have access to during the examination. During the design phase of the thin client assessment facility, research was also conducted into best practice for layout, facilities required and other related features; a report detailing the findings was produced and forms part of this final report.
The project has made a significant impact on our institutional use of e-assessment, with a major increase in uptake of online assessments following the creation of a new 100 seat thin client cluster and the demonstration that it can be used to deliver assessments in a secure manner. It has highlighted the need for high quality data on both student enrolments and module assessment recording.
The student exam experience has been improved by the provision of personalised examination timetables, delivered by email, and the automatic allocation of facilities for students with special needs. The design specification for a new examination administration system forms part of this final report. The majority of students also found doing their exams online a major improvement over using Optical Mark Recognition forms; they were also considerably quicker for administrators to process the results from.
The final learning outcome from this project relates to the environmental credentials of using thin client technology. The project has worked closely with the JISC funded SusteIT project to try and evaluate whether thin client technology provides a more environmentally friendly alternative to the standard PC. The tools developed as part of this collaboration will assist other Universities and Colleges to assess whether the total cost of ownership of thin clients will benefit their organisation in the long term.