Use Safe Exam Browser to turn your student's computer into a temporarily secure workstation for assessments.
Safe Exam Browser (SEB) is a separate application that can be used to lock down a student's computer so that it can only access certain programs and websites. It can be a great tool for in-class digital exams and tests because it allows you to tightly control which resources your students are able to access for a period of time. You and your students will all need to install SEB prior to running the first exam. The initial setup process for SEB is a bit technical, and so we recommend you ask your school's IT staff for help to get going. SEB is compatible with Windows, Mac, and iOS, and not Chromebooks.
Remote note: SEB cannot provide a completely secure exam environment for remote learning. Students can still access notes through old fashioned methods or by using multiple devices. Additionally, it can create a technical hurdle that is difficult to troubleshoot remotely when you want your student to be doing the exam! Instead, we recommend using screen recording to help monitor your students' activity during a remote exam.
Follow the tips below to set up a more secure environment for Stile quizzes and tests:
- Download and launch SEB;
- Create an exam configuration file for your students;
- Prompt students to install SEB (one time step);
- Hide all Lessons and release exam Lesson;
- Run the exam with your students;
- Troubleshooting SEB.
Download and launch SEB
Download SEB here and read through the documentation for your operating system (Windows, Mac, or iOS). There are quite a few settings that you can specify to suit your needs! This article will only cover the basics for running one exam with BYOD student devices.
Before you launch SEB, go to the exam you want your students to complete and copy the entire URL from your browser's address bar. Open this article and SEB's user manual on a different device such as your mobile or a second computer. Launching SEB will hide all other programs and windows on your computer, including this one.
Create an exam configuration file for your students
In this step, you will create the SEB settings for your students to use while running the exam.
Open SEB's Settings menu. A new window will appear, which has several tabs. General will be the first tab open by default. In the General settings, paste your exam address using the Paste from clipboard button.
In the same window, create an Admin password. This password will prevent your students from making changes to the exam configuration, so make sure it is clever enough that they can't guess it. Tick the boxes for Allow user to quit SEB and Ignore exit keys (Win). If you want to control when they are able to quit SEB, enter a Quit/Unlock password. You will give this password to your students when they have completed the exam so that they can resume normal control of their devices. Keep it simple!
Click on Config File to move to the next tab. Make sure that Starting exams is selected under the first setting. Click Save Settings As... and give the file a name relevant to the exam you are running, such as 7SCI-ForcesTest.seb.
Prompt students to install SEB (one time step)
Give your students the link to SEB's Download page and prompt them to install the version that's right for their operating system (Windows, Mac, or iOS). They will only need to install it once on their device before they can launch any exam configuration files. Skip this step if they already have SEB installed.
Hide all Lessons and release exam Lesson
SEB will limit your students to accessing stileapp.com, but they will still be able to freely navigate between Lessons and Subjects to which they are enrolled. Right before your students sit the exam, hide all related Lessons and then release the exam. This will ensure that they cannot refer back to those Lessons.
You can read about hiding and releasing Lessons here.
Run the exam with your students
Give the exam configuration file to your students. This can be done via email or your learning management system. Your students will each need to open the file, which will disable external apps, secondary monitors, and lock them in to stileapp.com. After they log in they should be taken to the exam link that you set as the Starting URL.
When your students have completed the exam, give them the quit/unlock password. This will allow them to exit the SEB app and restore access to the rest of their computer.
Make sure all students have submitted the exam by the end of the session, via the Markbook. Collect any exams that have not yet been submitted to prevent students from working on them later. Finally, hide the test from the Class so they cannot share their work with any other Classes that still need to sit the exam.
Troubleshooting SEB
If your students run into any issues with launching or running SEB, the first and best troubleshooting step is to prompt them to reinstall it. SEB does not automatically check for updates, and issues are often related to running an outdated or incompatible version for the device.
For further troubleshooting, the most up to date compatibility information, as well as more advanced configuration options, please refer to the documentation available on the SEB website.
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