ETHZ.11 |
SEB2012 extension und .NET Portierung (Phase 3) |
Long Title: | SEB2012 - Safe Exam Browser extension und .NET Portierung (Phase 3) |
Leading Organization: |
ETH Zürich |
Other Partners: |
Berner Fachhochschule
Université de Lausanne |
Domain: | ELS |
Status: | finished |
Start Date: | 10.07.2012 |
End Date: | 30.04.2013 |
Project Leader: | D. Schneider |
Website: | http://www.safeexambrowser.org |
(see also SEB (Phase 1) and SEB2012 (Phase 2))
Component | Description |
Safe Exam Browser Website | Safe Exam Browser Website with demo and documentation |
SEB for Windows | SEB for Windows XP, Windows 7 and Windows 8 |
SEB for Mac OSX | for Mac OS X 10.7 and 10.8 |
Open Source Projekt SEB | Safe Exam Browser on Sourceforge (application, source code, developer ddokumentation, bug tracker, forum) |
Questionmark Secure for Mac | Questionmark Secure for Mac (based on SEB) by Questionmark Computing Limited; available for free in the Mac App Store |
SEB is open source and available via sourceforge or SEB website. It's the only secure browser application
allowing flexible use of third party application for exams, being working with different learning management
systems, on Windows as well as Mac operating systems, easily extendible and open source.
As kiosk component only (without browser component) it can be used together with (proprietary) assessment software
and any other application.
During phase 2 and the extension several goals have been reached:
SEB is in regular use since 2010 at ETHZ with Moodle, ILIAS and SIOUX. The smallest exam was organized for 25,
the largest for 350 participants. Up to 10 exams and 17 online-tests have been performed in one semester with 1163 participants.
Also HWZ and PH Thurgau use SEB on a regular basis. Several Swiss universities plan the use of SEB or evaluate the secure browser actually.
The Virtual Desktop Infrastructure is already in use for real exams and allows with SEB starter to assess
competences using third party applications as R, SPSS and software development environments.
The usability was considerably improved with .seb configuration files replacing
a previously necessary deployment system. Instead of an integrated VDI client, also in the OSX version a
secured VMware View Client will be used. With iOS only a prototype was realized because of missing suitable hardware and deployment systems.
But the remaining way to tablet exams is now short with the SEB Windows 8 version and meanwhile available x86 tablets.
The deployment of SEB over client deivery systems and the direct use on students laptops is simple and quick to realize.
SEB has started a collaboration with Questionmark and provides the OSX secure browser for their testing suite (Questionmark Secure for Mac). This kind of cooperation with companies may be a way for further develoment in the future as well as the work within the learning infrastructure project in 2013 and planned submissions for the CUS 2013-2016 P-2 project.
The extension will improve the sustainability of SEB by changing the framework to .NET for the Windows
version, allowing easier maintenance and extensions.
Some of the codes for the Windows version of SEB (many originated during the time prior to the first
AAA/SWITCH SEB project), are so old that they will require a lot of maintenance, and they will slow down
or even prevent SEB from having new functions added to it. From the technical angle, the fact that this
code, written in C++, is based on the old Window's COM framework, is particularly
problematical. A large number of the system functions required for the new SEB functions, such
as dialog boxes for entering passwords, encoding and decoding the new manipulation-proof
configuration files, opening and administering additional browser windows and code signing
operations, etc. are either not available at all or are only available in rudimentary form in this
COM framework. Out of necessity (because of the C++ architecture) a number of new SEB
functions have already been implemented within the Microsoft .NET-Framework in the
meantime, such as the SEB Windows service, the new graphic configuration tool and the MSI
installer.
The linkup of the currently used XULRunner-Browser component to the SEB kiosk application
unfortunately no longer meets the requirements that result from the planned new SEB features,
on the one hand, and the demands of the Swiss SEB community, on the other hand. For this
reason, the XULRunner-Browser is to be upgraded or replaced by an embedded browser framework.
The refactoring and porting of the old code to .NET ensures that the planned new SEB functions
can be implemented efficiently and neatly by employing the current Windows system
framework. Switching the internal web browser will similarly modernise the structure of SEB for
Windows. This measure will also make it possible to implement new functions and some of the
existing functions in the Windows and the Mac OS X version of SEB in such a way that the two
versions more closely resemble each other in terms of the functions they offer and the way they
are operated.
The refactoring and the .NET porting will serve to considerably improve the SEB code, thus
clearly facilitating maintenance and future extensions. This will assure the use of SEB at the
Swiss universities over the long term. It would then be possible to implement new
functions or adaptations to new operating systems much more easily through the open source
community.
These new milestones are embedded in the project plan of SEB2012: