Offline packages

Background

An offline package is a downloadable application (.exe format) that contains:

• The assignment(s) for candidates
• The access codes for these candidates
• The offline player

An offline package allows you to organize an exam in assessmentQ without any Internet connection.

The results of the candidates are saved in an encrypted file on the candidate's computer (.aqr format). Once uploaded, the format of the reports of the offline exams is identical to the format of the standard assessmentQ assignments. 

Organising offline exams

The process of organising an exam with offline packages includes the following steps:

1. Creating access codes for the exam.
   See Access codes
2. Generating the offline package (by API). 
3. Distributing the package (.exe file) to the exam center: 
   the offline package must be placed on each computer in the examination room.
4. Launching the exam:
   the exam room supervisor runs the .exe file on each computer.
   Result: The assessmentQ access code page is shown. 
5. Taking the exam:
   the candidate enters his access code and completes the exam.
   Result: The candidate returns to the access code page. The access code can no longer be used on the candidate's computer. The results are saved in an encrypted file on the candidate's computer (.aqr format) in “C:\ProgramData\assessmentQ”. 
6. Uploading the .aqr files to the assessmentQ server. See Uploading the result files. 
   Result: The results are shown in the assessmentQ reporting modules.  

Procedures for uploading results

During the offline examination, the files with the results (.aqr format) are saved in a specific folder on the candidate's computer. These .aqr files must be uploaded to the assessmentQ server.

There are two ways of uploading .aqr files to assessmentQ:

• Via the assessmentQ Offline Results Service
• Through the assessmentQ API

The result of both procedures is identical: after uploading, the results are directly visible in the Q-assessment report modules and can be retrieved by API.

Uploading with assessmentQ Offline Result Service

The assessmentQ Offline Result Service is a Windows service that must be installed on every computer in the examination room before the examinations begin:

• The Windows service monitors the folder in which the .aqr files are saved.
• Whenever an .aqr file appears in this folder, the file is automatically uploaded to assessmentQ as soon as an internet connection is available.
• As soon as an examination has been completed and the .aqr file has been successfully uploaded, the extension of the .aqr file is changed to .bak, so that there is a backup file.
• After two weeks, the backup files are automatically deleted from the computers.

For this procedure, an internet connection must be available on the candidates' computers for the results to be uploaded:

• If there is an internet connection during the examinations, the results are uploaded continuously to the server.
• If there is no internet connection during the exams, the computers will have to be connected to the internet after each exam to upload the .aqr files.

Uploading with AssessmentQ API 

The supervisor collects the .aqr files from all the candidates' computers. The results files are then uploaded to the assessmentQ server via the assessmentQ API.

This procedure does not require an internet connection on the candidates' computers.

Consulting the offline packages overview

In the assessmentQ backoffice, you can see an overview of the offline packages that have been created by API. For each offline package, you see:

• the users who are included
• their assignments and access codes
• the upload status of their results 

From the overview, you can also download the offline packages. 

Procedure

1. Go to Scheduling > Offline Packages. 
2. Click the three dots and select Details or Download.
   

Limitations of the offline player

When using offline packages, please note that offline packages only work on Windows PCs.

As the .exe file works completely disconnected from the Internet, please keep in mind that:

• The same .exe file and access code can be used on multiple computers. It is important that the supervisor in the examination room ensures that the candidate does not enter his or her access code on a second computer.
• When a computer crashes and a candidate has to take the exam on another computer, he or she will have to start over because his or her answers were only saved on the PC that crashed.
• The offline player starts full screen, but you can still switch to another Windows application using the ALT + F4 key combination. The fact that the player starts full screen will not prevent candidates from accessing other applications or resources. 
• Some standard assessmentQ features do not work in offline mode:
  • Complex mathematical and chemical formulas using Wiris
  • Reading text aloud using ReadSpeaker
  • The item types Upload file(s), Dialog, Recording 
  • Attachments linked to an item
  • Assignments with on the fly item selection
  • Multi-stage adaptivity