AIRSecureTest iOS app

[milesleacy]

This app is a mobile secure browser from the American Institutes for Research, which supports Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium testing pursuant to the Common Core State Standards Initiative.

One of this app's requirements is to have Guided Access enabled on the iPad. In discussions with a few administrators that deploy this app, I found that there were a few concerns about how to deploy the app and satisfy its Guided Access requirement.

I've done some limited testing in deploying the app via the Casper Suite, and running the built-in practice test. I have found that an iPad focused on the Air Secure Test app using Casper Focus satisfies this requirement. If focus on Air Secure Test is removed, the app will detect that its security requirements are no longer met and pause any exam in progress.

If you use this app, what workflows, gotchas, or general info have you discovered that might be useful to the community at large?

[cdenesha]

I just did my own limited testing, to be sure I could put iPads in single app mode without using Casper Focus. This can be done with a Configuration profile. I plan on creating a Smart Group with all that need to be tested, then on the day of assessment 1) have them all verify their volume level, 2) have them verify their bluetooth keyboard works, then 3) apply the smart group as the scope for the profile.

Next step is to go through the practice test and see if any settings need to be adjusted for the Configuration profile (there are options for VoiceOver, AssistiveTouch, etc.).

I'm also wondering about the following comment on the SBAC download page: "Text-to-Speech will be available for the Chromebook and iPad apps on January 30; however, the apps may be downloaded prior to that date and will not require users to install an additional update on January 30." So maybe I'll wait to do more testing with the assessment coordinator in February.

chris

[cdenesha]

This is an update with my current thinking and plans.

1) If students have a passcode set and they restart their iPad by holding Home and Power for 15 seconds, they will break out of the test. They will be at the Home Screen after they enter their passcode, and even if they try to get back into the test the iPad at this point is not really in Single App / Guided Access mode - the test cannot be entered. The passcode needs to be turned off, and then the iPad restarted, and it will automatically launch the test app.

Since I do not want to teach Test Administrators how to enable Guided Access mode, and do not want to touch 400 iPads in the next week, I think I'm still going to use Casper to push the profile. I very much wish I had the ability to Clear Passcode as a Smart Group Action. We'll just have to keep an eye on them.

2) We have decided that we will test students who need Accommodations on the few PCs we have. SBAC support indicates that Text To Speech might not work on tablets this year.

3) Some of the web content that the Secure Browser is displaying is not working well on the iPad. The test sound at the beginning does not always play, but sound still works later on. The menu button doesn't always work. The Notepad doesn't show any of the keystrokes pressed, but if you Save and Close and go back in it is all there, etc. I am compiling a list and will contact SBAC support today or tomorrow.

chris

[milesleacy]

@cdenesha

I very much wish I had the ability to Clear Passcode as a Smart Group Action.

You do! See the video linked below.

http://youtu.be/xc_vFkMt4Zs

[guzmanhm]

Have you made any progress with this and working with iOS 8?

[AppleAPNS]

I'm curious to whether or not people have had any luck with iOS 8 as well. The website for the secure browser only indicates that it supports up to 7.1.

Anyone have any further information on this?

[cdenesha]

Personally I haven't bothered to look - we are nowhere close to March yet so I assume they'll be making changes. I hope they make it capable of putting itself into Single App mode..

[cdenesha]

I just realized I never updated this thread with what happened last spring. The first day of testing, my MDM command to 400 iPads only resulted in the app going into Single App mode for about half of the users. Some students had deleted the app that morning. Others were getting an error (if memory serves) that Guided Access wasn't available. I had no idea which of the 400 to focus on, nor at the time any way of sending mass commands. We cancelled testing for the day and switched to Guided Access.

[dptech]

I've just written the nice people at AIR a letter. I for one, do not like the idea of waiting until march to prepare. I've got a small team and close to 2000 iPads to get ready and prove they can reliably fun this test.

I work in an all Apple shop but I'm receiving a great deal of pressure to entertain other options for testing purposes.

We've invested heavily in JAMF and Apple over the past 5 years. I'd hate to see all of this hard work fail due to the limitations of a single vendor.

[nsdjoe]

I also need to prep our fleet of iPads for March 2015 testing. Hope they can get it working well with iOS 8.1!

[dustin_smiddie]

Hi, I am running this in our Casper 9.63 with Casper Focus 9.63 on our teacher iPads and our test so far have been very eye opening. I ran into a problem when one of my teachers did not remove focus on a group of iPads and they have lost W-Fi connectivity. They are locked up and just say 'No Internet Connection, please check your network settings and try again.' Does anyone know how to get out of Casper Focus when you are locked into AirSecureTest APP and the iPad will not see your Wi-Fi SSID??? I can not even re-image it with my Casper server as my on site DEP MDM device. It just goes right back into the APP and is bricked.

When I run the tests to see if I can run 60 -80 iPads at one time they work. We are building up to the needed 850 iPads at one time at one school. We found if something else happens in the background then the APP locks up and the iPad is a brick. Like if the "Auto-Lock" were to dim the screen or shut it off during the test the APP locks up. Or if the iPad were to switch from one SSID to a second, or the on screen keyboard try to come up while you have a 30 Pin or Thunderbolt Keyboard plugged into the iPad, the APP locks up and you have to Update Focus, remove the APP, then Refocus the APP back again. If you are locked into Single App mode and loose Wi-Fi then you iPad is bricked. FSA has some bugs and I am unsure how to fix our iPads when they get bricked up like this.

I have also notices that even if the APP is on the iPad and the iPad does go into the APP with casper focus, but takes too long to report back to the teacher or administrator that "focused" the APP then it comes back with a warning that "This APP may not be installed and may not be focused" The APP works fine by its self, but if the AirSecureTest takes to long to load a page or hangs up at any point during the test the APP locks up and quits the students test. The TA then has to re-open the students test ad re apply Casper Focus to get the student back in. If the device losses Wi-Fi connectivity (because it is fighting with 240 other devices on that one leg of our LAN then the APP bricks the device.

[cdenesha]

@dustin.smiddie You probably already know this - stay away from Casper Focus or Single App Mode configuration profiles with high stakes testing. These require communication with the JSS to break out. Instead enable Autonomous Single App Mode for apps that utilize it, or stick with Guided Access.

chris