Proctor’s Guide

1. System assignment

The proctoring system is designed to validate the independence of passing online assessment (exams or tests) in learning management systems (LMS). It verifies the identity of the participant and monitors in real time to identify possible violations.

2. Technical requirements

Technical requirements of the proctoring system are given in the table below.

Before the assessment, you must check the compatibility of the computer with the proctoring system on the page https://octoproctor.com/demo

Additionally, you can check the webcam, microphone and network here:

• Webcam test
• Microphone test
• WebRTC test
• Check the internet speed

3. Log in to the system

Logging into the proctoring system for the proctor is possible through the LMS, depending on the integration option, or from the login page of the proctoring system by login and password.

To enter the proctoring system:

1. Open the system address in a web browser.
2. Enter your login and password.

Once logged in, the monitoring interface is displayed.

4. Work planning

Some sessions may allow the participant to schedule the assessment date and time. In this case, the proctor needs to fill out his work schedule in the calendar, which can be opened with the corresponding button in the upper right corner of the page. If the schedule is full, test-takers will be able to select slots designated by the proctor on the calendar, and the proctor will become an observer for those sessions. The scheduler interface is presented in the form of a weekly calendar, where you can select an arbitrary number of time slots on any future day.

To manage slots:

1. Switch between weeks in the calendar using the arrow buttons on the toolbar.
2. Add slots: Select the range with the mouse and click the add button on the toolbar or press Enter.
3. Delete slots: Select the range with the mouse and click the delete button on the toolbar or press Delete. Past slots can no longer be deleted, and the past calendar area is highlighted in gray.

Once slots are added, test-takers will be able to sign up for the designated times. If test-takers have already signed up for sessions, removing slots by the proctor will not cancel the test-takers’ registrations. Already scheduled sessions can be seen in the monitoring interface. Only the system administrator can change, cancel, or change proctors in already scheduled sessions.

5. Supervision interface

Each proctor can observe up to 30 sessions at a time. The more powerful the computer and the faster the Internet, the more sessions can be displayed simultaneously. The left side of the monitoring interface displays a list of sessions assigned to the proctor, which is grouped by the current state of the session. Those sessions that are in process can be watched online. You can view protocols for the past sessions.

You can use the search to display only the desired sessions. You can use the following syntax in your search:

• ^123$: Find the session with the desired identifier (123 — exact match).
• student1: Find sessions with the specific test-taker (student1 —test-taker’s login).
• ^proctor1|proctor2$: Find sessions with the necessary participants (proctor1 or proctor2 — proctor logins, “|” means OR).
• ^entrance: Find sessions starting with the word "entrance" (not case sensitive).
• exam: Find sessions containing the word "exam" in the name.

In the central part, video of those sessions that are selected in the list on the left is displayed. To select specific sessions:

• One session can be selected by clicking on the list item.
• Several sessions can be selected by clicking with the “Ctrl” (“Cmd” for Mac users) key held down.
• Several consecutive sessions can be selected by clicking on another element of the list with the “Shift” key held down.
• All current sessions can be selected using the combination “Ctrl + A” (“Cmd + A” for Mac users).
• You can remove the session selected by the green frame from the central part of the observation with the “Del” (“Backspace” for Mac users) key.

  

A search query can be formulated more accurately using expression syntax. The following operators are supported in search queries, listed in Table below. You can see the list of names of all supported fields in the data export dialog (administrator interface). The date and time format is ISO-8601 (YYYY-MM-DD hh:mm:ss)

Operators for search expressions

****It is possible to switch between selected sessions; the current active session is surrounded by a green frame. The sound from thetest-taker’s computer is reproduced only for the active session surrounded by a green frame; the sound of the remaining sessions is muffled at this time. For an active session, the top bar displays the session title and controls. The proctor can prematurely end the active session with the “Finish” button, and a dialog will appear in which you can immediately give the conclusion and comment

A proctor can chat with a test-taker in an active chat session. In addition to chat, the proctor can communicate with the test-taker via video by clicking on the microphone icon (sound only) or the camera (video + sound) icon at the top of the surveillance interface. When switching between sessions in the chat, the history of one selected session is loaded. You can send not only messages, but also pictures or files to the chat. To send them you need to open a chat, press the button with the image of a paper clip, and select a file on the computer. After that, the file will be attached to the chat. To send it, you need to click the "Send" button or the "Enter" key.

In the chat, you can send a message in the "Incident" mode; in this case, the message is marked in red and the user is blocked from accessing the assessment contents. To unblock the content, you need to send one more message as normal mode.

There are tabs above the chat; you can choose: messages or faces. On the “Faces” tab, photos of the participant’s face are saved, which are checked by the subsystem of biometric verification of personality. Photos are marked with three colors: (1) green — the photo matches the profile of the participant; (2) yellow — the photo matches the profile of the participant, but other profiles with a similar photo were found; (3) red — the photo does not match the profile of the participant.

In each observed session, events that are recorded at the last minute (they are updated every minute) are displayed using special icons on top of the test-taker’s video. A list of all recorded events with symbols is given in the table below.

The list of recorded events and error codes

Code

Pictogram

Description

b1

Browser is not supported

b2

Focus changed to a different window

b3

Full-screen mode is disabled

c1

The webcam is disabled or inaccessible

c2

No face in front of the camera or the participant does not look at the camera

c3

Several people in front of the camera, the system detected more than one person in the frame

c4

Unidentified person in front of the camera, the person changed during the session

c5

Found a similar profile, the system found the other profile with a similar picture

c6

Face does not match the participant profile

m1

Microphone is not working or its volume is low

m2

Conversation or noise in the background

n1

Network connection is lost

n2

Mobile camera is disconnected

n3

Records are not saved

s1

Screen activities are not shared

s2

Second display is used

6. Session assessment

Each session is finished either by test-takers themself, or the proctor, or automatically at the end of the allotted time. All audio, video, text messages, and recorded events are saved in the system and are attached to the session report.

After the end of the session, the system automatically evaluates credibility in the assessment results, including all indicators of the session. The score can be in the range from 0 to 100. At the bottom of the protocol, the session timeline is displayed, which consists of a timeline, the current playback position (vertical moving line), and three horizontal sections. The color (from green to red) highlights the minutes for which metrics in the proctoring system are collected. The larger the total metrics for this minute, the more red the minute is highlighted. In the first section, events are displayed: the moment of photographing a person for verification of identity, chat messages, proctor notes. The second section displays the video tracks. The third section displays a pop-up histogram of metrics for each minute. Moving along the timeline, you can find violations you are interested in and play videos of these areas. The histogram of average values of indicators can determine the most frequent and long-term violations. If an opinion on the session has not yet been issued, the proctor must do so immediately after checking the protocol. To set a conclusion: Click the “Rate” button on the top panel of the protocol, after which a proctor conclusion dialog will be displayed

7. Evaluation criteria for results

The system automatically assigns an assessment of the level of credibility in the assessment results, which depends on the factors described below. For the correct operation of the algorithms, the test-taker must ensure that the following conditions are met:

• The test-taker gives his or her consent for audio and video recording and subsequent storage of the entire assessment.
• The webcam must be installed strictly in front of the face, and it is not allowed to install the camera from the side.
• The head must be fully framed, and no partial or complete exit from the camera’s field of view is permitted.
• The face should be in the center of the webcam’s field of view and occupy at least 10% of the space captured by the camera during the entire session.
• The face should be evenly lit, the light source should not be directed at the camera or only one half of the face.
• Hair, clothing, hands, or anything else should not cover the face area.
• It is not permitted to wear sunglasses; glasses with transparent lenses may only be used.
• There shouldn’t be any other people in the room.
• It is prohibited to leave the workplace during the assessment.
• There shouldn’t be voices or noise in the background; it is most preferable if the assessment is held in silence.
• The assessment must be passed in a browser with a full screen window, you cannot switch to other applications (including other browsers) or minimize the browser, you cannot open third-party tabs (pages).
• All programs that use the webcam should be disabled on your computer, except for your browser.
• The materials and contents of the assessment may not be recorded in any way or passed on to third parties.
• Do not use sound, visual, or any other clues.
• If an attempt to deceive the system or the proctor is detected, the results of the assessment are invalidated.

8. Conference calls with other proctors

Some assessment scenarios involve organizing an examination committee. Members of such a commission can communicate with each other through a special conference interface.

To join a conference:

1. In the main menu, select the “Conference” item.
2. Enter the conference ID. By default, the identifier of the group to which the proctor belongs is inserted.
3. If multiple proctors join a conference with the same ID, they will be able to communicate with each other via audio, video, and chat.