Arcanic Observer
- Arcanic Observer is a monitoring solution for use during exam with invigilation, where students use their own computers.
- It must be downloaded by students onto their own computers before the exam begins.
- It can be used for exams where a strict lockdown of the computer (like Safe Exam Browser provides) is not necessary, but where monitoring of potential communication with external parties outside the exam room is needed.
- It works with any type of exam with invigilation (multiple choice or essay) and is compatible with both Mac OS and Windows operating systems.
- It cannot access data on the student’s computer.
How does it work
- The monitoring works by having the student download the program on their computer before the exam begins and start recording.
- The tool then takes periodic screenshots of the active windows and programs that the student opens during the exam in Digital Exam. This allows for reviewing logs of individual students’ exams after the exam, in case of suspected cheating.
- The monitoring stops automatically at the end of the exam (considering any extended time) or 15 minutes after the submission if it happens before the exam ends.
- The student can also manually stop the monitoring (with a warning beforehand), but this will be recorded in a log, accessible via the monitoring interface in Digital Exam.
Setting up the exam
- When setting up an exam with times and other details in Digital Exam, the administrator must select the option “Observer” under the Security tab.
Before the exam
- On the exam itself, the student must download the Arcanic Observer client and then use a personal code to log in to the solution to start the monitoring. See the student guide here.
- Afterward, the student can begin answering the questions as usual, whether it’s an MCQ or an essay/assignment response.
During the exam
- Through the invigilator interface in Digital Exam, the student’s status can be monitored in relation to Arcanic Observer via various filters/views
- The “last activity (min)” shows the number of minutes since the last activity. If it shows 0 minutes, the student still has Observer running. If several minutes have passed, the student may have accidentally terminated Observer.
After the exam
- Arcanic Observer will stop recording either at the end of the exam or 15 minutes after submission, if this occurs before the exam ends
- Students will have access to their recordings no later than 48 hours after the exam by accessing the completed exam in Digital Exam
- The administrator can access the same recordings in Digital Exam through the Observer recordings tool. All administrators with access to Observer recordings can view all Observer exam recordings
Observer recordings
- Under the Administrative Tools tab, click on Observer recordings
(You need special access for this, managed by your university’s DE administrator)
- Here, you will find an overview of exams where Observer is enabled, with various sorting options (You can also search for students across exams and by exam.)
On the specific exam the administrator can
- mark if the recordings are not visible for the students
- get a casino-view of all the students screen
- see Submission time
- see Recording status (including gaps, meaning there were periods when Observer wasn’t recording)
Observer recordings – a specific student
- If individual students stand out, such as having gaps in their recordings, you can click on a specific student
A gap in the recording means that Observer was shut down for a period (e.g., the student may have accidentally closed Observer).
The overview for a specific student includes:
- Exam start/end times
- Submission time
- Option to write a comment or note that the recording should be reviewed by another person
- Viewing the time of a gap in the recording (note that if the student starts the recording AFTER the exam begins, this will also show as a gap)The blue bar represents the duration of the student’s exam.The number of sessions reflects the resumption of Observer recordings — one gap will result in two sessions.
- The red bar represents session 1, i.e., the first recording that began before the exam started.
- The yellow bar represents session 2, i.e., the resumed recording.
- You can play back the different sessions and mark bookmarks for suspicious behavior.
