MARKHAM, ON - February 12, 2011 - We have gone live with a major update to the testing, assessment, and survey functions in the LMS. This update introduces three major enhancements to the system.
Test Submission Failover
Test data is now saved locally when tests are submitted, so there's a backup in case the Internet connection goes down while the user is taking the test. If the submission fails, the user will be notified that their results have been saved, and given instructions for retrieving them. The next time that user tries to take that same test, the system will give them the option to submit the previous results, or take the test again. If the test submission is successful the first time, those saved results are deleted, so users can't cheat the system.
Test Timeout
Previously, the length of time available to take a test was tied to the system's session timeout - users had 2 hours to complete a test because the system kept the session active for 2 hours before timing out. New functionality has been added which keeps the session alive while the test is being taken, so the session will never timeout in the background while users are working on their tests.
Custom Test Time Limits
Since test durations are no longer limited to the system's session timeout, tests can be any duration, and you can customize the test timeout for each of your tests. Test timeout is a module setting now, much like retraining intervals, and is configured by going to Manage Modules and editing the individual module settings. Specify the test timeout in minutes. The system default is 2 hours, which is sufficient for most tests.
When taking a test, users still get told how long they have to complete it, and the elapsed time is still displayed in the status bar. Thirty minutes before the time is up, a warning is displayed, then another warning 1 minute before timeout. When the time is up, users are notified and returned to their home page, as before.
Altogether, these enhancements provide much greater flexibility and reliability to the testing subsystem, allowing each company to further customize the tests to suit their needs, while preventing users from losing an hour or two hours of test answers when a connection drops.