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Offline exams on a local network: how they work and how to prepare

Some rooms cannot rely on the internet: a school computer lab with a weak connection, a test centre in a building with patchy coverage, or a high-stakes exam where a dropped connection is simply not acceptable. In those cases the exam can run entirely on your own network. This article explains how that works with the ExamQR offline exam server and what to prepare.

The idea: one server, many candidate computers

One computer in the room runs the ExamQR server. The candidate computers run the ExamQR exam app and connect to the server over the local network. Nothing needs the cloud while the exam is running. Candidates can also open the exam in a browser on a phone or tablet by scanning a QR code, but that is an open exam: the computer is not locked the way it is in kiosk mode.

The candidate app finds the server automatically on the local network. If it cannot, the candidate (or you) types the server address by hand.

Before the exam

  1. Create the exam and its subjects. Each subject has its own test, duration and clock, so several subjects can run in the same room at the same time.
  2. Import the paper. Bring the test in from Word. You can generate several exam codes from one paper by shuffling.
  3. Describe your rooms. Enter the rows and columns of each computer room and mark which seats have a computer.
  4. Add candidates. Import them from a spreadsheet or pick them from your saved list of candidates.
  5. Seat them. The software spreads candidates over the rooms and assigns exam codes so that the neighbours around each seat have different codes as far as possible.
  6. Choose kiosk mode. In kiosk mode the candidate computer is locked to the exam: it blocks switching windows and other shortcuts. Leave it off for an open exam.

You can also bring in an exam package prepared elsewhere, and encrypt packages with a password when you move them around.

Checking the network

  • Put the server and the candidate computers on the same local network.
  • Allow the ExamQR apps through the firewall on the server. Automatic discovery uses UDP port 45454.
  • If the server has several network adapters (virtual machines, VPNs), choose the right address to advertise.
  • Automatic discovery does not cross subnets or VLANs. If your candidates are on a different one, give them the server address to type in.

During the exam

The supervisor dashboard refreshes every second or two and shows who is in progress, submitted, not yet joined or disconnected, filtered by room and session. From there you can:

  • start and stop a subject, and collect all papers when time is up;
  • add or subtract time for everyone or for a filtered group;
  • send a message to a candidate or a group;
  • approve or refuse a candidate's request to switch to another computer or to leave in kiosk mode.

When something breaks

This is the reason to run offline in the first place. Candidate answers are saved on the candidate's computer first and on the server next, so they survive:

  • a candidate app that crashes or a computer that restarts;
  • a network cable pulled out and plugged back in;
  • the server being restarted in the middle of the exam.

Each candidate has one session at a time: signing in on another computer replaces the old session, and the time and answers carry over. If a candidate loses the network at the moment of submitting, they can export their submission to a file and a supervisor can import it from that candidate's record.

After the exam

Scores are calculated automatically when papers are collected, except essays, which you mark by hand. Export results and reports to Excel, print score sheets, and archive the whole exam, results included, so you can restore it later.

A quick lab checklist

  • Server and candidate computers are on the same network, and the firewall allows the apps.
  • Rooms, candidates and exam codes are set up and every candidate is seated.
  • You have chosen kiosk mode or open mode on purpose.
  • You rehearsed with a few computers, including unplugging a cable and restarting the app.
  • You know where the server address is shown, in case a candidate must type it.

Want to see it in your own lab? Read about the offline exam server or browse more articles.

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