VERY IMPORTANT LCC Online Testing Update

Hello all,

Joe Escobar here.  I have some important information to share with you concerning LCC's Online Secure Testing System.  I am sending this email to all LCC Outreach Center coordinators, Distance Learning personnel, and Cottage Grove and Florence campuses.  Please check the TO: line of this email to be sure that no one has been excluded.  More importantly, if you know someone who's name SHOULD be on the list, be sure to forward a copy of this email to them.

We've now had two terms to experiment with our new online testing system.  Thanks to all who participated during the 2001 Spring and Summer Terms.  Below are three critical things to know about the system.

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The first and most important change is the testing homepage address.  It is:
http://test.campus.lanecc.edu
This name is much more descriptive than the old IP address.  It is only reacheable by LCC computers behind the firewall.  (This includes the new staff modem dialup access.)  Please be sure to bookmark it on your specific computer used for online testing.  (You should delete the old bookmark as it is no longer working.)

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The second step will be to determine if the IP address of your testing computers is registered on our system.  As you know, ONLY machines with registered IP addresses are able to access online tests.  There is a VERY EASY way to check that your machines are registered and ready to go.  On the homepage (test.campus.lanecc.edu), you'll find an asterisk mark just to the right side of the blue title graphic.  Here's what to do (for EACH testing computer you have):

1. Click the asterisk (you'll be taken to a test login page)
2. Enter a number, ANY number whatsoever
3. If you "see" the test, you'll see a message stating that this machine is secure.  This machine is officially registered and ready to offer online tests.
4. If you receive an error message stating that the test is "NOT AVAILABLE TO THIS WORKSTATION", then this machine will not be able to offer tests until you email me directly (escobarj@lanecc.edu) with the IP address for that machine.

I will leave this procedure to check for a secure station available at all times.  When you add, delete, or change machines, which happens more often than you might think, you'll have this tool to make sure that you are always "ready to go". 

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Third, and finally, is the most important procedural and troubleshooting guide for you.  This help page is online at:
http://test.campus.lanecc.edu/help.html

The most important thing I can stress to you is that when you contact either the instructor or myself with a problem, PLEASE include the text of the error message page (always in red letters... see the help page).  This will be the MOST helpful piece of information we need to fix the problem, in addition to the student's ID#, instructor name, class name, and test name they were trying to take.


That's all for now.  Here's to a great term and year.
Joe
escobarj@lanecc.edu
x2581