eSAM - Running the exam: the live dashboard

The dashboard is what you watch while an exam is running. It shows every student in the exam, what they are doing, and anything that needs you.

Opening it

1. Open the exam's eSAM page in Moodle.
2. Go to the Monitor tab.
3. Choose Open live dashboard.

You are signed in automatically — there is no second password. Every screen has a link back to Moodle.

What you see

Four tiles across the top: Students, Running, Open alerts and Hands up. Below them, one row per student, so a class of thirty fits on a screen without scrolling through cards.

Each row shows the student's name, what state they are in, when they started, how many screenshots have arrived, which version of eSAM they are running, and when they were last in contact. If your exam uses Teams invigilation, the row also shows their Teams, camera and microphone state.

Everything updates by itself. There is nothing to refresh.

How this exam is set up

A panel on the dashboard shows what the students in front of you have actually been sent: the Profile the exam runs on, the Apps students may open, the Documents that went with it, the Invigilation meeting if there is one, and the restrictions that are in force.

Check it at the start of a sitting. It is the quickest way to catch an exam that was saved but never reached the service, a document that did not upload, or a profile that is not the one you meant — while there is still time to do something about it.

Raised hands

A student who raises their hand appears immediately: the Hands up tile counts them, their row is marked Hand up with the time, and they show on the screens wall too, so you do not have to click into anybody to find out who needs you.

When you have dealt with them, choose Clear on their row. That takes the hand down everywhere at once. Clearing a hand is not the same as replying — you can message the student as well, and for anything more than "yes, go ahead" you probably should.

Acting on one student

Each row has icon buttons:

Pause and lock

Locks the student's screen. They cannot see or answer the questions until you resume them.

Resume

Unlocks them and adds the paused time back to their exam, so a pause does not cost them minutes.

Screenshot now

Asks for a screenshot immediately rather than waiting for the next scheduled one.

Open this student

Their own page: the full timeline, their screenshots, pre-flight results, allowed apps and documents, the device they are on, and the messages between you.

Anything more serious — ending one student's exam, giving extra time, bringing their Teams window to the front, showing a release code — lives on the student's own page rather than in a row, so it cannot be hit by accident while you are scanning a list.

Letting a student out when their PC is offline

Normally you end a student's exam from their page and their PC releases itself. That needs eSAM to be able to reach the service — so if a student's PC has lost its connection, it will not work.

For that case, choose Show release code on the student's page. You get an eight-digit code. Read it to the student, who types it into Exam menu → Leave the exam on their PC. It works entirely offline.

The code expires, and the page tells you when. Every use is recorded against that session and appears on the integrity report, which is what makes it safe to read one out: there is a record of who was released, when, and by whom.

Do not read a code to a student whose attempt is not submitted unless you mean to end their exam — the code releases the PC, it does not submit their work.

Acting on everyone

The right-hand rail holds the whole-exam controls:

Message everyone

A message to every student in the exam. Use it for "ten minutes left" and for anything the room needs to hear at once.

Finalise reports

Sends each finished attempt's summary to Moodle. Reports are also sent by themselves as attempts finish, so this is a way of making sure rather than the only way it happens. Do it when the exam is over.

End exam for all

Submits every open attempt, then releases each PC. This is the end-of-exam button, and it does submit work, so it is not one to press to see what happens.

Watching screens

Choose Watch screens for a wall of every student's latest screenshot at once. Each picture replaces itself as a new one arrives. It is designed for a second monitor beside you while the exam runs.

Alerts

Alerts appear as they are raised. Open the alerts list, read what happened, and either Acknowledge it — you have seen it and dealt with it — or Dismiss it if it needs nothing. You can add a note, which is worth doing: it appears on the integrity report afterwards, and "spoke to student, calculator app" answers a question three weeks later that memory will not.

An alert names what it is about. A blocked program says which program, so "blocked software was found" is something you can act on without opening anything.

Repeats fold into the alert that is already open rather than arriving as new ones. A student whose calculator takes focus forty times gives you one alert with a count on it, not forty alerts. The count is worth reading — forty is a different situation from two — but your list stays a list of problems rather than a list of events.

A sensible way to invigilate

1. Open the dashboard before students arrive and watch them appear as they start.
2. Check the pre-flight badges early — that is where "my second monitor" and "I'm on a VM" show up.
3. Keep the screens wall on a second monitor if you have one.
4. Deal with alerts as they come rather than in a batch at the end.
5. When the exam is over: End exam for all, then Finalise reports.

If a student drops off

A row that stops updating means eSAM has lost contact with that PC — a network drop, a crash, or a power cut. Their work is saved in Moodle as they go, so a short drop is usually harmless. Go and look at the student. The dashboard tells you something is wrong; it cannot tell you what is happening in the room.