SEB Server: Connecting Moodle as Your Assessment Tool
SEB Server does not host quizzes itself. It works alongside your Moodle site, where the actual quiz questions and student results live. Before you can import a quiz as an exam, you have to tell SEB Server how to reach your Moodle site and give it permission to look up courses on your behalf. That link is called an Assessment Tool Setup.
What this product is for
To set up an exam in SEB Server, you need to point at a real Moodle quiz. SEB Server reads the quiz's name, start time, end time and identifier from Moodle each time it needs them, so you never have to keep two copies in sync. The same connection is used to push the automated SEB restriction to Moodle, so a student cannot open the quiz with anything other than the correct Safe Exam Browser.
Main features
- A direct link between SEB Server and your Moodle site.
- Live lookups of courses and quizzes, so SEB Server always sees the current data from Moodle.
- Automated SEB restriction on the Moodle quiz, provided by the SEB Server Plugin for Moodle.
- Optional proxy settings if SEB Server sits behind a firewall or proxy.
- The ability to activate or deactivate a Moodle link without deleting it.
- Support for multiple Moodle sites per institution.
How to use it
What you need before you start
- The URL of your Moodle site, exactly as users type it into a browser.
- The latest SEB Server Plugin for Moodle installed and enabled on your Moodle site. The plugin is what makes automated SEB restriction possible.
- An API account on Moodle that SEB Server can use. This account must be created in Moodle by a Moodle administrator and given the permissions needed to read course data and apply SEB restrictions. Treat the credentials as sensitive.
- If your SEB Server sits behind a proxy, the proxy host, port and any credentials.
Create the Moodle link
- Sign in as an Institutional Administrator.
- Go to Exam Administration, then Assessment Tool Setup.
- Choose Add Assessment Tool Setup from the action pane.
- Enter a name that helps you recognise the link, for example Moodle, Main Campus.
- In the Type selector, choose Moodle with SEB Server Plugin. This option uses the plugin you have installed on Moodle and enables the automated SEB restriction feature.
- In Assessment Tool Server Address, enter your Moodle URL.
- Enter the API credentials in Assessment Tool Server Username and Assessment Tool Server Password. If your Moodle uses an access token instead, paste the token into the access token field.
- If you need proxy settings, fill in the proxy fields.
- Choose Save Assessment Tool Setup to save without activating, or Activate Assessment Tool Setup to save and activate at the same time.
On save or activate, SEB Server tries to connect to Moodle with the details you provided. If the test connection fails, a message describes the likely cause. Fix the issue and try again.
Activate, deactivate or edit the link
Use the Activate Assessment Tool Setup or Deactivate Assessment Tool Setup actions to switch the link on or off. Deactivating the link also deactivates every exam that was imported from it. SEB Server tells you how many exams are affected and asks you to confirm before going ahead.
To change the URL, credentials or any other detail later, open the link and use Edit Assessment Tool Setup.
Common tasks
Check that the link is working. Open Exam Administration, then Assessment Tool Exam Lookup. If the link is healthy you will see a list of courses pulled from Moodle. You may need to adjust the Start-Time filter, which defaults to about a year ago and hides anything older.
Update the API password. If the API account password has been rotated in Moodle, open the Moodle setup in SEB Server, choose Edit, paste the new password and save. SEB Server will test the connection again as part of the save.
Retire a Moodle site. When a Moodle site is being shut down, deactivate the Moodle setup in SEB Server. This also deactivates all imported exams from that site. If you still want to keep the exam data on SEB Server, archive each exam first before deactivating the link.
Add a second Moodle site. You can have more than one Moodle setup per institution. Repeat the steps above and give each link a clear, distinctive name.
Things to know
SEB Server keeps no copy of the course name, dates or identifier. Every time it needs that information, it reads it from Moodle. If you change a quiz title in Moodle, SEB Server will pick up the new title automatically.
Automated SEB restriction is provided by the SEB Server Plugin for Moodle. With the plugin in place, the Apply SEB Lock action on an exam pushes the Config-Key and any other restriction details to Moodle, which then refuses any connection that is not a Safe Exam Browser with the matching configuration.
The API user account in Moodle should only have the permissions it needs to read course data and to push SEB restrictions through the plugin. Avoid using a personal Moodle account for the API connection. Treat the API credentials with the same care as any other system credentials.
An Institutional Administrator sees only the Moodle setups for their own institution. A SEB Server Administrator can see Moodle setups across all institutions, but cannot create or change them.
The Type "Testing" exists for trying out exam configurations without a real Moodle. It provides made-up courses for testing only. Real Safe Exam Browser clients cannot complete an exam against a Testing setup, because the Moodle quiz does not actually exist.
Troubleshooting
The connection test fails. Check that the Moodle URL is reachable from the SEB Server, that the API account exists in Moodle and has the right permissions, and that the username and password are correct. If you go through a firewall or proxy, double-check those settings.
The course list is empty. Open the Assessment Tool Exam Lookup and check the Start-Time filter. It is usually set to a date about a year ago and will hide older courses. Push the filter further back to see them.
I imported a quiz but the title has changed in Moodle and not in SEB Server. SEB Server reads course data on demand. Re-open the exam and the new title should appear. If it does not, check that the Moodle setup is still active.
Apply SEB Lock has no effect. Check that the Type on the Moodle setup is Moodle with SEB Server Plugin, that the plugin in Moodle is up to date, and that the API account used by SEB Server has permission to apply quiz access restrictions through the plugin.
Frequently asked questions
Can SEB Server work with more than one Moodle site?
Yes. You can create as many Assessment Tool Setups as you need, each pointing at a different Moodle site.
What does the SEB Server Plugin for Moodle add?
It exposes the API that SEB Server uses to apply automated SEB restrictions to a Moodle quiz, so that the quiz can only be opened with a Safe Exam Browser whose Config-Key matches your Exam Configuration. It also lets SEB Server send back details such as the quit password, where Moodle supports displaying them.
Does my Moodle need to be on the public internet?
No, as long as your SEB Server can reach it. A Moodle on a private network works, provided SEB Server is allowed through the firewall or proxy.
What happens if Moodle goes down during an exam?
Students who have already opened the quiz will continue with Safe Exam Browser as far as Safe Exam Browser can keep them in the exam. SEB Server's connection to Moodle is used for setup, restrictions and lookups, not for delivering individual quiz questions, which is Moodle's responsibility.
Summary
Linking SEB Server to your Moodle site, with the SEB Server Plugin for Moodle installed, gives you a live view of every course and quiz and turns on the automated SEB restriction feature. Create one Assessment Tool Setup per Moodle site, test the connection, activate the link, and Moodle is ready for SEB Server to import quizzes and lock them down.
These articles are produced and maintained by Essington ITS, a UK-based IT services provider specialising in the deployment of SEB Server the secure online assessment platform.
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