SEB Server: Screen Proctoring

What this product is for

Lockdown stops a student opening other applications or websites. It does not, by itself, show you what they are doing inside the allowed apps. Screen proctoring fills that gap. Safe Exam Browser takes screenshots at events such as a key press or a mouse click, and sends them to SEB Server's screen proctoring component. Invigilators see the screenshots live in a gallery, can expand a session for a closer look, and can search recorded sessions later.

Main features

• Live gallery of student screens, refreshed as new screenshots arrive.
• Grid sizes of 4, 9 or 16 sessions per page.
• Tile information showing the latest screenshot, with name and IP optionally on display.
• Detailed proctoring view for a single session, with a video-style slider.
• Session grouping by one group per exam, or by existing SEB Client Groups.
• Search across recorded sessions by exam, user, screenshot metadata or time.
• Applications-based search to see who used which application during one or more exams.
• Screenshot metadata including the focused application, browser title, browser URL and the activity that triggered the capture.
• Accessibility support to WCAG, with details available in the SEB Screen Proctoring VPAT document.

How to use it

Enable screen proctoring on an exam

1. Sign in as an Exam Administrator.
2. Open the exam you want to proctor.
3. From the action pane, open the Screen Proctoring settings.
4. Choose how clients should be grouped:
   • One Group for Exam. All connected clients go into one group. Give the group a name.
   • Apply to SEB Client Groups. Match the existing SEB Client Groups you defined on the exam. Pick the groups you want to use for proctoring, and give a name to the Fallback Group for clients that do not match any chosen group.
5. Save.

SEB Server will create the matching screen proctoring groups when the exam is imported or saved. From version 2.1 onwards, enabling screen proctoring on the exam also turns on screen proctoring in the attached Exam Configuration automatically. Before going live, double-check that screen proctoring is enabled both on the exam and in the SEB Settings of the attached Exam Configuration.

Open the proctoring interface

1. Go to Monitoring and open the running exam.
2. In the Screen Proctoring section, choose the action that opens the screen proctoring interface. It will open in a new browser tab.

You can also pick the exam from the Running Exams list inside the screen proctoring interface itself.

Use the gallery view

The gallery view shows a tile for every connected session, each tile displaying the latest screenshot.

• Use the Grid-Size drop-down to switch between 4, 9 and 16 tiles per page.
• Use the arrows on the left and right of the screen, or the page indicator, to move between pages.
• Hover over a tile, or press Tab, to reveal extra actions for that session.
• Use the settings icon in the top right to toggle Show Name and Show IP, or to change the sort order. Sessions sort by surname ascending by default.
• Click the camera icon on a tile to open the proctoring view in a new tab.
• Click the expand icon to enlarge the screenshot.

When no clients are connected, the gallery shows a message box. The message disappears as soon as the first session connects.

Use the proctoring view

The proctoring view is a focused view on one session.

• A live session shows a Live button. The view updates as new screenshots arrive.
• Use the slider beneath the screenshot like a video player to scrub backwards and forwards through captured screenshots.
• Click Live to jump back to the latest capture.
• The Details box on the right shows static SEB Session Info and the dynamic Screenshot Metadata for the current screenshot.
• Use the settings icon to change the playback speed.
• The Live button disappears once the session disconnects, leaving a fully recorded view.

Running Exams view

The Running Exams item in the left menu of the screen proctoring interface lists every exam your account can see.

• Exams sort by Start-Time ascending by default; click any column header to change the order.
• Click the group name in the Group column to jump to that group's gallery view.
• Use the settings icon to show past exams (red) or upcoming exams (orange).

Search recorded sessions

1. Open Search from the left-hand menu.
2. Fill in the search form. You can search across exam data, session or user data, screenshot metadata, and time data.
3. Run the search. Results are grouped by day and sorted by date descending.
4. Expand a day to see the sessions on that day, sorted by start time descending.
5. Expand a session to see its screenshots, grouped by Application/Website metadata.
6. Click the camera icon on any screenshot to jump straight to that point in the proctoring view.

If the session is still live, clicking the camera takes you to the latest screenshot rather than to the chosen time.

Applications search

From version 2.1, the Applications item in the left menu lets you search across exams for the applications students used.

1. Open Applications.
2. Pick a date and time range and use Search to see the exams in that window.
3. Select the exams you are interested in and use Go.
4. For each exam, you will see a list of applications used during the exam.
5. Open an application to see the different tabs or windows used within it, and how many screenshots were captured.
6. Open a tab or window to see the users who used it, with their screenshot counts.
7. Use the usual recording action to open the full session, or the recording-folder action to open a recording containing only the screenshots from that application, tab or window.

Screenshot metadata

Each screenshot carries metadata that describes what was on screen:

• Focused Application, for example SafeExamBrowser.Client.exe or calc.exe.
• SEB-Browser-Title, for example Moodle Exam Mathematics 3.
• Activity Details, for example A key has been pressed or Left mouse button has been pressed.
• SEB-Browser URL, for example the URL of the Moodle quiz.
• Focused Window Title, for example Moodle Exam 123.

Additional metadata fields may appear in later Safe Exam Browser and SEB Server releases.

Common tasks

Set up proctoring for a standard exam. On the exam, enable screen proctoring with One Group for Exam and give the group a recognisable name, for example the exam name. Check that screen proctoring is enabled in the attached Exam Configuration's SEB Settings. On the day, supporters open the proctoring interface from the monitoring view.

Split proctoring by exam room. First make sure you have an IP-based SEB Client Group for each room. In the screen proctoring settings on the exam, choose Apply to SEB Client Groups and select your room groups. Name the Fallback Group sensibly, for example Other. Each room then has its own gallery.

Spot-check a session you flagged earlier. Open Search, narrow the form to the student's username and the exam date, and use the camera icon on any screenshot to jump into the proctoring view at that exact time.

Investigate use of a specific application. Open Applications, select the relevant exams in the chosen time range, and drill into the application of interest to see who used it and for how long.

Things to know

From version 2.1, enabling or disabling screen proctoring on the exam automatically does the same on the attached Exam Configuration. Changes you make directly to the SEB Settings of the Exam Configuration do not flow the other way, so always set the exam first and then verify the SEB Settings.

Screen proctoring captures screenshots at events such as a key press or a mouse click. It is not continuous video. Be clear in your exam communications about what is captured and stored.

Screenshot metadata can include the URL of the page on screen, which means it can capture information that students have typed into a URL bar. Treat the proctoring data with the same care as any other personal data and align retention with your institution's policies. UK institutions should make sure proctoring sits within the relevant data protection notice given to students.

The proctoring view is accessible to people with disabilities in line with WCAG. The Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) for SEB Screen Proctoring details where it conforms and where there are known limitations.

The proctoring interface is a separate browser tab. Closing the SEB Server tab does not close it, and vice versa.

Troubleshooting

No tiles appear in the gallery. Confirm that screen proctoring is enabled on both the exam and the attached Exam Configuration's SEB Settings, that the exam is running, and that at least one Safe Exam Browser is connected and the student is signed into Moodle.

The Live button has disappeared. The session has disconnected. You can still scrub through the recorded screenshots using the slider, but no new screenshots will arrive.

I expected proctoring for a particular room, but everyone is in the Fallback Group. Check that an IP-based SEB Client Group exists for that room and that the IP range covers the actual addresses being used. Then re-check the Screen Proctoring settings on the exam to make sure the group is selected.

The Applications search returns no results. Confirm the date range covers the time the exams actually ran and that screen proctoring was enabled at the time. Older sessions captured before screen proctoring was turned on will not appear.

Frequently asked questions

Does screen proctoring use a webcam?
No. Screen proctoring captures screenshots from the student's screen via Safe Exam Browser. It does not use the device's webcam.

How often are screenshots taken?
They are triggered by activity, such as key presses and mouse clicks, rather than at a fixed interval.

How long are screenshots kept?
Retention is controlled by your SEB Server deployment, not by this user interface. Speak to whoever runs your SEB Server containers about retention and deletion.

Do students know they are being proctored?
This depends on the information you provide. You should tell students before the exam that screen proctoring is in use, what it captures, how long the data is kept and who can see it, to remain consistent with UK data protection requirements.

Can two supporters watch the same gallery at once?
Yes. The interface is delivered through a normal web browser and supports several simultaneous viewers.

Summary

Screen proctoring shows your invigilators what students are actually doing on screen during an exam, in a live gallery and in a searchable recording afterwards. Configure it on the exam, decide on one group or per-client-group grouping, and check that the matching SEB setting is on. With proctoring set up, the exam is ready to run.