Examuntu : A Secure and Portable Linux-Distribution for Summative E-Assessments at Universities

Abstract

As electronic assessments emerged into the academic landscape, specialized software solutions were developed along with them. Nowadays, many e-assessment systems that provide secure environments for digital examinations are available. However, they often lack portability or possess a complex software architecture that is laborious to maintain. In order to address these issues, we developed the extit{Examuntu} operating system. It provides a robust and secure e-assessment environment, being both lightweight and easily deployable in a wide range of computer pools, while allowing a flexible adaptation to multiple types of e-assessments and their respective software application requirements.

With this paper, our contribution is twofold. First, we present the design of our novel e-assessment environment for computer pools. This includes the basic system architecture as well as individual aspects, such as web traffic filtering, browser security, and configuration management. Second, we report on our use of Examuntu in conjunction with a Moodle LMS during math lectures. Our setup features various question types and an optimized computer algebra system, allowing to parameterize exercises and generate differentiated feedback. We confirm that applied security measures did not negatively impact students by comparing their performance within digital to pen-and-paper examinations. Qualitative evaluations of three different e-assessment types show how students, assessment developers, and exam supervisors benefit from proposed Examuntu environment.