Since December 2020, the new Test Tool has been gradually released to users, and is now the only tool available for creating new tests. This page contains release notes for 2024. (Please read the overview page to read more about the new test tool: New Test Tool Overview)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Test tool v1.41 (July)
- Test tool v 1.40 (June)
- Test tool v 1.39 (May)
- Test tool v1.38 (April)
- Test tool v 1.37 (April)
- Test tool v 1.36 (March)
- Test tool v 1.35 (February)
- Test tool v 1.34 (January)
You can find previous release notes here:
Test tool release notes - 2023
Test tool release notes - 2022
Test tool release notes - 2021
Test tool v1.41 (July)
Minor technical release, preparing for the upcoming update feature and security improvements.
Also fixed an issue in the previous release where images in answer alternatives were not displayed.
Test tool v 1.40 (June)
Minor technical release, preparing for the upcoming update feature and security improvements.
One accessibility bug is fixed, where some interactive elements did not have a focus frame and tab order.
Test tool v 1.39 (May)
Warning for switching application when using test mode browser
In some cases it is possible for students on Windows to use the "swipe" action or some key combinations, to access their desktop. (Note: starting other applications is still blocked). This action is not possible to block, but it is detected by the test mode browser (TMB). We will now display a warning to the student when this happens, and inform the teacher that the student has attempted to switch application n times. This is visible as a warning icon in the list of submitted attempts, and as a warning banner in the assessment page. We cannot detect if this was on purpose or not, and we cannot detect if they actually accessed some sort of information. We allow the student to continue the test, and the teacher should investigate the situation in dialog with the student.
Screenshot showing the warning banner. In this case the student has attempted to switch applications once.
Test tool v1.38 (April)
Minor technical release and a bug fix:
- Error when editing equation or image in multiple choice answer alternatives
Test tool v 1.37 (April)
Language updates
We have reviewed the 'tip text' for all the question types and updated this to be more consistent and correct. We also fixed one occurrence of 'category' where it should say 'question group'.
Preparing for upcoming change
The test mode browser (TMB) app for Chromebooks will stop working at the end of 2024 due to Google discontinuing the 'kiosk apps'. Respondus will create a new extension for the itslearning TMB for Chromebooks, and we are making the necessary technical changes to prepare for this. The new app will be available later in 2024, at which time we will publish new documentation on how to make this work.
Bugfixes
- Activity inside test tool is now detected and prevents the automatic logout to kick in too early. There may still be scenarios like writing inside the editor for a long time where the system sees this as 'idle'.
- Improved behaviour of pagination for test results
- Issue with duplicate alternatives in Match questions
- Accessibility: better visual difference when an expandable box can and cannot be expanded
Test tool v 1.36 (March)
Minor technical release and a few bug fixes:
- Issues displaying images when a student views his/her results
- Equations shown as html when printed
- 'Non-breaking space' lead to answer being interpreted as wrong. We think this was caused by students using a particular type of device/keyboard.
Test tool v 1.35 (February)
Minor technical release and a few bug fixes:
- We are aware that in some rare cases there is an issue with the calculation of the assessment of a test, in particular when submitted very close to the deadline or autosubmitted. We've been working to improve this for a while and have made good progress. We'll keep monitoring the situation and see if we can tweak it even more. Note: no data is lost, it's the communication of the information that has been failing.
- Accessibility: Fill in the blank and Select from a list questions are not presented with headers and a short explanation when a student takes a test. They are also adapted to be informative for screen reader users.
- Accessibility: improved labels of some form elements in various pages.
Test tool v 1.34 (January)
Minor technical release to improve stability and prepare for the option to update tests to the new format.