Are you Prepared for Your Next Test? | VMware End-User ...

by Geoffrey Murase, Solutions Marketing, VMware

The push to move from paper and pencil to online testing for state assessments hit a bump in the road earlier this year when the Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational Progress Plus or ?ISTEP+? state assessment program encountered some problems.? Below is an excerpt from an NPR article that summarizes the incident:

?On Monday, April 29, 2013, Indiana students in Grades 3-8 began taking online portions of the state?s standardized test, the ISTEP+. Between 8 and 9 a.m. Eastern, the testing website began locking students out of the exam. Some students were unable to log into their exams. Others were locked out of the testing website during their exams, forcing students to wait in front of ?Please Wait? screens featuring an image of a globe ? the infamous ?globe screen.?? In total, the computer problems disrupted around 30,000 testing sessions, state education officials reported. Many districts decided to suspend testing for the day.?

At the time, administrators had a difficult time identifying the root cause of the problem and almost two months later, testing company executives testified that the servers handling the traffic did not have enough memory to support the load.? When all was said and done, it was found that over 145,000 tests were flagged as ?disrupted? in one way or another.? Now the state has hired The National Center for the Improvement of Educational Assessment to perform an independent analysis of the data and come up with a recommendation.? This may ultimately lead to throwing out the results.

This experience accentuates the importance of ensuring the error-free delivery of online testing for these state assessments.? What will happen if the results are thrown out?? Will students have to retake the test?? How will school, teacher, and student performance be measured and how will state funding be allocated?

In this case, the cause of the problem was found to be in the testing servers, not the test delivery system.? However, test administrators would similarly question the validity of test results if the test delivery system somehow failed.? This is where the value of delivering tests using virtual desktops becomes clear.

In an earlier blog post, I wrote about how VMware has worked closely with online testing industry leader Pearson to achieve ?TestNav Qualified? status for delivering online tests in a Horizon View virtual desktop environment.? This qualification ensures that online tests can be delivered securely, error-free, and with a good user experience.? More specifically, the stringent requirements to achieve TestNav Qualified status include:

• While logging in concurrently, no error messages are received
• The first test item/question of the test loads fully at the same speed as the baseline amount of less than 45 seconds
• While interacting with all test items/questions there are no noticeable curser lags, input lags or delays in tool engagement as compared to the baseline epat
• While interacting with video, audio, and TEI test items/questions there are no significant lags or delays compared to baseline epat
• There is no noticeable delay when navigating from test item/question to test item/question
• All tools work correctly as demonstrated in the baseline ePAT
• At submit, no error message is received
• When hitting submit the response is at the same speed as the baseline amount of 10 seconds
• From ?login? to ?submit? the desktop is secure and the system does not allow access to any application, content, or other service beyond the TestNav 7.5 test assessment delivery system
• From ?login? to ?submit? the system does not allow any screen captures, printing, saving or other electronic replication or duplication of the display screen, source code or content of the test
• All data is encrypted between client and server for the entirety of the usage period

Pearson TestNav delivers over 9 million tests annually and ensuring the integrity of the results should be one of the highest priorities for administrators.? Delivering Pearson TestNav online tests with VMware? Horizon View? eliminates the stress of worrying about an ?Indiana-like? debacle due to online test delivery errors and lets administrators and teachers focus on what they do best.

Visit us here for more information about VMware?s online testing solution.

Are YOU prepared for your next test? ?Let us know on Facebook and Twitter!

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Source: http://blogs.vmware.com/euc/2013/07/are-you-prepared-for-your-next-test.html

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Channel 4 brings offline viewing to 4oD for Android and iOS

The UK's Channel 4 is no stranger to on-demand programming, and now it's bringing the convenience of offline viewing to the mobile version of 4oD. In the latest update for Android and iOS, registered users can download shows that aired during the past 30 days, all for free. From there, users have seven days to view the content before it expires. There's a subtle catch, as all programming must be downloaded over WiFi, from within the UK or the Republic of Ireland. Once downloaded, however, shows can be watched offline from anywhere. Offline viewing is currently restricted to the network's commissioned shows, but it's looking to add programming from other studios in the future. Consider this Channel 4's way of keeping up with the Joneses... or in this case, the BBC.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, Software, HD, Mobile

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Via: The Digital Lifestyle

Source: Channel 4, App Store, Google Play

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/2LeUFQJVGKs/

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Grad student hikes from Canada to Mexico on Continental Divide Trail

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Source: www.collegian.psu.edu --- Tuesday, July 09, 2013
After a January bike accident in which Ethan Davis broke his neck and tore off some of his face, he said he didn't know if he would be able to walk again. ...

Source: http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2013/07/09/grad_student_hikes_from_canada_to_mexico_on_continental_divide_trail.aspx

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Power Plans in Windows 8 Pro

It should remember your settings.

Did you remember to disable Sleep and Hybrid Sleep also in Windows under Change Advance Power Settings?

In the Bios you would want to turn off anything under Power Managment dealing with C states, but again you should not have to.

Source: http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=380313&goto=newpost

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Dropbox announces the Dropbox Platform, syncing with third-party apps, Mailbox integration

At Dropbox's first DBX developer conference in San Francisco, CEO Drew Houston announced a new Dropbox Platform for developers, which is essentially a suite of tools to make it easier for apps to access data across devices and operating systems. Built on top of the Sync API, Houston says the new Dropbox Platform is designed to "replace the hard drive" and that "sync is the new save." There's the Datastore API, which lets you sync data like contacts, to-do items and game state -- so you can save your Angry Birds level across your different gadgets for example. Another key platform component is the "Drop-in," which lets developers drop just a few lines of code for cross-platform compatibility. Two such drop-ins are the "chooser," which gives apps instant access to files in Dropbox, and "Saver, which provides one-click saving to the cloud. These tools have been around already, but are just now available for native iOS and Androd apps. Some of the third-party companies that have signed onto the new Dropbox Platform include Shutterstock, PicMonkey, Asana, Yahoo! Mail, Animoto, 1Password, CloudOn, FedEx and Fargo.

As part of the announcement, Dropbox also touted a new feature for Mailbox -- that much-hyped app that Dropbox bought in March. It will now finally be able to send attachments directly from the app, which is something that the native iOS client can't do. All you'll have to do is tap the paper clip icon to open a list of Dropbox files, select your file and away you go. We've included a screenshot of the Mailbox interface after the break.

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Source: Dropbox

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/E_eeCOzXE4c/

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Stocks log 4-day rally; Nasdaq best in 13 years

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JeeYeon Park CNBC

4 hours ago

Stocks logged their fourth-straight winning session on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 about 1 percent below its all-time closing high and the Nasdaq posting its best close since October 2000, lifted by a positive start to second-quarter earnings season.

"At the pace we are going at, the S&P could be challenging the May high at 1,687 by the end of the week," wrote Elliot Spar, market strategist at Stifel Nicolaus. "The bulls will surely be cheerleading for that but those that live in the real world of owning a lot of the market's merchandise that is still under water, will not be in a celebratory mood."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied for its fourth-straight session, to close 75 points, or half a percent higher, at 15,300.34, led by Cisco and Caterpillar. The blue-chip index is over 100 points from its record close of 15,409.39.

The S&P 500 finished at 1,652.32 -- 17 points off its all-time highest close -- and the Nasdaq also finished higher, at 3,504.26. The Russell 2000 index hit another all-time high. The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, slid near 14.

Most key S&P sectors closed higher, lifted by industrials and materials, while telecoms slipped.

"The good news is that earnings expectations have been ratcheted down over the past few weeks," said Todd Salamone, director of research at Schaeffer's Investment Research. "Lowered expectations are good because that's a lower hurdle to jump over?and a lot depends on the outlook."

Dow component Alcoa posted earnings and revenue that topped Wall Street expectations, adding it remains optimistic that global demand for aluminum will grow 7 percent this year. Shares of the aluminum maker initially opened higher, but quickly reversed their gains. Alcoa unofficially marks the start to each earnings season.

As of Friday, 122 S&P 500 companies had made earnings pre-announcements, and the ratio of negative-to-positive ones was 6.5-to-one, according to Reuters. That is the biggest percent of negative readings since 2001.

Some major banks turned lower after U.S. regulators proposed a plan that would force the country's largest financials to hold twice as much equity capital than required by the global Basel III bank capital standards.The eight largest banks would be subject to a leverage ratio of 6 percent.

JPMorgan and Wells Fargo are scheduled to report earnings later this week.

(Read More: Firms Set to Beat Lowered Bar for Earnings Season)

On the economic front, small business optimism slipped in June from its one-year high amid uncertainty over the economic recovery, according to the National Federation of Independent Business.

The government auctioned $32 billion in 3-year notes at a high yield of 0.719. The bid-to-cover ratio, an indicator of demand, was 3.35, versus the recent average of 3.50.

Meanwhile, the IMF shaved its 2013 global growth forecast to 3.1 percent, citing slowdown in emerging economies and ongoing worries in Europe. It also lowered its outlook for 2014 to 3.8 percent, down from a 4 percent expansion.

In Asia, investors largely ignored unexpectedly high consumer inflation numbers from China, despite fears that strong price rises will rule out the prospect of monetary easing by the Chinese central bank.

"CPI [consumer price inflation] data is not a market mover. Short-term focus is still on shadow banking. Investors are wondering if China's banking system can sustain a decline in GDP [gross domestic product] growth," said Stephen Sheung, head of investment strategy at SHK Private.

Meanwhile, Japan's benchmark index closed just shy of a new six-week high, as the dollar-yen trade breached the 101-yen handle.

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Metal Gear's Shinkawa Draws Pacific Rim Poster & Japan's Creators Laud Film

Yoji Shinkawa, the artist best known for his work on the Metal Gear and Zone of the Enders game franchises, drew a poster for the Japanese RealD 3D release of Guillermo del Toro's Pacific Rim film. The illustration depicts the American Jaeger mecha Gypsy Danger posing over the crumpled body of the Kaiju (monster) Knifehead in Shinkawa's signature ink-brush style.

Del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth, Hellboy) personally asked Shinkawa to draw the poster, and the director commented that it is an honor to be to able to work with such an eminent Japanese artist and illustrator.

The creator of the Metal Gear and Zone of the Enders franchises himself, Hideo Kojima, photographed del Toro and Shinkawa together. Kojima gave his thoughts on the film last week:

I have never imagined that I would be fortunate enough to see a film like this in my life. The emotional rush I had inside me was the same kind I had when I felt the outer space via "2001: A Space Odyssey" and when I had touched the dinosaur in "Jurassic Park". Animation and special effects movies and shows that I loved in my childhood days - they all truly exist in the screen.

Director Guillermo del Toro offers this spectacular vision of massive kaijus and robots in PACIFIC RIM. This film is not simply a film to be respected, but most importantly, it let us dream the future of entertainment movies. Pacific Rim is the ultimate otaku film that all of us had always been waiting for. Who are you, if you are Japanese and won't watch this?

I hope you would accept this inspirational love letter that had traveled across the Pacific, written by Director Guillermo del Toro.

Manga and anime pioneer Go Nagai (Mazinger Z, Devilman, Cutey Honey) said, "I was overwhelmed by the intense kaij? vs. giant robot action. It was fun!" Evangelion character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto compared the film to a huge, satisfying feast with the best prime cuts from Japanese tokusatsu (special-effects) and anime works.

Game designer Fumito Ueda (Ico, Shadow of the Colossus) remarked that Japanese tokusatsu films burned an indelible mark on his impressionable mind when he saw them as a child. Years later, he said that this film has battle scenes that surpass those images etched into his nostalgic memories.

The Pacific Rim film is about a futuristic war between humans and beasts called ?Kaiju? (Japanese for monster) that rose from a portal in the Pacific Ocean and have killed millions of lives. The humans then create robots called Jaegers (German for hunter) as a counter-measure to the threat.

Warner Brothers hired many familiar names for the Japanese dub cast of the film:

The film will open in American theaters on Friday, and in Japanese theaters on August 8.

Del Toro is developing a live-action television adaptation of Naoki Urasawa's suspense manga Monster, and he already outlined the first season's episodes so Urasawa can review it before giving permission.

Source: Mainchi Shimbun's Mantan Web via Kotaku, Hachima Kik?

Source: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2013-07-10/metal-gear-shinkawa-draws-pacific-rim-poster-and-japan-creators-laud-film

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