Publish Test Results to Excel
October 24, 2016 12:00 AM
Hi,
We have created an examination which needs to be delivered offline, and the test results need to be submitted to a "database" - which could really just be an excel spreadsheet.
The examinee cannot be allowed an opportunity to see or modify the results of the exam; so having Lectora submit the results via email is not a workable solution (as it literally pops up an email that shows the examinee all of the correct answers and would let them submit whatever they wanted).
Google Drive is also not a workable solution, because the templates available can only hold 50 responses and it is a 60 question exam. Beyond that, Google Drive submissions are effectively useless, because it is submitting the full text of the answers, as opposed to the answer keys.. nobody can score an exam like that. There will be hundreds of people taking the exam.
I am a training office, so I do not have a cadre of IT specialists to write custom ASP and PERL scripts. I don't understand scripting.
Is there any (relatively straightforward, simple) way to publish test results to an excel spreadsheet OR to an access database?
Discussion (7)
Wait, you say "needs to be delivered offline" but you also say "publish test results to an excel spreadsheet OR to an access database". If it is offline, how is it going to access the database? Also, if it is offline and published to an Excel file, how is it going to submit the Excel file to you? Via email? What if they edit the Excel file?
I guess the problem is that Lectora includes the answer key in email submission. It should be possible to modify the Lectora script that produces the email so that it only submits the responses, not the grades or the right answer.
The course is run off a flash drive. If it can run off a flash drive, it can write to an Excel spreadsheet or Access DB on the same flash drive. The exam proctors would retrieve the flash drives after the exam. Examinees will ideally not have an internet connection at all.
The issue is more that Lectora offers an export option to publish a course offline, but expects the course to be run from an LMS for basic course/test functions to work. I really can't believe I'm the only person who wants to create an offline exam without having to license an LMS for hundreds/thousands of one-time users.
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I'm sure you are not the only one but the way the world is going is definitely always-on so introducing more functionality to support an offline use case would probably not be high on any developer's list.
Also, bad news, in order to send emails, Lectora demands a Java (not JS) title manager so hacking its scripts as I suggested earlier is not possible.
However, the absolutely great thing about Lectora is how you can teach it new tricks. It is one of the most extensible tools ever so here you go, a demo of Lectora saving a local text file with, potentially, the learner quiz answers. See attached.
It won't run from the "Publish to offline as EXE" option but it will work in any browser locally, offline.
Would modifying Lectora's internal scripts be easier than learning some basic PHP (or finding someone who can do it)? It shouldn't require too advanced skills to make it send an email that the user cannot edit.
Hi Sergey-
I've looked at your zipped file on how it works and love it. As I just need the "pass" or "failed" sent to an database stored on SharePoint, but I'm understanding how you did this.
I'm thinking I would just put the URL of the spreadsheet in the Address area of the "Submit Variable Values"...is that correct?
Thank you!
If you're giving the flash drive to the student, anyone who wants to cheat can. If it's an Excel file, why can't they just run Excel and edit the spreadsheet?
Unless you're having them do this in a proctored, lockdown setting ... and if you are, why not have a local network and LMS, and just use regular Lectora? That's how firms like ITS handle this stuff.
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