aac Posted May 16, 2023 Posted May 16, 2023 Hi all Have had 4 requests from staff today for a USB stick to send files off to the exam board. Am I wrong or is it ridiculous that exam boards want us to send off files to them via this method in this day and age? Apparently they should not be encrypted either which is strange when some of it is things such as audio files with the voice of students etc... You would have thought it would be a matter of uploading these days but apparently not. The odd thing is I have been here now for a number of years and have had the odd request for exams in the past but not to this degree, it seems to be getting worse. WDYT?
TRSJon Posted May 16, 2023 Posted May 16, 2023 I agree, I've had a few as well.. Even stranger I think is that depending on the subject, depends on whether the drives need to be encrypted. If they are going to demand submission on memory stick, then they all need to be encrypted.
Mako Posted May 16, 2023 Posted May 16, 2023 Agreed. We've had a few, I questioned it but they showed me the specific section in the exam board requirements, so it's hard to argue. The ones so far did state about being BitLockered and files being zipped with passwords on, so at least they're trying something, but I don't see why for such a major, yearly, process they can't invest in a secure portal.
aac Posted May 16, 2023 Author Posted May 16, 2023 The odd thig from my side is that the ones I have been asked for have requested they not be encrypted which seems really odd. This is after we sent them one with Bitlocker encryption and they asked us to send again without...
Rob_D Posted May 16, 2023 Posted May 16, 2023 I remember when we had to burn all the speaking/music exams to audio CDs. We used to be sending out loads of USB drives for exams (like 10-15 a year), but doesn't seem to have been so bad the last few years, and we do have a couple of boards (Pearson and AQA I think) that have started using upload portals. And AFAIK all our boards are happy for us to send encrypted/password protected drives. I remember there being a lot of faff with moderators/markers not being able to get onto encrypted drives when we first started using them, and as a result some of the boards got all huffy and said things to the effect of, if the examiner can't open the files then they won't get marked, encrypt at your own risk (but that was many years ago). Possibly you're just unlucky in that the school needs/wants to send a lot of practical work for moderation this year.
andy_b Posted May 16, 2023 Posted May 16, 2023 The odd thig from my side is that the ones I have been asked for have requested they not be encrypted which seems really odd. This is after we sent them one with Bitlocker encryption and they asked us to send again without... It would seem that "most" can't be encrypted if the list below is to go by. https://filestore.aqa.org.uk/admin/nea/AQA-ENCRYPT-NEA-MEDIA.PDF
Mako Posted May 16, 2023 Posted May 16, 2023 I remember when we had to burn all the speaking/music exams to audio CDs. Why did you have to dig up that memory. 1
Aprice Posted May 16, 2023 Posted May 16, 2023 We've had the same this week, all have asked for unencrypted so far. One of the exam boards is using an online test player to for the staff to upload work, the teacher just has to log in with the child's code and complete the test by uploading their work / marking. Seems a bit bodgy for a large organisation, but I suppose it works.
DrCheese Posted May 16, 2023 Posted May 16, 2023 We've sent a few off encrypted recently - The exam board (AQA) told us what password to set each to. It's better than the old "burn to DVD" method but surprising they don't just have an upload site for it. It's a waste of resources as it stands.
jthompson Posted May 17, 2023 Posted May 17, 2023 (edited) AQA prescribe a couple of encryption passwords each exam season for work being submitted on USB. One for A-Level and one for GCSE. They also list the subjects that the passwords should be used for, which I believe is those where candidates are necessarily visually identifiable (Dance, Drama, etc). We've sent off DT work on USB to AQA, for instance, which they didn't want encrypted. We encryptted it anyway, because the students' portfolio work may well include a photo of them. The assessor emailed us to say that the files wouldn't open: they hadn't been briefed by AQA to expect 7-Zip/BitLocker encrypted material. It's all very well bemoaning the use of USB sticks, but honestly, the number of idiosyncratic systems that our exams officer has to deal with when uploading students' work via the web... it creates a lot of work from a support perspective. Some systems only allow files to be uploaded one at a time, some don't want zip archives, some just fail mysteriously. One even uses the web versions of SecureAssess, with the exam officer essentially having to 'sit' X number of exams one after the other, where there is one file submission 'question'. Naffo. In contrast, slinging files through 7-Zip onto a USB stick with no confusion as to what password should be used is a piece of cake. I believe AQA have a good system at the moment: in previous years, I seem to remember each qualification having a different password to use, and the assessor ultimately taking delivery of the USB stick would often be confused about any mention of encryption tools. It seems to work pretty well at the moment, touch wood. Edited May 17, 2023 by jthompson 3
aac Posted May 17, 2023 Author Posted May 17, 2023 Thing is that we are now looking to block USB storage devices completely which quite a large number of schools have already done and if we do this it will be impossible to anyone other then maybe us in IT to get anything onto a USB stick in any case...
enjay Posted May 17, 2023 Posted May 17, 2023 We had it for one subject, with the exam board specifying the Bitlocker password to use. Other requests might have come in, but staff generally know how to use USB sticks so it wouldn't make it to my radar.
clareq Posted May 17, 2023 Posted May 17, 2023 Our wonderful Exams Officer refused to send unencrypted USB drives. The exam board allowed us to encrypt. 1
aac Posted May 17, 2023 Author Posted May 17, 2023 At the moment it is purely the fact that every member of staff who has asked me for a USB they can send off have requested it be unencrypted which is an issue because we enforce Bitlocker encryption ATM so they cannot write to a USB without it being encrypted so we end up copying the data onto a USB for them.
jthompson Posted May 17, 2023 Posted May 17, 2023 We also prohibit writing to removable media, so all these jobs come via us in conjunction with the exams office. That's fine, because it provides a much needed element of quality control. We also have a stockpile of older USB sticks that will only ever see use for this kind of thing. We make a point of archiving in a Google shared drive (away from teaching staff) a copy of anything sent off on USB, in case we're asked to resend anything. 1
ecuatorial Posted May 17, 2023 Posted May 17, 2023 Could be worse https://news.sky.com/story/japan-declares-war-on-obsolete-technology-including-floppy-disk-12686843
enjay Posted May 19, 2023 Posted May 19, 2023 I've just been talking to our Head of Computing. Apparently their work is sent off unencrypted - the irony is not lost on me! 1
2ilent8cho Posted May 19, 2023 Posted May 19, 2023 What do they class as an encrypted USB drive? Bitlocker is no good, as it makes the presumption the other end is running Windows. We don't run Windows on our clients, I know MacOS won't read it without paid third party tools. No idea about ChromeOS or Linux. I have no idea what device the moderator could be using to read the contents. Is zipping them with a password good enough for them?
enjay Posted May 19, 2023 Posted May 19, 2023 What do they class as an encrypted USB drive? Bitlocker is no good, as it makes the presumption the other end is running Windows. We don't run Windows on our clients, I know MacOS won't read it without paid third party tools. No idea about ChromeOS or Linux. I have no idea what device the moderator could be using to read the contents. Is zipping them with a password good enough for them? Sounds like a question for the exam board. We were specifically told to use Bitlocker by one exam board. At a previous school, We used a memory stick which had physical buttons on it to enter a PIN and then unlock the drive (you had to plug it in within 10 seconds or it locked again), because the recipient was using a Mac and this was the only way we could find which didn't cost them money (cost us money, though, as the memory stick was crazy expensive!)
jthompson Posted May 19, 2023 Posted May 19, 2023 What do they class as an encrypted USB drive? Bitlocker is no good, as it makes the presumption the other end is running Windows. We don't run Windows on our clients, I know MacOS won't read it without paid third party tools. No idea about ChromeOS or Linux. I have no idea what device the moderator could be using to read the contents. Is zipping them with a password good enough for them? AQA stipulate that it needs to either be BitLocker or a zip file encrypted using 7-Zip with AES-256. They specifically say not to use the ZipCrypto option.
Boredguy Posted May 19, 2023 Posted May 19, 2023 Other than our English AQA course that needs files sending off which they have no Password for on their website, and the helpdesk said there was no requirement, so still encrypting it and inclosing a note with contact details for our Exams Officer to get the password.
Passat1983ICTech Posted May 19, 2023 Posted May 19, 2023 We have Had a lot of usb wanted over last few weeks
jthompson Posted May 25, 2023 Posted May 25, 2023 Just seen that Windows will soon be getting native support for lots of other archive formats, including 7-Zip. Whether or not that means native support for AES-256 encrypted zip files, I don't know. https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/05/cancel-your-winrar-trial-windows-will-soon-support-rar-gz-7z-and-other-archives/
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now