Main roles

In practical terms, there are two different types of role in TAO: user roles and technical roles. User roles can be assigned to a specific user, whereas technical roles are used for technical purposes only, e.g. the use of APIs.

This chapter focusses on the main user roles. Technical roles have no value to an end-user, and would be carried out by a machine, for example an authoring server connecting to TAO to publish Tests. They will not be described further here. Atomic roles, which can be used to provide certain users with very restricted access to some area of TAO, are described here.

User Roles

User roles are described here in more detail, with a focus on the main roles. All the roles described are functional roles unless otherwise stated. User roles can be divided into the types of task which users with those roles carry out:

• administrative roles
• authoring roles
• roles needed for conducting assessments
• test-taking roles

Note: On a technical level, TAO distinguishes two different types of user role: functional and additional. Funtional roles can be assigned on their own to a specific user and do not need any other role to function properly. An additional role can be added to a specific user, in addition to already existing functional roles. These roles do not normally function on their own.

Administrative Roles

Global Manager: This is the main administrative role in TAO. It allows full access to TAO. This user can create other users. (This role can also be carried out by the System Administrator.)

Note: Roles differ slightly in TAO depending on the edition you are using. In the Premium/Ignite Edition, the global manager can manage and add users, and assign roles to them, but cannot manage roles (define or modify them) or access rights. In the Community Edition, the global manager acts as the main administrator, and is also permitted to manage roles and access rights.

The following additional Administrative Roles are perform minor functions, which, if needed, are often assigned to the Global Manager:

Data Access Administrator: This role allows Data Access Controls to be overridden, e.g. if a certain user is locked out of a certain group of Items.

Operational Administrator: This role is only relevant if the proctoring extension is installed. It allows access to Assessment Activity page, providing an overview of all ongoing test Deliveries, and it can be used it to pause test sessions. Note: If this is the only role granted, it is necessary to bypass the welcome screen by selecting any functionality, then go to Settings. It is heavy on performance, and so should be used with caution.

 

Authoring Roles

Item Author: This functional role allows the authoring and management of items and Media.

Test Author: This additional role allows the authoring and management of tests. Note: The Test Author needs to be used in combination with the Item Author role to be able to select items and assemble tests.

 

Roles for Conducting Assessments

The Global Manager can assign test-takers to deliveries and run tests.

Test Center Administrator: If an assessment is carried out by a test center, this is the role which manages Proctors (create, remove, authorize), and can also proctor a delivery.

Proctor Administrator: This role allows the instant proctoring of deliveries associated with a Test Center, without pre-authorization by a Test Center Administrator. Note: The only difference to the role of proctor is that pre-authorization is not necessary. This role is only managed by the Test Center Administrator if the latter has been assigned as a proctor.

Proctor: This role allows the proctoring of test deliveries associated with a specific Test Center. Note: A proctor must be authorized by a Test Center Administrator before being able to proctor a test.

Reviewer: This role is for reviewing test Results. It grants access to the Results panel only.

Result Server Manager: This role is responsible for accessing results from APIs.

 

Test-taking Role

Test-taker: This role allows a Test-taker to take a test. This could be through a Test Center, but test-takers can also be assigned to groups, which can in turn be assigned to deliveries by the Global Manager.

See the chapter on Users for information on how roles are assigned to users.