You've started using SMOWL in your course and need to activate monitoring within your course. This guide will help you configure SMOWL from your course's LTI tool to ensure proper monitoring of your exams.
Activate SMOWL
To activate SMOWL, you should go to the activities panel.
Once inside, select the activity in your course where you want to activate SMOWL. By default, they will appear deactivated.
Clicking on configure opens a panel that allows you to activate and configure SMOWL according to the requirements of that activity.
Enabling monitoring will allow you to configure different SMOWL services in a personalized way.
In Blackboard, activities are enabled externally to the SMOWL LTI tool.
Once SMOWL is activated in an activity, it will be marked in green within the activities panel.
Configure SMOWL
Once monitoring is active, you can modify how you want to monitor your users.
Activating a specific tool enables the associated filters. These filters are differentiated into four categories (low, medium, high, and custom) based on how strict you want to be in monitoring.
By selecting a custom configuration for your filters, you can choose what to consider an incident and what not during the activity.
Severity Level: The RED circle with a white X is used to indicate "Not allowed"
Webcam Alerts according to detected Incidence
Behavioral incidents
Incorrect user: The image will be flagged as "Not allowed" if a person other than the registered user is detected (the user does not match the registration images).
Nobody in front of the camera: An image where no person is present (no one in front of the camera) will be flagged as "Not allowed"
Wrong light/position: An image where the user is in a position that does not allow for proper user monitoring or where there is insufficient or excessive lighting (poorly lit) will be flagged as "Not allowed"
Suspicious behavior: The image will be flagged as "Not allowed" when the user exhibits suspicious behavior after a previous incident, indicating that the issue may persist. For example, multiple people have been detected in one screenshot, and later the user is seen talking to someone off-camera.
Other tab: Behavior will be flagged as "Not allowed" when an activity is only monitored by camera, and SMOWL indicates that the user has switched tabs and left the exam page.
More than one person: image where more than one person is partially or fully visible in the camera will be flagged as "Not allowed"
Webcam covered: Photographs where the camera is covered, obstructing proper monitoring, will be flagged as "Not allowed"
Banded elements: Photographs where the user appears in the camera with headphones, a mobile phone, or other unauthorized electronic devices during the activity will be flagged as "Not allowed"
Not even one correct image: If at least one image is missing that is required to validate monitoring, the event will be flagged as "Not allowed"
Technical incidents
Webcam rejected: Events where the user has not granted browser permission for camera monitoring during the activity will be flagged as "Not allowed"
Webcam block: Events where the user is accessing the activity without a camera connected to their computer will be flagged as "Not allowed"
Unsupported browser: Events where the user has accessed the activity from a browser not supported by SMOWL will be flagged as "Not allowed"
Configuration problem: Events where SMOWL has detected a problem with the camera configuration will be flagged as "Not allowed"
No webcam: Events where the camera is being used by another application, preventing SMOWL from performing adequate monitoring, will be flagged as "Not allowed"
What will I allow during the exam?
At Smowltech, we collect data and display it in your activity report based on the sensitivity level you’ve set for your alerts. Just like monitoring, these alerts can be configured before the exam to generate a report tailored to your needs.
Note, this doesn’t mean we’ll mark something as correct if it isn’t. We’ll simply notify you of whatever you want to be alerted about.
To do this, at Smowltech we’ve developed four levels of strictness:
High | The strictest level will detect and alert you to anything that seems suspicious. |
Medium | A more moderate level that strikes a balance between sensitivity and severity, reducing false alarms. |
Low | Designed for more flexible monitoring to help you quickly. |
Custom | The preferred choice for everyone. Tailored to your specific requirements and preferences. |
Each level will indicate which scenarios are considered permitted and which are not.
For example, it will mark open spreadsheet programs like Excel and Numbers as not allowed.
Camera alerts based on detected incident
Below, you'll find brief explanations of what each of the selected filters means. Within the incidents column, you'll find:
Behavioral incidents
Here you will find all the case studies related to camera monitoring incidents:
 | Incorrect user: The user does not match the registration images. |
 | Multiple people detected: More than one person is fully or partially visible on camera. |
 | Multiple people detected: More than one person is fully or partially visible on camera. |
 | Camera covered: The webcam is covered, obstructing proper monitoring. |
 | Prohibited items: The user appears on camera with headphones, a mobile phone, or another electronic device not permitted during the activity. |
 | Navigation in other tabs: When an activity is only monitored by camera, SMOWL will indicate that the user has switched tabs and left the exam page. |
 | Lighting and/or positioning issues: The user is poorly lit or in a position that prevents proper user monitoring. |
Technical issues
SMOWL also provides evidence of the user's configuration for monitoring an activity:
 | Webcam rejected: The user has not granted permission in their browser to monitor the camera during the activity. |
 | Webcam blocked by another application: The camera is being used by another application, preventing SMOWL from performing proper monitoring. |
 | Configuration problem: SMOWL has detected a problem with the camera configuration. |
| Webcam not detected: The user is accessing the activity without a camera connected to their computer. |
 | Other App: is a status detected when the camera may be blocked by another application. This can occur when the camera freezes or malfunctions when attempting to use it with other applications. |
| Unsupported browser: The user is accessing the activity from a browser not supported by SMOWL. |
CM alerts based on detected incident
The types of activities and exams we monitor are very diverse, and we understand that not everything needs to be treated as an incident.
When it comes to computer monitoring, we will either allow or block certain types of programs or actions.
Smowltech groups programs into categories based on their function: text editors, spreadsheets, email, etc. Actions, on the other hand, are behaviors that we will either allow or disallow the user to perform during the activity.
Note that disallowing something does not mean we will block those actions or programs.
Your students may be taking an exam in which they need to download a Word document and work on it.
Let’s look at an example:
If the questions are open-ended, it's normal for a user to copy and paste parts of the text within the same document. If we allow the use of commands during the exam, we will detect these actions, but they will not be considered a violation.
The level of severity is the RED circle with the white X as “Not allowed”
CM alerts according to detected incidents
Allowed actions
Web browsing: It will mark as Not Allowed the actions in which during an exam the user navigates outside of his activity (the websites that the user visits during his activity will be recorded).
Multiple screens: It will mark as Not Allowed the use of several monitors.
Background programs: It will mark as Not Allowed all the tools that are being executed with the computer in the background, without the user interacting with these programs in the exam.
Virtual machine: It will mark as Not Allowed the actions in which the user has used a virtual machine when accessing the activity.
Commands: Mark as Not Allowed actions such as, every time the user uses any of the prohibited commands such as "copy/paste" or "screenshot".
Early closing: Mark as Not Allowed actions such as closing SMOWL CM before delivering the exam results.
Virtual webcam: Mark as Not Allowed actions such as use of virtual cameras.
Allowed programs
Text editor: Mark as Not Allowed open programs for creating text documents, such as Microsoft Word or Office.
Mail: Mark as Not Allowed open email management programs installed on the device, such as Outlook.
PDF reader: Mark as Not Allowed open programs that allow opening or editing files in PDF format, such as Adobe Acrobat Reader, among others.
Communication: Mark as Not Allowed open programs designed to make personal or group calls/video calls such as Skype, Zoom, or Discord.
Pentesting: Will mark as Not Allowed the programs opened for the security analysis of a device such as Burp Suite or OWASP ZAP.
Database: Will mark as Not Allowed the programs opened for database management and/or reading, such as HeidiSQL.
File system: Will mark as Not Allowed the programs opened for Tools to manage the files of a device, the most common being Finder and Windows Explorer.
Slide viewer: Will mark as Not Allowed the programs opened for making and reading presentations such as Microsoft PowerPoint.
Remote control: Will mark as Not Allowed the programs opened that allow remote control of a device, such as Teamviewer or Anydesk.
Virtual machines: Will mark as Not Allowed the programs opened that allow the use of an operating system within another as a virtual machine, such as Virtualbox or Vmware.
Open source office suite: Will mark as Not Allowed the programs opened for free and open source office software.
Spreadsheet: Will mark as Not Allowed any open spreadsheet programs such as excel, numbers...
Virtual webcam: Will mark as Not Allowed any open programs that allow you to use an external device, such as a smartphone, as a computer camera. This can be found in programs such as OBS Studio.
Media player: Will mark as Not Allowed any open programs such as local or streaming music players such as iTunes or Spotify.
Screenshoter: Will mark as Not Allowed any open programs that allow you to capture the screen live from a device, such as OBS Studio.
Code editor: Will mark as Not Allowed any open programs of Code Editors within an operating system.
Remember to save all the changes you make.
Configure a Mock activity
If you want to enable SMOWL in a test or simulation activity before a real activity, you can mark the monitoring in test mode.
This simplifies SMOWL monitoring actions and does not affect your license consumption. We will only take an image in the activity, allowing your users to familiarize themselves with our system without generating unnecessary noise.
Once it is active as a test, it will be marked in the activities panel.
Bulk activity configuration mode
Multiple activities can be configured at once by selecting this option.
This option allows you to select all activities or click on the desired ones. It is useful for enabling/disabling the same configuration for multiple activities (that have no previous results).
The character limit in an activity, the displayName field cannot exceed 100 characters in length