Assessments that first dissociated from pen and paper to computer mode, are now also eliminating the in-person examiners from the system, and yet becoming ever more credible. This is being done through online exam proctoring services.
As e-learning is viewed as the future of learning; remote online proctoring is the future of assessment.
It is a new era system of taking tests, which enables remote assessment of candidates via distant monitoring. It allows one to take the test from anywhere in the world, while invigilation is carried online through a combination of technologies, such as online monitoring software, webcam, images, among others.
Online proctoring services are emerging as an efficient and credible way to cheat the cheaters; allow examiners to offer courses, take tests and watch over the candidates from anywhere in the world.
What is online exam proctoring?
Proctor comes from the term procurator who is a person who takes charge of, or acts for, another person. Exam proctoring entails being in-charge for taking est of another person. Online or remote exam proctoring is being able to take test for another person from a distance.
The idea of online exam proctoring is being used by education bodies, coaching institutes, certification authorities, and the likes, in response to increasing online presence of candidates and pervasiveness of digital mediums in education.
Things you need
Online exam proctoring services are strategically designed to ease the exam delivery for both test taker and examination body. Though designed on a sophisticated system, the things needed from the test takers are kept simple to justify the “convenient” aspect of online exam proctoring. Irrespective of where in the world one is located, all required of a candidate to take examination through online exam proctoring include:
- A computer
- High-Speed Internet
- Webcam
Two types of Online Exam Proctoring Services
Let’s understand the differences in the types of remote proctoring services through the example of ExamStrong, a remote exam proctoring platform, used across 200 countries. It has taken over 50,000+ online in the last 15 years, and they were taken through two modes, depending upon the requirements of the examination body – Public and Private.
· Public
Online exam proctoring services can be leveraged by the examination authorities to take the exam in public mode, which entails taking the test at a public space where the test takers come together at a physical space to take exam online through a computer-based test.
· Private
This is the most sought-after type of online proctoring services. In private mode, the assessments can be taken from anywhere, even from the comfort of one’s homes, while the test takers are closely monitored qualitatively in real-time.
What such online proctoring services bring to the table is the credibility of technology and in case of ExamStrong, adherence to international testing standards and norms.
Who can use these remote proctoring services?
Educators around the world can use these services for bringing test-taking ease in their systems. They are specifically used by authorities and institutions that operate on stringent national and international standards and can’t afford to take any miss. They are usually employed by:
· MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) Platforms
· Global Educators (Universities/ Colleges/ Schools)
· Business Corporations
· Certification Bodies
· Coaching Institutions – For Mock Tests
· Independent Online Educators