In recent times, the world has seen significant growth in online education. This whole paradigm shift from the traditional classroom to virtual life classes offered greater flexibility and easier access. As the classes have started to be conducted online, the requirement of taking online exams also occurred. Undoubtedly, this shifting requires adjustment. However, it is possible to master this with regular practice. Here we will share some of the essential tips on how teachers can prepare themselves before taking online exams. We will also see how to stop students from cheating during exams.
What Teachers Should do During Online Exam
1. It is always better to opt for the open-book online exams. It will automatically reduce the chance of students adopting unfair means. Simultaneously, students will get an opportunity to utilize their creativity rather than investing time in memorizing. Clarify the students about the resources they are allowed to use during the open book online exam to avoid any misunderstanding during the exam
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2. Encourage students two remain honest. If an open book exam is not possible with your curriculum, you can distribute multiple versions of the questions to ensure academic integrity.
For most students, online exams may be a completely new thing. You have to take this into consideration and be specific with the exam instructions. You can also take some additional sessions on how to take the online exam using applications or tools. Try to assure them that online exam using free online exam software is not difficult and build confidence within them about using the software.
3. Before starting an online exam, you need to do a risk assessment and be prepared for that. You can always take suggestions from the people who have already taken multiple online exams to check out the types of issues that may occur during an exam. Also tried to find out how to fix specific issues like Internet disconnection, computer shutdown, power cut, etc.
4. Always be available during the exam. Students should be able to reach you during the evaluation time by email or phone calls if possible.
5. It is also possible that the students of the class belong to different time zones. So while setting up an exam, make a white time window available for them.
6. For the first time online exams, it is quite normal for the students to be stressed and anxious. Try to be flexible so that they can take the exam with ease.
7. Before any online exam, contact each student personally to know if they have the required infrastructure and logistics available at their home. For example, check if every student has an internet connection with suitable bandwidth and devices compatible with the exam tools.
Problems like technical glitches and Internet disconnection are quite common. Keeping in mind all these, put a grace period of 10 to 15 minutes extra time.
Additional Tip: How to Prevent Unfair Means during Online Exams
One of the significant concerns among teachers and parents is cheating in online exams. To prevent this from happening, institutes can take help from online proctoring software. This application is capable of tracking the activities done by the students on their computer screens. Specific applications also use webcams to monitor what the students are doing. These proctoring tools can also validate the identity of the examinee and retain the integrity of the examination.
A controlled environment can be ensured using this software. With constant surveillance, the chances of students cheating on the exams reduce significantly. When the applications are in use, the requirement for invigilators also decreases. The webcam itself can monitor the candidates and alert the proctors of different suspicious activities. It can even prohibit students from switching screens on their computers.
Conclusion
With the wide prevalence of online education and virtual classrooms, online exams or tests are gradually becoming the best way to assess the students' knowledge and aptitude virtually. Online exams can be called a revolution in academics because they automated the cumbersome manual examination processes. With the best online exam tools like Learnpod, teachers can manage the exams without any hassle and evaluate the students without shedding much said.With the help of these applications, teachers can also evaluate the students quickly and generate reports in real-time. Students can also get immediate evaluation results and learn about their lackings.
