Many jobs, classes, and events shifted to online settings when the pandemic occurred. One of the adjustments the educational system needed to make was to include tests and exams in their remote teaching and learning. However, these can be hard to monitor.
Through proctor technology, online tests were made possible. It’s similar to onsite tests where proctors can monitor the real-time activities of the test takers.
What is Proctor Technology?
Proctor technology allows online supervision on remote tests. Schools and other institutions can monitor test-takers through cameras, audio, and desktop screens. It helps proctors identify a test taker and to avoid cheating.
How Does It Work?
For institutions to administer remote proctoring, test proctors and test-takers need a working desktop computer or laptop, a webcam, and a microphone. Proctoring technology works like face-to-face proctoring, where you can monitor tests throughout an online examination.
Proctoring can work in three ways:
- You can use a webcam for live proctoring to observe the persons taking the test on a real-time basis. You can ask them to show their surroundings and share their screens too.
- You can also opt for a recorded proctoring where the screen of the exam takers is recorded. You can view them one by one to check for any unusual activities.
- Lastly, you can use automated proctoring, where artificial intelligence can monitor any odd occurrences in the participants’ audio and video. The technology can detect the face of the test taker if it matches the system. If not, the test will stop, and reports will be sent out to the test administrator.
How is Proctor Technology Used Today?
Commonly, proctor technology is used in schools to monitor students during examinations. The exams are done in a real-time setup, and the teachers can see if students switch tabs to search for answers and hear audios if there is any coaching done.
The technology helps teachers avoid academic dishonesty in their classes and promote academic integrity in the values of their students.
Besides teachers using the tool, here are other institutions that have benefited from the proctor technology:
- Job knowledge tests
- Integrity tests
- Cognitive ability tests
- Personality tests
- Emotional intelligence tests
- Skill assessment tests
- Physical ability tests
Advantages of Using Proctor Technology
Here are more benefits offered by proctor technology:
- Save time and resources for avoiding arranging a physical exam center.
- It has increased security with an automated exam that can monitor each student’s actions and audio, compared to physical proctoring, where it’s difficult to monitor every student’s activity.
- Avoid late tests since the test takers can be on time at their homes without traveling far.
- Easy test-takers verification to avoid cheating where other people take tests for them.
- Easier exam set up without preparing pages of paper.
- Works for any exam type. Therefore teachers and other test administrators don’t have to worry about the exam questions.
- Fair exams will be administered to all test takers.
- Recorded exam proctoring allows students to have a flexible schedule when they take the exam as long as they meet the deadline.
Challenges Faced in Proctor Monitoring Adopted by Schools
Although proctor monitoring helps teachers administer tests, there are still some challenges that students can encounter:
- Students have an added cost for purchasing high-quality webcams and microphones.
- Some recordings can be disrupted by sudden events such as disconnection on the internet.
- There are still instances when the students might get interrupted in their test site, whether because of a family member, a pet, etc.
Tips For a Good Remote Proctoring
If you’re new to remote proctoring, you need to know what works best for your tests. So, here are some tips you can follow:
- Orient test-takers to let them know what to expect and prepare their things on time. Such as opening their desktops minutes before the test starts to avoid delaying it.
- For live proctoring, make sure to check the surroundings of the test takers to avoid any forms of cheating where answers are written near the desktop. You can announce that the participants should enter the online meeting earlier so that you can check their setup and avoid any further delays.
The Future of Remote Proctoring
New variants of the COVID-19 virus continue to appear. But, with the aid of proctor technology, public and private sectors will be able to conduct online tests, and remote proctoring will continue to become an alternative when unexpected events occur — pandemics and other threats.
Online proctoring can also be done in the future, even in an in-person setup, for an added security measure to avoid cheating in any tests. As the test proctor monitors the test-takers, the automated proctor technology can also help detect any anomalies during the tests that can be quickly addressed by the teacher or any sector’s test proctors.
Conclusion
Proctor technology has helped the educational system worldwide. Online tests were able to push through with a system that allows teachers to monitor students during examinations, similar to face-to-face classes.
