Online Course Exams

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What is an Examination?

 

An examination assesses candidates’ knowledge and understanding of the subject of training.

• The person who takes the exam is called a candidate or examinee

• The person who the of candidates is called an examiner.

 

Exams are generally available in three (3) forms:

• On-screen test

• Written test

• Practical test.

 

On-screen tests refer to the tests taken on a computer.

• A candidate is successful if he/she passes the exam, and unsuccessful if he/she fails an exam.

• There are also provisions for students to reappear in exams who failed at first.

 

Those students who pass an exam may receive a certificate or diploma. 

 

Is There Any Difference Between an Exam and a Test?

 

An exam is more formal than a test.

• Although both terms are often used interchangeably in schools and colleges, there is a subtle difference between them.

• The test evaluates the current level of knowledge of students and lays out a learning plan accordingly.

• An exam is a more formal form of test, which determines if a student passes or fails in a course or class.

 

What is an Online Exam?

 

Online examination, a.k.a. e-exam, enables examiners to conduct examinations through the internet or a company-wide intranet for remote candidates.

• Most include answer processing modules, which allows evaluators to issue results as soon as candidates finish the test.

• This fully automated system evaluates the examinee thoroughly and presents the exam result much faster.

 

Unlike traditional pen-and-paper exams, it is possible to conduct open-book exams on an online exam system. 

 

In an online exam:

• The examinee answers the questions, one at a time

• The test window collapses, once the exam time is over

• Evaluators keep answers ready for evaluation.

 

The evaluator:

• Assesses responses, whether it be through an automated or manual process

• Conveys the result to the candidate, either by mail or information available on the website.

 

Many companies are resorting to online examination software as their preferred medium of choice for assessing professional capability and career adaptability.

 

The “actors” in an online exam are the users of e-assessments, and can be classified into three broad groups:

• Are those managing the system users, the tests, system back-up, and recovery.

• Conductors are those preparing the subjects, and exam tests.

• Test-Takers are those who sit the exam for knowledge evaluation purposes.

 

How are Online Exams Conducted?

 

• Step 1: The testing environment is set up, and the question sets are uploaded to the environment by the test conductors.

• Step 2: The test takers are given test IDs, using which they can log on and attempt the test. The tests are usually monitored automatically and can be proctored for high stakes’ examinations.

• Step 3: Once the user submitted the test, it is evaluated by the system/ conductors, depending on the types of questions.

• Step 4: Participants are sent their test scores, if needed.

 

How Do Online Examination Systems Work?

 

The online examination system is a software solution that allows any institute or industry to plan, organize, and administer examinations through the internet/ intranet and Local Area Network (LAN) environment.

• Conducting manual examination can become a strenuous undertaking, where issues, such as delays in exam results processing, difficulty in filing and filtering of records, and more are encountered.

• The possibility that extremely crucial information might get lost during record-keeping is evident.

• System maintenance is also a time consuming and resource-intensive process.

 

On the contrary, the modern-era online examination system is efficient, agile, and less resource-intensive.

• In an online exam, a teacher or examiner creates various kinds of questions ranging from multiple-choice questions (mcq) with one or more possible answers, to questions that can be answered using free text, and adds them to the test.

• The students receive the link to the online exam, which they use to log-in and take the test.

• Soon after completing the test, they get the exam results.

 

Sharing the Details

 

It is the examiner’s prerogative to decide the time and start/ end date for the candidates to access the exam.

• After creating a test, it is made available online.

• The next step to be considered is sharing the URL for participants so they can click on the link and take the test.

 

Pros of Online Exam Software

 

Consideration of the Environment: With the advent of technology, it became apparent that nature does not have to bear the brunt of human insensitivity any more. The adverse environmental impact of mercilessly cutting down trees for producing paper is evident.

• Using an online exam system will ensure that institutions and organizations can go paper-free and would not print exam papers, create a paper record of applicants, etc.

 

Auto-Grading: Setting up an exam is a time-consuming process. The best way to go about it is by setting up an exam that is auto-gradable.

• An automated grading system is more convenient than a standard grading method.

 

The proliferation of technology in e-learning and the increasing number of participants call for the need for a flawless scoring mechanism that eases the burden on teachers, saves time, and guarantees fairness.

• Automated scoring finds the correct answers by comparing the respondent’s reply against the model answer.

• Interestingly, mcq's are extensively used in because they make automatic scoring by a computer easy.

 

Time-Saving: Traditionally, exam distribution demands adequate time for end-to-end management.

• Unlike earlier, the online exam system is non-time consuming.

• Examiners can just upload the email IDs of participants and invite them for assessment.

• The best part is results can be generated instantly.

 

Economical

 

When considering the human, logistic and administrative costs associated with traditional exam settings, it is easy to distinguish the online exam system as the most economical system to conduct exams at scale.

• There is no need for students to assemble in large, spacious classrooms to take the test.

• The flexibility of time and space makes this exam medium quite popular among examinees.

 

Online exams do not require you to rent a class or hire someone to invigilate candidates manually.

• With online exam proctoring software, you can amp up the joy of conducting online exams.

 

Secure and Convenient: Students love the prospect of taking exams from the comfort of their home or office.

• Even participants from remote areas can attend the exam.

• Moreover, there is no scope of question paper leaks as every student gets a randomly selected set of questions as per the arrangement determined by the paper setter.

 

The Cons

 

Evaluators never skip the fact that students taking exams from home can resort to unfair means, given that there is no one to check up on them.

• Evaluators must take the utmost precision while designing a test for each candidate. 

• Asking those questions that are not readily available in textbooks and the internet will ensure the uniqueness and security of the test. 

• Adding a timer to each question will place the condition upon participants to complete all questions in time; this helps in preventing cheating.

 

Also, long answer questions are not auto-graded, so evaluators keep these aspects in mind while administering an online exam.

 

What Are the Usual Features of an Online Exam System?

 

The typical features of an online exam software are:

• Can be used to create engaging tests and exams, by adding images, text, video, and questions in the exam.

• Its easy-to-use features help in creating credible tests within minutes.

• There are many options regarding the types of exam questions to pick from: multiple-choice image questions, multiple-choice test questions, audio-video questions, fill in the blanks, etc.

• The end-user can create a comprehensive question bank with a wide variety of questions in an online exam software.

• Examiners can arrange problems using a randomizer to keep the test content unique and relevant.

• It enables end-users to use tags for their question bank. They can create new tags and assign the right tags to each question for analysis purposes.

• Setting new pass-fail rules for exams is possible in online exam software, and there is a broad margin regarding what can be done with it. For instance: users can set the time limit and number of attempts for each question; Candidates can be allowed to review their answers before submitting them; Candidates can receive feedback after each problem or at the end of the exam.

• Custom-styling and personal branding are something that creates a strong impression in the minds of examinees. So, users can make the most of this white-labelling feature.

• It lends a distraction-free experience to students that are utilizing the platform for taking exams. 

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