The trends in every sector are shifting and taking the help of the internet to create more easiness. The technological environment is changing rapidly and providing all of us with the new advancements and improvements in the existing technologies every day. Every sector wants to get the benefits provided by these advancements and they are making efforts to shift to new technology. Nowadays, there are many examinations and tests which are being conducted every day. So much of resources are being used in undertaking these exams. But now it is easier to conduct exams with the help of technology.
The examination or the tests either relating to jobs or relating to educational institutions are now conducted with the help of the internet. The tests become standardized and their method is now shifted to online tests or computer based. Initially, the GRE adopted the concept of computer-based exams in 1993 and gradually every sector has adopted this technology. The online tests are now using online proctoring to increase the effectiveness of the online tests. Online proctoring aims at eliminating the cheating or fraud factor from the online examinations. No doubt there are so many benefits of using online tests, but the risk of cheating was more in these tests. That is why online proctoring services are being used here.
Online tests aim at including more people from diverse places to take part in these tests. Sometimes due to this limitation, many people do not take part in tests that are conducted far away from their place. But this technology has made everything easy. There are so many benefits of conducting tests online or adopting the online test. Some of them are:
- Adaptive testing pattern: The online test provides a major benefit which differs the paper or the pattern of the paper as the students give answers to the questions. With this, the risk of cheating is reduced automatically. If there are more candidates giving exam sitting collectively then there is no scope for cheating as everybody will receive different questions at different times.
- Variance in the difficulty level: when the exams are being conducted physically it involves multiple resources and people who have to design a question paper of the different levels of difficulty. It will consume more efforts and time of the papermakers. When the exams are conducted online the different difficulty levels can be maintained by the computer itself. So multiple choices can be given to the candidates and difficulty in levels of questions can also be created with the help of online tests.
- Flexibility in taking tests: when physical tests are being conducted a fixed-time slot is fixed in which the students have to give the test. The candidates either live near or far away from the center have to come at that particular timing only. But online tests have created a greater level of flexibility in timings to the candidates. When candidates at large are giving the test then the online tests are the most convenient ones. Proctoring services can be used along with the tests to maintain their authentication.
- A quick process: online tests and use of proctoring services makes the whole process from conducting tests to publishing results everything makes it easier. The time elapse between the exam and the result is also shortened. The evaluation of exams is now easier with the help of a computer-based test. Sometimes even while giving tests if due to the congestion in lines one can even resume their tests. It has saved lots of paper and in further lots of trees can be saved and the cost of paper can be reduced with the help of these online tests.
Online proctoring uses various techniques that can be used to prevent any case of cheating in the test. Some of the techniques are:
- Checking ID of the candidate: the online tests have increased the risk of fraud and cheating but with the advent of online proctoring services this risk is eliminated. The candidates in their registration process are supposed to provide their pictures and details of their ID cards. The technology matches the candidate who is giving the exam with the ID photos provided. Even online ID verification is also available which matches live photos with ID cards etc.
- Browsing other links or sites: sometimes the candidate who is going to give an exam thinks that it will be very easy for him to search on the browser for answers. But online proctoring blocks every links where the candidate can get the answer and he is not allowed to switch to any other window while he is giving an exam. No other site or link can be opened between the test.
- Preventing the use of mobile phones: to eliminate any chances for cheating while giving online tests the companies are using the advanced technologies which prevents the student to see their mobile phones to search for the answers. Any activity done by the candidate while giving his or her exam will stop the exam in between and he will not be able to join the test again. Other sites are blocked when the test window s opened to prevent the use of computers or mobile phones while giving the test.
- Automated proctoring: The online proctoring service also enables the auto- proctoring which is a mechanism that prevents the candidate from any other action while giving the exam. The candidate will be viewed with the help of the camera on this device and his activities will be recorded. Any behavior or action of the candidate that looks suspicious will be considered as cheating.
- Using a camera at 360 degrees: the candidates are being examined with the help of a 360-degree camera. Everything around the candidate is examined with the help of the camera. It not only shows the video recording, but the audio is also recorded with the help of the camera. So now you can easily prevent any cheating or fraud with the help of online proctoring services by Mettl.