Parakh Online Pvt. Ltd.

India has 37.4 million students enrolled in the year 2019 for higher education. With this massive number of students, India is turning into one of the biggest organizers of online examinations globally. The online education market in India is estimated to grow by 14.33 billion dollars by 2024.

Almost all the competitive examinations in India embraced the online CBT examination system. India has organized the world's largest recruitment drive through online examination. That shows how serious we are about online examination systems, leaving the lengthy conventional examination process behind. 

But have you ever wondered what makes the online examination system a preferred mode of conducting examinations?

Functionalities of Online Examination System

Let's see the basic functionalities of an online examination system. Then only we can properly understand the advantages and disadvantages of online examination systems.

1. Creating Examination:

The first step in conducting any examination is to create it. For creating an examination, the test platforms are equipped with different features such as test engines, question bank management systems, etc. 

These features help the exam conductors host different types of examinations and create multiple sets of question papers with varying levels of difficulty according to the requirement. 

2. Conducting Examination:

Conducting online examinations is a hectic job. It requires a lot of work like registration of candidates, arranging the exam venues, seating arrangements, exam proctoring, and many more. But with the help of current technologies like online registration portal, exam venue search portal, online proctoring solutions, the exam conducting bodies can efficiently conduct tests of different sizes without much of a hassle. 

3. Evaluating Assessments:

The online examination system's last function is to automatically assess the examinations and generate detailed reports for the candidates. Most of the exam paper evaluation tools are equipped with AI features to prevent any errors from occurring.

Once the evaluation is done, comprehensive reports are generated consisting of test wise, subject wise, topic wise, and question wise performance analysis. It helps the student to get a holistic idea about their performance. 

Advantages of Online Examination System 

Online Examination systems have many benefits. Some of which are-

Automated :- 

Online examination system can be fully automatic. It makes it highly accurate and useful. And it completely eliminates the need for pen and paper-based examination. 

Remote Proctoring :-

Online examination systems come with different types of remote proctoring features. Online tests can be conducted without any fear of unfair practices and cheating with remote proctoring.

Low Manpower :-

In the traditional mode of examinations, question paper and answer sheet handling were big tasks. The exam conducting bodies had to spend a lot of money and manpower to handle these tasks. But with online examinations, workload of various teachers and staff automatically gets minimized because there is no need to handle a large number of logistics. 

Less Travel :-

Students don't have to travel to the exam center anymore like the traditional examinations. Online examinations are not restricted to any geographical boundaries. Students can take tests from anywhere in the world. 

Quick Result Processing :-

In online examinations, the results are calculated almost instantly and sent to the respective students. However, in paper-based assessments, evaluating the answer is a lengthy process and prone to human error. 

Reduce Logistic Cost :-

In the online examination, the logistic cost is minimal. All the essential processes are done virtually. The evaluation process is also done online, thus eliminating the need for logistics.

Disadvantages of Online Examination System

Network Issue :- 

One of the biggest challenges in conducting online examinations is connectivity. If any network issue occurs during the exam, the online test can be delayed or postponed. The exams can indeed be taken some other time, but it negatively affects the students' minds.

Security Issue :-

In online examinations, data are shared online and stored in cloud-based storage. But being in a totally online environment brings the risk of data breach and hacking. Suppose Hackers can get into the online examination system. In that case, they can completely sabotage the data and may even extract question papers. 

Not every type of question can be checked automatically with the Online examination system. While online evaluation is excellent for short multiple-choice questions, they are not useful for broad questions. Teachers have to manually check the answers and grade the students.

Accessibility :-

India is still a developing country. And rural areas are yet not connected through the internet or have computer systems. Under such conditions, conducting online examinations in such places is a faraway dream.

Role of Government in Promoting Online Examination:

The Government is making a lot of effort with different policies and schemes to promote digital literacy across India. These policies will give the Indian online education sector a boost to gain new heights. With initiatives like Digital India, the Indian Government is trying to create long-term development in the online education and assessment sector. 

That is why the Indian Government is trying to bring down the cost of the internet. The Government is also partnering with tech giants like Google, Microsoft, and Reliance to invent new technologies to encourage online education and examination.

What does the Future Hold?

All the critical competitive exams like SSC, CGL, CHSL, JEE Mains, Railway Recruitment exams have embraced the online mode of examinations. And at the current stage, with the coronavirus pandemic going around, more and more organizations will embrace the online examination method. 

The online examination system application is vast. It can be used in various sectors, schools, colleges, tuition centres, or individual tutors. 

There is no doubt that the online examination system is not perfect yet. There are a lot of disadvantages of online examinations that must be addressed.

Does your organization is looking for a safe, secure, and efficient online examination system? Check our website. You might find the exact solution you are looking for.

Due to the pandemic situation, there is a lockdown across the globe. Schools, colleges, universities, tuition centers, and coaching centers are moving their operations online. It includes admissions, routine lectures, examinations, and assessment online.

As we all have to maintain social distancing, traditional learning is shut down in many parts of the world. Because of online learning, there is a very high demand for online exams. The examiners invigilate the online exams remotely. Online exams with remote proctoring are becoming the norm for educational institutes.

What are Online Exams with remote proctoring?

In online proctored exams, software or tools monitors the student's screen, records video, and audio. Invigilators receive the data recorded by the software or tools for review.

Remote proctoring is one step beyond simple and regular online exams. It ensures the authenticity of candidates and prevents them from cheating.

According to the Global Online Education Market prediction, eLearning will increase from $187.877 billion markets in 2019 to $319.167 billion markets in 2025, witnessing a CARG of 9.23%.

As we are moving to new technologies, students are also getting smarter. Some students go in the right direction but some find ways to cheat the technology.

Let’s see…

How students cheat on online exams & How to prevent it?

1.Screen Sharing

Most of the schools and educational institutes conduct online exams from remote locations. Students don’t take much time to do screen sharing during online exams. With the help of screen sharing, aspirants can log in from another computer with ease. Aspirants access the exam questions and provide assistance or answers. Students use third party software for screen sharing like TeamViewer, AMMY Admin, Anydesk, etc.

Prevent it with:

Secure browsers prevent cheating from using screen sharing while conducting online exams. A secure browser prevents the student from moving outside the exam environment. It means students do not have access to open any other window except for the exam window.

Additionally, install proctoring software on the student's system. So that students can share screens only with invigilators. This process will help the examiner to track all the activities that take place on the student’s screen. It can also prevent students from cheating using screen sharing. 

2. Electronic devices

Students use Bluetooth devices that are very small in size and almost undetectable. They use devices like invisible smartwatches, micro earbuds, and augmented reality glasses. Students make use of calculators to store formulas and other data that can help them score high on the exam. They can also hide extra devices under the table. Some students are still using traditional ways of cheating. They use chits and scribbling on palms.

Prevent it with

Record the student’s head, eye, and keystroke movements with the online proctoring tools. Picking up this technology prevents students from using electronic devices. These high end technologies also record audios. And can differentiate student’s voices and other voices.

3. Smartphones 

Students use smartphones to store exam-related notes such as formulas and definitions. So that they can refer in secret during online exams. Students can conduct a web search for answers through smartphones. Some educational apps help students to solve exams quickly. Here students post questions and they get automated recommended answers fast.

Prevent it with

Auto proctoring service providers have updated their image recognition technology. It identifies devices such as smartphones and mobile phones. If the mobile is not visible on the webcam, then the software is able to detect devices. It detects if any activity is happening in any device where the student logs in via email or other. This software notifies this incident as a cheating attempt.

4. Impersonation

In remote online exams, the chances of the student using aspirants are increasing. Here another person gives the exam on a student's behalf. Here no need for the use of any cheating devices or methods. Because they prepare fake identity cards and attempt exams.

Prevent it with

Online ID authentication helps in preventing fake identities. It prevents students from attempting exams on behalf of the actual student.

The latest proctoring software uses multi-level authentication. Where software matches a student's face with the submitted ID card. Biometric information is also collected and cross-checked before the exam.

5. Auto-coding software

Many schools, colleges, and other institutes conduct examinations based on programming. In these types of tests, students use auto-coding software. Such software generates codes for programs without writing a single line of code.

Prevent it with

Plagiarism checks if a student entered codes match with the code on the internet or not. It prevents candidates from getting away with cheating in coding and programming exams. There are many automatic systems that detect plagiarism in programming codes. Like MOSS (Measure of Software Similarity) is one of them.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is in trend nowadays. AI used in proctoring technologies will dissolve all cheating attempts during online examinations. All educational institutes need to adopt the latest AI-driven proctoring technologies. It will drive to fair assessment or student selection.

How Parakh Online Pvt. Ltd can help?

We provide a complete remote proctoring solution with AI technology. Our online proctoring solution helps a wide range of examinations from pre-employment assessments, entrance exams, mid-semester exams, mock tests, and final exams. The solutions we offer are secure, scalable & cost-efficient. Services are customizable as per the client’s needs.

Conclusion :-

The methods mentioned before shows how students cheat on online exams worldwide. While AI based proctoring software is used to prevent cheating during exams, different ways can be used.

Though this article focuses on how one can cheat on online exams, students should always remember that cheating any type of exam is academic misconduct and is a punishable offense. Students should study honestly for the whole year. 

Generally, we blame students for low grades or failure. What do you think about who is responsible for low grades or failures? Teachers, parents, and society are equally responsible for this situation. It’s teachers and parents' responsibility to encourage students to learn for gaining knowledge and not for degrees. 

Most of the time parents pressurize their children to score more than Padosi ka Beta. In all, they simply want to show off. It doesn’t stop here. The society where we live, adds pressure by saying- Get 90% marks, and enter a top college, become a gold medallist and your life is set. 

Thousands of students are enrolling themselves for online education. The demand for online exams is on rise. With that chances of cheating is also increasing. But online education and courses are increasing to help and serve more students in this pandemic. All in all motivate students to learn for knowledge and not for degree and utilise this time of pandemic for learning.

Parakh Online Pvt. Ltd.

What comes to your mind when we talk about examinations?

A bunch of students writing answers on their papers and an invigilator is sitting on the desk, making sure nobody is cheating, right!

In the current education system, an examination is a vital part.

Without examination, it is nearly impossible to assess a student. On average, a student gives as many as 12 exams per semester. That is a lot if you can see the massive logistics behind each examination. 

From setting up question papers to managing answer sheets, sending those answer sheets for evaluation in a secure manner, collecting these, and finally publishing the result, you can see the amount of work, money, and resources required to pull off these mega-events. 

In India, there are 37.8 million students who are enrolled in higher education. And to organize exams for millions of students at a time is a daunting task. Due to this, almost every year, you see news of exam mismanagement, malpractice, and question paper leaks. 

Apart from that, universities also face problems in paper checking. Checking thousands of papers is not an easy task. Also, manual paper checking is prone to human errors. 

In the year 2017, Mumbai University's results were delayed by five months, and it created a lot of anxiety and tension among the students.

How can we Conduct exams more easily?

We live in the supreme era of technology. It has made our lives easier. Not only lives, but technology also made its way into the education and assessment industry with the help of online education and exams. Online exams have gained quite a popularity in recent years, especially after the COVID 19. 

One of the benefits of online exams is that it comes with many tools, encryption systems that keeps the integrity of the examination intact. Wherein traditional offline exams are prone to human error. 

With the increasing number of students and different types of competitive examinations, conducting exams has been a hectic process. But with the online assessment, the exam conducting process can be simplified drastically. 

Exam conductors can conduct exams at different locations at the same time, all the question papers and answers can be shared online securely, and there will be no need for printing question papers.

The question paper setting process can be simplified, as well. 

Test takers can upload the questions papers easily and save them on the cloud storage. The test engine can automatically design a multiple set of question papers based on requirements and send the questions to the exam venues for taking examinations. 

Online examination also makes the evaluation of answer sheets swift and easy. For subjective exams, teachers can check the answers online from the comfort of their homes quickly.

How is Artificial Intelligence helping Online Assessment?

AI and machine learning are not science fiction anymore. It has seamlessly transitioned to our daily life. You may not realize it, but you are using AI everywhere. A study shows that 77% of people consume AI, but only 33% realize it. 

With the government's support in India, Artificial Intelligence is getting more accessible, and it also made its way to the assessment industry. 

If you are looking to know how AI can help in the examination and assessments Industry, here we have written a list of ways AI can help in online assessments.

1.Improve Grading in Online Assessment

While education and teaching processes have improved drastically with technology, assessments have not changed enough to conduct large-scale examinations. 

That is mostly because of the constraints of answer sheet checking. Institutes can take the exams online, but the teachers still had to check the answer sheets to assess them manually. 

But with the help of AI-based grading systems, institutes can now check answers automatically and grade the students based on the assessment, almost instantaneously. 

Also, these AI-based tools can automatically assess the cognitive abilities of students.

2. Reduce Human Error

With human exam paper checkers, it is easy to assess subjective answers, but it also has a massive drawback. 

With many answer sheets to check, the teachers' assessment process may not be uniform from start to finish. Also, humans are prone to making mistakes. 

Imagine if a candidate is giving an entrance where a difference in one mark can be very critical, then these human errors can damage the students' careers. 

Here AI comes into the picture. AI can eliminate all these errors and make the grading process more reliable and secure.

3. Minimize Malpractices

In conducting high-profile competitive exams, exam bodies face many problems like impersonation, hacking, use of concealed cameras, use of other devices, or books to find answers. 

But AI can help exam organizers reduce the fraud by verifying students' identity with the help of AI. Plagiarism detectors can identify the copying of data, and with the remote proctoring using CCTV cameras, exam organizers can monitor if the candidates are cheating. 

Also, advanced technology can identify keyboard signatures to validate candidate identity. 

AI also can help exam organizers set up question papers and randomly assign question papers to students. This way, AI can completely eradicate the possibility of malpractice in the exam center.

Conclusion :- 

Creating, conducting, and evaluating assessments are enormous tasks for the education institutes. It involves a lot of resources, logistics, time, and money to conduct an examination. Still, offline assessments lack security and accuracy. 

In the offline examination, teachers have to create question papers, distribute them, collect the answers, and evaluate them manually. All these processes can become hectic and full of errors. 

With the advancement of technology, however, technology can help institutes conduct assessments efficiently, securely, and without any errors.

But with the abundance of online assessment platforms in the market, choosing a good one that fulfills your requirements can be a tough job. These platforms are expensive, and you can not afford to invest in the wrong assessment platform. 

When choosing a perfect assessment platform, you need to keep a couple of things in mind.  

In this blog, we have written how you can choose the right assessment platform for you.

1. Your Assessment Platform Should Be Scalable

The best advantage of an online platform is scalability. If you want to invest in an expensive platform, you want it to generate more money for you. And with scalability, exam platforms can deliver 100s is often overlooked by the decision-makers when selecting an online assessment platform. 

2. The Platform Should Be Easy To Use

You may buy an online assessment platform that has tons of features. But if the users such as teachers, invigilators, or candidates can not use the platform correctly, then there is no point in using an online assessment platform. 

Instead, always find the platform that is easy to use by test creators and test-takers and pack some useful advanced functionalities. It ensures that your online assessment platform can fulfill all of your needs without being complicated. Candidates can focus on taking the examination rather than learning to navigate the platform.

3. The Assessment Platform Should Have Automated Analytics & Reporting

Taking exams is not enough. Exam conductors also struggle with evaluating the exam papers. 

So, your online assessment software must come with the technology to automatically evaluate the candidate's papers and create detailed analytics reports for test-takers and administrators. 

These generated reports will be error-free and give a holistic view of the candidate's performance. 

4. Easy Question Creation Capabilities

Your online assessment software should have the ability to create and manage any question papers easily. The questions may vary from MCQ, subjective, objective, fill in the blanks, essay types, etc.  

The software also must have the capability to pre-provide question banks, which can be stored in the cloud. For example, Parakh's question bank management system allows teachers to click and upload questions directly to the question bank with a mobile phone. 

Apart from that, the online assessment software must have easy test sharing capability where students can log in from their own devices from a single link and login from their unique ID and password to take the exam.

5. Must have Remote Proctoring Feature Integrated

In the online examination, invigilators can't proctor the exams in person. 

That's why your assessment system must come with a remote proctoring feature to ensure the exams' integrity. Remote proctoring features proctor the candidates automatically with webcam, microphone and make sure candidates are not cheating during the exams. 

6. Online Assessment Software Must Have a Strong Support Team

Not just online assessment software, any SaaS software is prone to technical problems. 

When using some features or integrating other software tools, you might need technical assistance from the support teams. That's why you need to make sure that the online assessment software you are buying has a great and responsive support team behind it. 

You need to ask yourself these questions.

Will the support team be available all the time?

Are there how-to guides and documentation readily available for the software?

Finding an assessment software that will meet your needs is one thing, and making sure that you can utilize it with its full potential is another. 

Wrapping Up

Selecting an online assessment tool can be hectic, but worth spending time on. Hopefully, our blog will guide you through the process of choosing an online assessment tool. 

No matter how much you study, exams are stressful. There are different levels of stress associated with exams. 

Mostly the stress comes because of the fear of not performing well in an exam. "Will I be able to remember everything in my exam?" What if I can not score well?" "If I fail, what will everyone think?", etc. 

Research has shown that exam stress is a real issue that reduces the candidate's performance in exams. Scientists have also seen that a student's score can be reduced 12-35% due to test anxiety. 

Although some people are naturally stressed during the exam, for the most part, the exam stress is in control of the candidate itself. For example, if the student studies well for the exam, it's likely that they will experience less stress. 

There are other reasons for stress in exam centers, which are not in control of the candidates. It's the external factors like, "What if I get to the exam center late," "Did I packed all the documents?" and different other worries. 

Online assessment software can be a helpful tool to eliminate these stresses from students.

Benefits of Online Assessment Software

1. Having to Write for Long Periods

Taking a handwritten exam can be stressful for some students, as many students are insecure about their own handwriting. 

But with computer-based examinations, students can take the exams without being worried about lousy handwriting. Typing answers is a much faster and easier way to take an exam than writing an exam. 

2. Taking a Test When You're Ready

Another massive advantage of online assessments is that it's location and time-independent. With computer-based examination, the exams are proctored with online proctoring, and candidates can take the tests at their own convenience. You can read more about online proctoring here. 

It gives candidates the flexibility to take the time to mentally prepare for the exams, and reduce anxiety.

3. Surroundings

Online proctoring revolutionized how online exams are conducted nowadays. It allows the candidates to take exams from the comfort of their homes. It eliminates the stress associated with traveling to an unknown place and taking the test in a large room with hundreds of other students. 

With online assessment, candidates can familiarize themselves with every element of the exam process by themselves. If they need, they can take multiple practice tests before the exam to get familiar with the exam process. 

It helps them eliminate any anxiety related to the exam process and helps them focus on the actual exam entirely.

4. Less Stress on Exam Day

Candidates have to deal with a lot of stress on the exam day apart from the stress of taking exams. There is stress associated with visiting an unknown place to take the exam. It's also exhausting to go through the lengthy verification process before the exam.

With online assessment, candidates can easily avoid these hassles and take the exam in a stress-free way. 

The ancient Greek philosopher Theophrastus once said, "Time is the most valuable resource a man can spend." And it holds true to this day. 

With the technological advancements in every sector of the economy, education is not far behind. Most educational institutes and exam conducting bodies have started taking exams through computers to assess the knowledge, skill and aptitude of the candidates. 

Because of the immense advantages of computer-based examinations, JEE Mains, BITSAT and CAT exams also have shifted their mode of exam to a computer-based exam.

What is a Computer Based Test?

In a computer-based test, candidates use a computer screen, and a mouse to answer questions. Questions appear on the screen one by one and candidates solve the problems in a rough paper, and choose the correct answer on the screen. Most of the time, 3-4 questions sets are prepared for computer-based tests and question sets are randomly allocated to the candidates. 

Considering computer-based tests are here to stay, let us see some of the advantages and disadvantages of CBT tests for both the students and the exam conducting bodies.

Advantages of Computer-Based Tests

Location Independent :- Computer-based tests can be taken at any time from any place, given that there is a stable internet connection. The students can appear for the exam at a suitable time and from a convenient location. They do not need to go to a test centre to take exams. It enables the students from remote areas to take up exams at their own time as well. For example, GMAT aspirants in India can choose their place and date of examination as per their convenience.

Reduces Time :- Paper-based exams take a lot of time to set up. But in computer-based exams, the question papers are distributed virtually. The candidate gets a set time to give the examination; after the time, the candidates' answers automatically get submitted. It saves the time and effort of collecting answer sheets from the candidates one by one.

Increases Security :- In a computer-based examination, multiple sets of question papers are created within similar questions and difficulty. And these question papers are given to the candidates randomly; it lowers the risk of cheating in examination.

Immediate Grading :- For internal tests or class tests, CBT technology can assess students’ grades immediately, and help them assess their own performance .This immediate grading system can guide students on what needs to be done to improve their studies. 

Help Students with Disabilities :- Computer-based tests can be modified easily for physically disabled candidates. Screen reader applications can read the questions to the students if needed. Magnification tools can magnify the problems for visually impaired students. Braille keyboards can help visually disabled candidates type their answers on the screen. These kinds of technologies will help students with visual, auditory and motor impairments and will help them go through their education. 

Dynamic and Individualized Assessment :- Computer-based tests can be personalized and precisely tailored to individual students. The difficulty level of each question can be higher or lower, depending on the candidate's previous responses. It will help students learn at their own pace without being discouraged by other students. 

Above mentioned points are some of the significant benefits of the CBT examinations. There are a few other advantages of CBT exams too. CBT is a cost-effective exam model. Because there is no paper used, there are not many expenses in terms of paper management, or logistics of bringing question papers. Also, the evaluation of the exams becomes more comfortable with computer-based examinations.

Disadvantages of CBT Exams:

With all the advantages mentioned above, CBT exams have some disadvantages as well. Let's look at the few of the disadvantages of CBT Exams:

The initial cost of acquiring the CBT technologies is expensive. That is what deter many governments and private organizations from integrating it into the education system.  

CBT exams have it's limitations. It can be affected by external factors like a technical glitch, power problem, internet problem or other system failures. 

In India, not a lot of test centres are equipped with infrastructure that can conduct computer-based examinations at scale.

Conclusion

Technology has given us the ability to do things that improve our livelihood and convenience. Online education and assessment is one such example of effective use of technology. 

After the coronavirus outbreak, the government has closed off all the educational institutes in our country. It has put a risk to the future of education and life for all the students. Gone are the days when students used to travel to a test center to take up the exams. 

Amid the pandemic, institutes, and exam bodies move towards online examinations and remote proctoring to continue taking exams of the students and make sure education goes on at a normal pace. 

Proctoring or invigilation is an essential part of any examination. Proctor makes sure that there are no unfair practices taking place in the examination.

Invigilation is easier in the physical examination. But with an online examination, the candidate takes exams from his/her home without any physical invigilator. And remote proctoring is necessary to make sure the exams are fair and valid.

Types of Remote Proctoring

In remote proctoring, the candidates are usually proctored by webcams, mic, and screen tracking. But there are mainly three types of remote proctoring in the market.

Live Online Proctoring

An invigilator monitors the candidates’ videos, audios, and screen usage feed in real-time from a remote location. It is not very different from offline proctoring except for the availability of the remote location.  

Recorded Proctoring

In this type of proctoring, candidates’ webcam, audio, and screen usage feed are recorded in real-time. And the invigilator reviews the recording at a later time. This removes the time constraint to monitor candidates actively but retains the limitation of the active involvement of human invigilators.

AI-based Proctoring

The most advanced form of proctoring is AI-based proctoring. And it almost removes the need for human proctoring. With the use of face recognition, eye tracking, and object tracking ability through the webcam, AI-based proctoring systems can monitor and detect any suspicious behavior of the candidates in real-time.

This proctoring type limits the candidate from cheating by disabling copy-pasting, switching to other tabs, and accessing any other apps during the test. Automatic proctoring does not require human invigilators’ active involvement, and it makes AI-based proctoring efficient and foolproof.

There are numerous benefits of remote proctoring for both organizations and the exam candidates.

Here are a few of them.

Benefits for Candidates

Candidates can enjoy greater flexibility on the time they want to give the examination. Because the exam does not require any human proctor, exam organizers can give the candidates an “exam window,” in which the candidates can give the examination at any time. 

Candidates can choose to sit wherever they want provided the place is well lit to be picked up by the webcam. 

Giving an exam from home is more relaxing than giving an exam from the exam center. It increased productivity and the chance of doing well in the examination.

Remote proctoring gives a sense of privacy to the candidates. Many candidates don’t want to give exams in a busy test center because of the distractions. But with remote proctoring, they can give their exams in the privacy of their homes.  

Nowadays students have more experience in using computers than writing. And giving pen and paper exams will make the candidates slower with respect to the online computer or tablet-based exams.

Benefits for Organizations

Remote proctoring removes the need to hire in-person invigilators and physical test centers. It removes a huge financial burden from the exam organizers. 

With low cost and easy application, remotely proctored exams can be conducted frequently. Instead of taking a big long exam, students can give more frequent short exams and access their progress.

Online proctoring offers the possibility to scale the exam to a global level. It boosts organizational capability and increases their revenue.

Online proctoring increases security and reliance. As with AI-based proctoring, it is very hard to cheat in the examination. If serious unfair practice occurs, they can be immediately removed from the examination. If any other issues arrive, the exam organizers can review the exam record at any time after the examination.

The big entrance exams or the semester exams of schools, universities all generally happen at the same time. And it has become hectic for the exam organizers to find venues of examination. But remote proctoring exams have eliminated the need for physical exam centers and made the exam organizing process a lot easier.

The Drivers of the Growth in Demand for Online Proctoring Exams Conclusion

The increased use of online education amid the pandemic forced the exams to go online.

The ability to proctor and prevent any unfair practices in an online exam with remote proctoring.

The convenience of giving exams from anywhere in the world.

Reduce the financial burden from the exam organizers for finding and booking exam venues. 

A wide variety of questions can be used in the same examination. 

Reduce logistics of carrying exam papers and other equipment. 

Easy assessment of the answer sheets, secure storage, and easy result moderation for the papers and results.

Parakh Online Pvt. Ltd. aims to provide educational institutes a foolproof online examination system with remote proctoring. 

Our online exam proctoring solution increases security, convenience, and confidence in the online exam process. And we focus on having the same level of security and confidence in our online exam proctoring solution.

Online proctoring is a reasonably new technology in the online education market. But it is gaining rapid popularity in the market and for a good reason. 

The global pandemic has put the whole world into hibernation. All institutes, schools and universities are moving their education and examination online. And for them, remote proctoring has been a reliable solution to take secure online examinations. 

Online proctoring is a reasonably new solution, and most schools, colleges and universities are using it for the first time. A survey conducted by Educause revealed that 33% of the professionals don’t know how to distinguish between a good proctoring solution from a bad proctoring solution.

Online proctoring solutions are not cheap. Most of the time, they come with their own LMS software. And those coming without any LMS have some complexity when integrating with existing LMS software. That is why, before buying a remote proctoring software, institutes have to do a lot of research about the compatibility and the usage of the software. 

Here we have tried to put together a list of features that you must keep in mind before choosing the remote proctoring solution for you. 

Factors to Choose the Right Online Proctoring Tool:

1. Details

As an institute, your goal is to minimize the use of multiple tools to complete a job. The more number of tools you use, the more chances of faults, errors and inefficiency. 

Handling multiple tools at once is difficult for exam organizers at the time of live examinations. That is why your goal should be to minimize the number of tools and use a proctoring solution where you will get all the necessary tools in one place. 

Parakh Online Pvt. Ltd. has such a comprehensive online proctoring solution with online examination and skill test proctoring capabilities. With the help of biometric solutions, it eliminates the possibility of impersonation. Also, with the use of video and audio based monitoring, the proctoring solution makes sure that students don’t cheat during an examination. Invigilations can choose between live monitoring or AI-based monitoring as per their requirement directly from the portal.

2. Scalability

The most important advantage of the online ecosystem is that it is scalable. Schools, colleges and universities can take online classes from anywhere in the world, and the attendees can be 10 to 10,000; literally, there is no bar.  

And you need to make sure before buying a remote proctoring solution that if the solution is flexible enough to handle varying scales of examinations. 

Some institutes even work internationally. The candidates take exams from around the globe. That is why the online proctoring solution must be scalable and flexible enough to conduct exams on different time slots.

3. Integration

Ability to integrate with other software and tools is one of the greatest advantages of a proctoring solution. Usually, the proctoring solution comes preinstalled with the LMS solution. But not all institutes need an LMS solution. 

Most institutes already have an LMS system in place. They just want the standalone proctoring solution that can integrate with their current systems and works as effectively as with the parent LMS solution. 

It is really an important question as not all proctoring solutions come with the ability to integrate with all the LMS software out there. 

Parakh Online Pvt. Ltd. remote proctoring solution is a leading example of an Ideal remote proctoring solution. It allows you to seamlessly integrate the proctoring solution with the existing LMS solutions. And gives the test takers a smoother experience.

4. User Experience

User experience is one of the critical factors of any software solution. The user experience of the remote proctoring solution must be simple, else it will be challenging to learn by the exam administrators as well as students. 

Most of the remote proctoring solutions are automated. That is why every exam proctoring solution needs intuitive navigation to interact with the software, to ensure the exam organizers have full control over the software.

The security of the software is also an important aspect. Online proctoring solutions are integrated with monitors, browser, webcam, mic etc. So, a glitch in the system can make the whole system malfunction and impact the candidate’s exam experience. 

Similarly, students take exams from various types of devices such as a computer, mobile, tablets. And test takes have to make sure that the proctoring solution they buy is compatible with all types of devices.

5. Flexibility

All LMS software is different, so it is different from the process of operation of all the institutions. The remote proctoring service you are buying needs to be flexible enough to work flawlessly with your current system. With a lot of different similar products in the market, it can be challenging to find the perfect solution that will suit your business needs. 

However, most solutions will provide you with an option to customize every bit of the solution to suit your needs.

For example, Parakh Online Pvt. Ltd. remote proctoring solution, lets you customize the features to meet the needs of your business.

6. Cost

Cost is one of the biggest factors contributing to the buying decision. As it is a digital product, you need to take into account the service you are getting with the product. 

It is always better to invest in an end-to-end software that takes care of all your tasks rather than going for a solution that makes the task more difficult to do. 

Also, you can not change your proctoring software over and over. It is a one-time investment that can help you save time and money. Using different solutions for different purposes can be problematic and can hamper the smooth running of examination.

7. Tech Support

Proctoring solution is a technology solution. And with all technology solutions, an excellent technical support team is absolutely necessary. 

Having a 24*7 support team, who can respond to your queries instantly, becomes highly essential during a live examination. When you buy a solution, keep tech support at your highest priority.

Wrapping Up

Remote proctoring solutions are improving with the advancement of technology. However, there are many remote proctoring solutions available in the market. But you should choose that one solution that stands out in the market and fulfil your needs.

Parakh Online Pvt. Ltd.

In recent times, online examinations are getting in demand.  

Various examinations have quitted conventional strategy for pen and paper and embraced advanced techniques for online examinations. But exam organizers need to maintain the integrity of the exams and make the exams secure.  

So, here we have written five tips on the best ways to make online examinations secure.

1. Secure Browser

Secure Browser prevents candidates from opening the different windows during the examination.

The candidate does not have access to keyboard shortcuts and screen capture.

It is possible to own a customized app pre-installed on the machine. The candidate will appear for the exam from the same app. This customized app will prevent Screen Capturing, Screen Recording, and Remote Login features. It helps to secure your Online Examination Process.

Parakh Online Pvt. Ltd. provides a secure browser technology to conduct online examinations securely. 

 2. Encryption of Data

The system encrypts question papers and exam related data for security purposes. Even if anyone hacks exam data it would not be possible for hackers to alter or misuse the data.  

Data Encryption also helps to avoid result alteration without valid credentials. It is a very important feature to make sure the security of the examination. 

The system uses high-level encryption algorithms for encoding the data. So decoding is not easy for unauthorized people.

Encryption of data ensures the exam data is confidential between server and client.

The whole communication between server and examination client is also encrypted. And only authorized people will be able to decode the encrypted data.

It increases the security of the exam data.  

3. Audit logging

One more key aspect will be audit logging to secure the online examination process. 

Candidate perspective :- Audit candidate login, candidate logout, question navigation, time for solving a particular question, etc.  

Exam admin perspective :- Audit login,/logout, IP address, Exam schedule, Result access, Question Bank access, etc.

Log all these key events in the system. So that it will be easy to detect if there is any kind of fraud happening during the online examination process.

4. Remote Proctoring

The remote proctoring process automates invigilation in online examination processes. This technique will help you track the entire activity of the candidate for the examination.

Image Proctoring: Web Camera attached to the system will capture photographs of candidates. The system captures photos in 15 seconds or 30 seconds.

Video or Live Proctoring: Here students are monitored via webcams during the online examination. An administrator can also access the screen of the student to prevent from cheating.

Voice Proctoring: Proctor can also listen to the voice of the candidate. And track candidate's activities by voice while attempting exams.

The proctor can keep an eye on students through the above remote proctoring techniques. This technique also helps to save a lot of logistical costs.

5. IP based Authorization

For a secure online examination and process, we can set up an allowed IP address list. 

Candidates can access the system from a valid IP address only. The system will not accept anyone accessing from outside networks or different IPs.

It ensures complete safety for the examination.

Secure Online Examination is a need of an hour. We help you to manage the examination process with the highest security.

Parakh Online Pvt. Ltd provides its clients with all the above-mentioned features. Our main aim is to gain the trust of the clients by fulfilling all their needs.

We at Parakh Online Pvt. Ltd. believes in complete customer satisfaction. 

The current global pandemic has forced schools, colleges, or any educational institutes to transform their educational process into a digital classroom. It increased the demand for online assessment and remote proctoring solutions.

Recently, in India, AICTE has asked all its affiliate institutes to conduct final year examination following UGC's guidelines. And in this lockdown, the only question on everyone's mind is how the final year exam will take place, and how institutes will maintain social distancing!

Education is going through a transformational phase right now, and institutes are considering online examination with remote proctoring for safe and secure examination.

Remote Proctoring

Online proctoring is a relatively new way of invigilation, and there is not much awareness around it. After the pandemic and lockdown, the demand for remote proctoring solutions is witnessing a 50-60% jump.

Remote proctoring makes it possible for the students to write and give exams online from anywhere in the world while also maintaining the examination's integrity.

The students confirm their identity through a video camera, and they are also being monitored through the video camera for any suspicious activity.

Though there was not much awareness about remote proctoring in the past, testing and assessment companies are integrating online proctoring into their solutions in recent years.

Also, learning management systems are incorporating the remote proctoring as a part of their solutions.

Problems Faced By the Exam Organisers without Proctoring

In this global pandemic, it is almost impossible to conduct offline proctoring due to lockdown.

It is challenging to find quality proctors for offline examination. Also, it is hard to monitor the quality of the proctoring.

Offline proctoring is not scalable. There should be multiple proctors for multiple test centres.

Online tests without proctoring often result in malpractices and cheating. Most students use smartphones or books to search the answers to the questions.

Requirements for Online Remote Proctoring

 To take an online proctored exam, candidates must have

A Computer(Desktop/Laptop/Tablet)

A Stable Internet connection

A functional Webcam and mic

Any latest browser

Types of Remote Proctoring

Currently, there are three major types of remote proctoring available for educational institutions. These are live online proctoring, Recorded proctoring, and AI-based proctoring.

1. Live Online Proctoring

In live online proctoring a human proctor monitors the candidates through the webcam and the audio feed in real-time.

A human proctor can monitor 15-30 candidates at once. This process removes the location constraint from the examination process. Candidates can take up exams from wherever they want.

But the drawback of this system is that it still requires candidates to give exams at a set time. And the capability of a human proctor is pretty limited when it comes to keeping track of all the candidates at once. It is also not scalable and expensive.

2. Recorded Proctoring

In this method, no one monitors the candidates in real-time. Instead, the recorded audio and videos are sent to the human proctor. And he/she plays back the feed-in fast-forward mode and looks for any suspicious behaviour.

This method's advantage is that it removes the time and location of both constraints from the exam process. However, human proctors are still required to monitor the exam. Hence it is not scalable and even costly.

3. AI-based Proctoring

It is the most advanced type of proctoring. Hare the video and audio feed of the candidates is recorded in real-time. And the AI-based system monitors the video and audio feed for any unnecessary behaviours. The AI software also uses face recognition to verify the candidate.

The advantage of AI-based proctoring is it eliminates the need for a human proctor. That makes it highly scalable and efficient.

Parakh Online Pvt. Ltd. provides one of the best online proctoring solutions with its online assessment solutions.

Who Can Benefit From Online Proctoring Solution

1. Assessment Providers

Companies that provide assessment solutions or provide test engineering solutions to their clients can use remote proctoring to increase their functionality. Here are the benefits,

Become a one-stop solution by providing a holistic assessment solution at a low cost.

Create additional revenue streams

Scale business by enabling them to conduct exams worldwide.

2. Educational Institutes

Online proctoring solutions have already proved their effectiveness in monitoring candidates and assuring fair examination.

 Educational institutes, schools, colleges, and universities can use online proctoring solutions effectively to take their internal and external examinations.

3. Certifying Agencies

Certifying agencies can use the online proctoring solution for various reasons.

For scaling a business by conducting online certification examinations

Bringing low-cost certification courses to the market

Expand the global reach of the certification examinations.

Maintain records of examinations for future reference.

Organizations like Microsoft and Salesforce are using online video proctoring effectively in their certification examinations.

Disadvantages of Remote Proctoring

Commercial proctoring services can be costly for some businesses. However, these advanced automated proctoring are highly scalable and cost-effective.

There are concerns about the use of personal and facial data with AI. Many students feel uncomfortable about the fact that they are being watched.

Future of Online Proctoring Conclusion

Remote proctoring will become one of the essential parts of the assessment process, both online and offline. The current trends are:

Using biometric technology to verify the authenticity of the candidate.

Smartwatches and fitness trackers can also be used to monitor students' behaviours.

Head movement and positioning analysis can be used in the future. 

We at Parakh Online Pvt. Ltd. offers remote proctoring solutions with our end-to-end exam management solution. With the help of our solution, educational institutes can conduct any type of online examinations effortlessly, while keeping the integrity of the examinations.