Exam Tips
There are lots of tools out there for administering online exams. Here are some thoughts from faculty and students about their experiences.
by Ben Dolan
For those who regularly teach online, you're aware of the myriad ways students can work around the best mechanisms for preventing cheating. There are many companies out there offering sophisticated software applications that are a bit like Big Brother: the software uses your camera, microphone, and keystroke patterns to monitor behavior. Suspicious behavior is identified by AI and the professor is alerted to a potential attempt to cheat. Averting your eyes from your computer screen for a second or two is enough to trigger the alert. I'm not a huge fan of the software [privacy concerns, big business taking advantage of us, etc.] but I know many professors who are using it and are glad for the solution, especially in big courses where professors don't have a strong personal connection with each student. Tech blogger Jake Binstein notes that there are several workarounds, including using a second monitor and keyboard to have a friend take the exam out of view from the camera. Check out Jake's blog for other crafty workarounds.
Best online teaching practices suggest all assignments and tests should avoid the need for heavy-handed monitoring software with more meaningful assessments. Professors should eschew high-stakes multiple-choice exams in favor of low-stakes exams. Discussion boards and open-ended questions can be used to show evidence of critical thinking and other higher-order skills. Professors should assume that students will use books, notes, and other resources, and they should therefore create assignments with this in mind. In many ways, this allows students to work as they would in the real world...with access to cyberspace, colleagues, and books. Lots of universities list tips for online assessments: just do a quick search for 'online exams best practices'.
Alas, for us real-world classroom teachers, we are thrown into an online teaching environment without much time to prepare or revise our tried-and-true approaches. Many of us are keeping the same assessments and using Big Brother to reduce cheating. We have to do the best we can with the time and resources we have. I'm hopeful when we get back to campus, we can have conversations about what worked and what didn't, and reflect on student concerns for privacy, access, and course progress.
With that in mind, here are some comments and thoughts about exams I've collected this week from colleagues and students:
Student:
Student:
Student:
Student:
Professor:
If you are an instructor or student and you'd like to share your experience, submit a comment to this post. What works, and what doesn't?
by Ben Dolan
For those who regularly teach online, you're aware of the myriad ways students can work around the best mechanisms for preventing cheating. There are many companies out there offering sophisticated software applications that are a bit like Big Brother: the software uses your camera, microphone, and keystroke patterns to monitor behavior. Suspicious behavior is identified by AI and the professor is alerted to a potential attempt to cheat. Averting your eyes from your computer screen for a second or two is enough to trigger the alert. I'm not a huge fan of the software [privacy concerns, big business taking advantage of us, etc.] but I know many professors who are using it and are glad for the solution, especially in big courses where professors don't have a strong personal connection with each student. Tech blogger Jake Binstein notes that there are several workarounds, including using a second monitor and keyboard to have a friend take the exam out of view from the camera. Check out Jake's blog for other crafty workarounds.
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| https://thechive.com/2016/04/14/cheating-is-wrong-but-clever-is-clever-30-photos/ |
Best online teaching practices suggest all assignments and tests should avoid the need for heavy-handed monitoring software with more meaningful assessments. Professors should eschew high-stakes multiple-choice exams in favor of low-stakes exams. Discussion boards and open-ended questions can be used to show evidence of critical thinking and other higher-order skills. Professors should assume that students will use books, notes, and other resources, and they should therefore create assignments with this in mind. In many ways, this allows students to work as they would in the real world...with access to cyberspace, colleagues, and books. Lots of universities list tips for online assessments: just do a quick search for 'online exams best practices'.
Alas, for us real-world classroom teachers, we are thrown into an online teaching environment without much time to prepare or revise our tried-and-true approaches. Many of us are keeping the same assessments and using Big Brother to reduce cheating. We have to do the best we can with the time and resources we have. I'm hopeful when we get back to campus, we can have conversations about what worked and what didn't, and reflect on student concerns for privacy, access, and course progress.
With that in mind, here are some comments and thoughts about exams I've collected this week from colleagues and students:
Student:
Most of my teachers are using Proctorio for tests, and I don't mind it. I space out really easily when I take the exams though because its just text and white background, and you can't have your eyes leave the screen. Some teachers have added pictures to help re-stimulate our minds. It actually helps!
Student:
For online exams, I have found multiple choice to work the best personally. For [one class], we have been using Proctorio and because of that I am not able to right click any misspelled words while I am typing short answer or extended response questions. I frequently use this function to correct my misspellings so that definitely required an adjustment on my end to make sure that I am able to complete the answers in a timely manner so that I can also finish the entire exam.
Student:
I have one professor who has changed the class to open note for the remaining quizzes and final exam, which I think all of us appreciate (as we struggle with motivation and finding a quiet place to study), but then another professor has increased "security" measures and enabled our webcams, microphones, and room scanning for exams which seems like a little too much.
Student:
It’s a little harder due to not being able to ask for clarification on the spot, and then I get hung up on a question and everything afterwards is me thinking of that question.
Professor:
I have started using Google Voice. It is a free App that uses your phones data/texts/minutes but gives you a different number for students to call in or text so that they don't have your personal number...students really liked the idea of quick access if there were questions. Highly recommend as it removes the stress of "what happens if something goes wrong during the exam" from the students.
If you are an instructor or student and you'd like to share your experience, submit a comment to this post. What works, and what doesn't?
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