With the advent of technology, nothing is impossible nowadays. Everything can be done at one’s comfort. Even conducting online exams is possible today. But people always doubted the reliability and credibility of online conducting of exams as risks of cheating are high as compared to the traditional way of conducting exams where there is always an invigilator present was supervising students.
This issue has been totally overcome by the introduction of online proctoring. As the name suggests online proctoring is the system under which the person undertaking the exam will be proctored online with the help of internet and web camera. Online proctoring is the new way of conducting examination which has seamlessly led to the elimination of the traditional and tedious way of conducting the exam. It has led to the level of comfort which no one has ever imagined.
The candidate who is required to take the exam to stay in front of the computer system and will be facing the web camera. The proctors are going to supervise the candidate through the web camera and computer system. They are highly capable of noticing any cheating activities that might include cheat notes, or switching to other electronic modes for help etc. They even can take a proper look at the examination room to make sure there is nothing suspicious and gets hold of any cheating material. Not only this, but they also are highly effective in noticing any eye movement of the candidate from the computer screen, which could be an indication that the candidate is indulging in some cheating activity. The proctors are highly qualified, and one proctor can monitor up to 32 candidates at the same time. Thus online proctoring has led to the elimination of location and distance constraints. However, for online proctoring, scheduling is still essential.
- The demand and popularity of online proctoring are crazy nowadays. It is now widely being used for conducting the examination. One of the most important reasons why it is becoming so popular is the cost-saving attached to it. There is no need for building establishments, which saves money and time to the students, because of which more and more institutions are shifting towards online proctoring. There are various benefits of online proctoring that all the parties involved enjoy. Various benefits are mentioned below:
- No need for an Examination Centre: Online proctoring has led to the elimination of examination centres. Candidates can give the exam at the comfort of their home, leading to a stress free environment. Also, the institution benefits from this as it involves so many hassles to provide the examination centre at the location of the candidate. Finding a suitable infrastructure is a cumbersome task. Hence now exams can be easily handled by the student as they have no need to leave the comfort of their home.
- No need of Physical Proctoring: Under traditional proctoring of the exam, there is a need for recruiting certified proctor to supervise the candidates. This involves an investment of effort, time and money as one needs to send the qualified proctor to the required exam centres. Lots of administrative work is to be taken care of. But with the advent of online proctoring, this problem has been overcome. Now the proctoring is done through technology with the help of web camera and software and is highly capable of monitoring the candidates. Online proctoring has many features that make sure no cheating activities take place.
- Easy Exam Scheduling: online proctoring has led to the easy scheduling of the examination. With traditional proctoring, scheduling of exams was a big task as the exam centres are limited. Number of factors have to be taken into consideration before the scheduling of the exam. These factors include holidays, gap between different exams etc. only after all the factors are considered, one can go ahead with scheduling. Because of this, exams get scheduled for a longer period that creates inconvenience for all the parties involved. In case of Online proctoring, there exists flexible scheduling under which proctor monitors the candidate from any location. Everything is controlled by technology.
- No chance of cheating: Absence of proctoring in the online exam can lead to candidates indulging in cheating activities which will give the unreliable result of the exam. Proctoring is essential, especially in the online exam as it will make sure that there are no chances of any cheating. Proctors are highly efficient to find anything suspicious related to the behavior of the candidate. It can even notice the slightest movement of eyes. It keeps track of mobile phone usage, suspicious audio to monitor the candidate. Hence it leaves no room for cheating as every action of the candidate is being studied and recorded.
- No need to travel long distances: Under traditional proctoring, lots of candidates has to travel long distances to give the exams as there are only specific exam centres. Not everyone has easy access to these exam centres. They have to spend a great deal of resources in travelling and accommodation and they have to even plan in advance to add to the stress of the candidates. With online proctoring one can give exams at the place of their comfort. All one needs is a good internet connection with a webcam to give exams. It altogether eliminates the need for travelling.
- Cost saving: Online proctoring eventually leads to lots of cost saving. With online proctoring there is no need to have a large number of invigilators and this has reduced the cost drastically. Under online proctoring, one needs to invest in internet and online proctoring software which does not cost much to the institution. Hence it is a more cost efficient way of conducting exams than the traditional.
- Easy Flow of communication: One added advantage of online proctoring is the easy communication. Online proctoring provides the feature to the candidates to communicate with the proctor while giving the exam. In case of any doubt, the candidate can clear it by just asking the proctor. He need not have to wait for the right person to clear his doubts. It therefore makes the whole process seamless.
Hence these are some of the important benefits of online proctoring which make it clear why there is a high trend of it.
