The shift in people receiving education online has necessitated a more in-depth understanding of video proctoring. E-learning is becoming more popular in the educational and career fields. Companies and universities are now offering more online courses, certifications, and degrees than ever before, reducing the need for video proctoring.
To combat the surge in online education, proctoring software has sprung up and evolved. Online assessment has made it possible to test a candidate on coursework and certifiable skills in a convenient and efficient manner. Proctoring tools have advanced, and understanding how they work and how to use them will help shape online education and the work field even more.
What exactly is video proctoring?
Video proctoring monitors students and employees during an online exam or test using hardware such as computers and webcams. Video proctoring software works by scanning a student’s ID through a webcam and verifying it with scanning software. If additional people or exam candidates’ resources are present, proctoring software can detect them. For example, textbooks, cellphones, calculators, and other devices and items would be registered. The ID verification will also assist in determining who is currently taking an exam and who is not.
Some video proctoring programmes can even assist students in identifying themselves using specific automation systems. These proctoring systems recognise factors such as keyboard patterns. The speed of keypresses, duration of time holding the mouse, usage of keys for specific functions, and patterned typing errors of students and employees taking a proctored exam with an advanced proctoring system will be measured. These measurements aid in the development of an automated solution for the person administering an online test.
Who Necessitates Video Proctoring?
Video proctoring can benefit a variety of groups. Proctoring technology has the potential to benefit an organization or individual administering an online remote exam or test. A more specific list of groups and individuals who may be eligible for video proctoring services is provided below. All of these benefits contribute to a company or university using proctoring services and tools to scale to a potentially global level or accelerate an educational process.
Assessment Service Providers
Using an online examination system can provide assessment providers with a number of advantages. Clients can benefit from assessment providers’ logistical advantages, such as more cost-effective methods and faster online exams or tests. This results in an increase in revenue.These factors increase client usage by allowing exams to be taken at any time, from any location, from a remote location.
Providers of Online Education
MOOCs, online education providers, and high schools and universities are all responding to a growing concern. Online tests and exams are vulnerable to cheating, and video proctoring can help validate the effectiveness of an online course offered by a university or school. The first important solution is to identify online students. These proctoring tools can verify a student’s identity and flag a potential problem within an automated system. Any potentially serious infractions will then be sent to a human proctor for review and assessment.
Certification Organizations
Schools, universities, and assessment providers are not the only ones benefiting from these technologies. As they gain a foothold in the online education system, Certifying Agencies are also using online proctoring. These services assist businesses in scaling by certifying students or employees who can complete certification from home or anywhere remotely. By eliminating the need for a testing center or proctoring facility, businesses will be able to become more competitive.
What Benefits Does Video Proctoring Offer?
Scalability
Online exams and tests provide an individual or organization with the same global scope as the internet. With the digital tools available today, testing does not need to be sourced to a certified proctoring center and can still deter cheating and promote academic integrity. Because online examination reaches previously untapped demographics, this will result in a more competitive pool of students and employees.
Resource Distribution
Any business must have adequate resources. Time and money are the two most important finite resources for any business, and video proctoring is a valuable advancement in business software. Certification can be administered by businesses, schools, and assessment providers to promote growth within a company or university. These proctoring tools, as well as the exams themselves, are practical enough to ensure an effective level of safety. Cheating in various forms can be detected, and these programmes can be relied on just as much as physical forms of test-taking and examination.
Reporting Expertise
Feedback and communication are critical in education and career advancement. Open lines of communication can be maintained with the help of video proctoring services. Candidates who were given an online examination or testing can still be measured with critical metrics and improved in a respected setting. Despite the prevalence of automation, one-on-one feedback remains relevant and viable.
What Are the Different Kinds of Video Proctoring?
Currently, video proctoring technology is divided into three major categories. These various types all have different aspects that can be viewed as advantages and disadvantages. What the individual or organization hopes to gain may influence which type of video proctoring is the best option.
Online Proctoring in Real Time
When additional human interaction is required, live online proctoring is provided. As a result, there will be less automation because the examination will be monitored in real time by a live human proctor. This setup has fewer proctoring tools in general. Students can seek assistance from the human monitor, and this proctoring method can detect cheating via human interaction as well as audio and video feed.
Proctoring that is recorded
The name suggests it all: recorded proctoring. A proctor monitors a candidate examination session, but the activity is recorded and replayed. After that, the proctor can go over the material and assess the recording for academic dishonesty and cheating. The proctor can even playback the recorded material at different speeds with some proctoring programmes. When compared to live online proctoring, recorded proctoring typically provides more automation and a more robust suite of tools.
Automated Advanced Proctoring
The most sophisticated method of proctoring is Advanced Automated Proctoring. The software is the only one that records and analyzes online exams. The detections are measured, and the proctoring software detects any instances of cheating.
For example, candidates who open a new tab or programme to assist with their exam will trigger an internal alarm. This type of automated software will also scan the room to determine who is a test taker and who is not. Another advantage of recording these sessions is that they can be viewed in real time or later. This gives the human side of proctoring some leeway.
Online exam software has grown in popularity in the age of remote learning. They ensure the integrity and safety of online exams, give students and teachers more flexibility, and significantly reduce stress during important assessments.
Every educational institution can find a solution that best meets their needs thanks to Mercer | Mettl’s wide range of remote proctoring services. There is no special hardware or software required for students. They only require a desktop or laptop computer and a stable internet connection.