Adapting Change: Transition from Traditional to Online Exams

Online examination systems are the way forward for schools and colleges looking to make education easy and convenient. These are also integral to ensuring that any form of online assessment is conducted safely. Currently, increasing numbers of academic institutes are integrating and using software for online examinations.

According to experts, online assessment software became increasingly popular with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, the number of schools, colleges, and universities that have integrated online examination systems into their existing administration has grown exponentially. Today, software for online examinations has become an essential part of successful education institutes all over the world.

So, why should you transition from a traditional to an online examination system? Here are the main reasons:

• Best Remote Learning Method

As compared to traditional learning methods, the online examination system is definitely better. In the digital age that we live in, young students are well-adjusted to using advanced technology. The recent pandemic also showed that students are extremely techno-savvy, with thousands attending online classes and appearing for online examinations. 

For teachers, software for online examinations is also extremely helpful. Online examinations make it easier to conduct formative assessments. This type of assessment helps to measure a student’s academic progress more effectively. It also offers instant feedback to students. Additionally, summative assessments through online examination systems help evaluate a student’s learning capacity after completion of a course or topic. 

• Decreases Administrative Challenges

When academic institutes choose to transition from traditional to online assessment software, they effectively reduce the administrative burden. Teachers do not have to worry about planning and organizing a physical examination at a center. Online examinations also help avoid the extensive effort otherwise required to print, distribute, circulate, and evaluate paper-based processes. 

However, with online assessment tools, school administrators and teachers find it more convenient to conduct examinations online. 

•  Lowers Examination Expenses

Conducting online examinations helps save significant resources and expenses as compared to traditional paper-based examinations. Conventional exams can incur substantial expenses. 

For instance, traditional exam methods include the cost of printing and distributing question-answer papers, booking or hiring a hall for conducting the exam, and charges for hiring invigilators, apart from the cost of processing and disposing of paper. These expenses are doubled if the exam has to be re-conducted.

However, with online assessment software, academic institutes can successfully conduct examinations and evaluate students at only a fraction of the original cost. 

•  Offers Safe Examinations 

The top online examination systems are equipped with the most advanced anti-cheating technology and integrity parameters. 

Online assessment platforms have multiple features that ensure a safe and secure examination is conducted every time. For example, online examination systems are designed to block cut-and-paste functions. They also prevent users from opening web browsers during exams and ensure a safe and honest examination overall. 

Besides this, the best online assessment programs allow online proctoring. It is difficult to keep strict vigilance on multiple students during a conventional exam. However, these software solutions offer online proctoring features, which are extremely effective for conducting a completely safe exam. It lets teachers perform real-time proctoring. This is essentially a way to get crucial information, such as the number of students appearing for the exam, the time taken to solve questions, and more.

Additionally, online assessment platforms let teachers shuffle the questions to ensure optimal security. These platforms are designed with different features to prevent malpractice during online exams. The invigilators are assisted by video and/or image-based monitoring to keep an eye on students while the examination is being conducted. All these features combine to make online assessment platforms truly safe and secure for exams. 

• Scalable And Flexible Solution

Software for online examinations is made to be significantly scalable. For instance, they allow multiple users to take the exam from any geographical location. Students only need an internet-enabled smartphone, tablet, or computer to take online exams. It lets teachers create online tests for a handful of students and easily adapt the platform for a hundred or more. 

Flexibility is another major advantage of online assessment software. These platforms are designed to ease pre- and post-exam processes. This way, you can use online examination systems whenever and wherever needed, irrespective of time, place, and requirement. 

•  Optimal Academic Evaluation 

Online assessment systems are designed to automatically grade papers in real-time. For this, teachers can define parameters and grades for passing and failing the exam. The online exam platform is able to process the student’s answers and provide a detailed result almost instantly. This helps to lessen the load for invigilators, who would otherwise have to spend significant time checking and evaluating every paper. 

These platforms are designed to generate accurate results based on precise and prompt calculations. It can easily create detailed reports for individual students, classes, or groups. This makes it easier to evaluate a class or individual student’s performance during the exam as well as throughout the year. With this, the faculty can easily perform evaluations and provide error-free results. 

•  Removing Learning Gaps

Online examination systems are also effective in removing learning gaps. These systems provide a detailed and accurate report of the entire class as well as individual students. These reports highlight the challenges that teachers and students face academically. With the help of these reports, faculties can easily identify specific obstacles and difficulties that are hindering a smooth learning process. 

By effectively addressing these challenges, the faculty can ensure a comprehensive and successful learning experience for all students. This, in turn, also improves the overall performance and ranking of the school or college. 

•  Complete Evaluation System

Online examination systems are designed to handle the entire examination process. 

Before the exam, faculty can plan, create, and manage question banks and modules. The system instantly organizes student credentials, such as hall tickets, admit cards, etc. Besides, it is easier to create timetables for exams and even designate online invigilators. 

During the exam, the online assessment software verifies student IDs and manages attendance in real-time. It also offers support to students facing any issues with using the online examination platform. The system has strong real-time invigilation features for effective proctoring while the exam is underway. 

After the exam, the online assessment platform also quickly evaluates the answer sheets. It provides instant grades with the generated reports and even conducts detailed analysis of said reports for added accuracy. In the end, the platform can also send the results directly to students through SMS or email, or it can display the results on the college website. 

Conclusion

Software for online examinations is essential in today’s digital age. This online examination system can be easily modified. You can include additional features as required. This ensures optimal assessment of students’ performance. It is also extremely helpful to ease the administrative burden on faculty while enabling a safe, secure, and successful online examination.