Why Universities Must Consider The Online Mode Of Examinations And How

The means and accessibility of education are expanding with every passing day. None would have imagined education beyond the four walls of a classroom and a blackboard. However, the advent of technology has made education accessible through smartphones as well. Apart from conducting online lectures, Edtech platforms have successfully implemented the online examination system with ease. 

It is now time for the universities as well to introspect and conduct the online exam in the post-pandemic world. 

Secure Examination Paper 

Switching to the online mode of examination provides much-needed flexibility and security for the entire process. Teachers have the option of shuffling the questions in different orders after uploading them into the system. This helps teachers send different patterns of question papers to different students, despite having the same set of questions. This also minimizes the chances of cheating in an online exam setting. 

No Need for Exam Centers

The implementation of online exam system makes it easy for universities to get rid of the need of having multiple exam centers. Since students are attempting the exam from the comfort of their homes, the need for exam centers is negated. To resolve the problem of maintaining strict vigil over the students, universities can ask them to use web cameras and microphones. Such a method of conducting online examinations is called remote proctoring. 

Decline in Logistical Costs 

Online examination system reduces the logical costs to a greater extent. Since the examination process is conducted with the aid of technology, it is helpful in conducting examinations for several candidates located in different places. The process of declaring results is also done online, further reducing the logical costs. Costs such as paper expenses, invigilator fees and supply-side expenses are reduced. 

Simplified Generation of Question Papers 

It is easier for teachers to prepare the question papers online. Moreover, the chances of the question paper being leaked reduce to a greater extent. Indeed, designing a question paper for the paper-based exam is difficult. It also involves a number of logistical tasks such as manual selection of questions, design of the question paper, printing the paper, distributing the papers across exam centers and more. 

Result Analysis and Ranking 

In an online examination setup, result analysis, declaration and ranking of students is easy. With the use of technology, teachers can provide detailed analysis, strengths and weaknesses of students, and rankings. It is also helpful in key decision-making processes. On the other hand, the entire process is manual in nature and involves a huge administrative task. Many times, supervisors might tend to make errors in preparing results, which could further have a negative impact on the students’ academic performance. 

Thus, the above points suggest that switching to the online examination setting is the need of the hour. Platforms like SuperTeacher have introduced assessments and assignments, which enables the teachers to let their students access tests with ease. Teachers can also curate students’ performance analysis with ease and share them with their parents.