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Online exams were already gaining a lot of fame lately but with the emergence of lockdown situations, they became all the more significant. Many educational, as well as corporate sectors changed their path towards online assessments, disowning the offline ones. Well, it is the need of the hour, and with it emerged the requirement of remote proctoring solutions as well!

What is Remote Proctoring?

We all are aware of how the invigilation process works in the offline method of conducting an exam. Experienced invigilators are hired to physically monitor the test-taking candidates and then assigned with their respective centers where they are responsible to maintain a cheat-proof, strict test-taking environment.

In the case of Remote Proctoring, the basics of the invigilation process are same; it’s just that it is automated. Remote Proctoring allows a proctor to monitor an ongoing online exam with the feasibility of AI integrated technology.

To maintain a cheat-proof testing environment, proctoring software has got various features such as-

•  – Candidate authentication

•  – Audio-video live streaming as well as recording

•  – AI features to detect suspicious activities or behavior

•  – Browsing limitation

•  – Screen freeze feature

•  – Constant webcam monitoring, etc.

How does Remote Proctoring work?

Remote proctoring works from both the ends- one end is the side of the proctor whereas the other end is the test taker (candidate). One proctor has got the limitation to monitor the number of candidates which is mostly 10 to 15 candidates at a time. In remote proctoring, factors such as distance or geographical limitations don’t matter as long as the proctor has access to a high-speed internet connection.

So let’s take a look at how a proctored exam works right from the beginning till the end-

# 1st step- The test-taking candidate has to fill certain mandatory fields present on the test screen such as name, date of birth, age, gender, and institution.

# 2nd step- The candidate needs to confirm his/her identity. Here the test taker has to present some sort of ID proof which is further confirmed by the facial recognition feature which comes integrated with the proctoring software. During this step, even the webcam and microphone are tested to dodge any sort of errors or glitches.

# 3rd step- Now the assessment begins and the webcam of the computer/laptop switches on for monitoring the candidate during the assessment.

The proctor can view all the candidates at once through a grid view or can also select individual screens for a closeup view of a single candidate. Another window gives a detailed view of all the tabs that a candidate opens on his/her test-taking device.

To pass on any sort of information from the proctor to examinee or vice versa, a chat box feature is available on the screen.

In case of any suspicious behavior noticed by the proctor, he can raise alert through red flags, or in extreme cases, he can also discontinue the test for that particular candidate.

Once the time duration of the assessment is over the test automatically gets submitted.

The last step comprises of a comprehensive test report. It is the overall performance result that a candidate receives.

What are the applications of remote proctoring?

Basically, any sector that is using online assessments to assess their students, candidates, trainees, or employees requires Remote Proctoring Software.

1. The use of Remote Proctoring in Educational Industry

For Teachers

Educational institutions mostly believe in training their teachers first and then onboarding them as a regular member of their faculty. The purpose of training is to provide knowledge and skills to the teachers that would be required throughout their job role. Assessments during the training session are important to ascertain the progress. To certify the teacher’s institutions mostly conducted a pen-paper test, but now with the growing fame of online tests, this is what they have started to prefer. The integration of remote proctoring while conducting online tests ensures proper discipline and integrity of the test-taking environment.

For Students

Schools, colleges, coaching centers, universities, and training centers are all the highest consumers of the concept of assessments. Time and again they assess their students through formative or summative assessments as well as through quizzes. For them, conducting an online exam can become a big challenge if they do not integrate proctoring software into the system. Student authentication and cheating are two major drawbacks that they face but can be eliminated if an effective proctoring method is used.

2. Companies/Organizations

For every company, recruitment is a critical process and a lot of companies’ overall success depends on it. To create winning teams, recruiters go extra miles just to ensure that they are putting their time on the right candidate. Every recruiter’s dream is to attract the right candidate and what can do that for them? Well, the answer is online assessments! Conducting pre-employability tests through the online mode is quite effective to reach out to multiple candidates at once without any limitation of location or distance.

Companies can also use remotely proctored exams internally on their employees for varied purposes such as increment assessments or training on a new product or service.

3. Online Courses and Certification Programs

These day’s online courses and certification programs are totally in trend and many people during this lockdown period are looking forward to updating their skills, knowledge, and degrees. Online tests are a part of an online course curriculum and certification programs. To conduct these online tests effectively, the online course providers make use of proctoring software which ensures the integrity and security of the testing environment.

Think Exam: The Best Remote Proctoring Solution!

Think Exam Online Exam Proctoring Solution

Think Exam online assessment platform helps you in conducting High-stake tests on its advanced and secure examination platform integrated with online proctoring. The proctoring software enables end-users to manage and synchronize end-to-end online assessment process. Right from online registration to proctoring and real-time reporting, everything is enabled within the software to provide the users with utmost ease.

Conclusion

Remote Proctoring is indeed the best technology to safeguard online tests and increase their credibility. It has brought a revolutionary improvement in online assessments and has made them much more useful and effective.