In today’s highly globalized world, we strive to make effective use of technological resources to optimize processes and improve the overall quality of life. The field of education is no exception. Over time, various tools have been developed to facilitate the transmission of information and enhance the interaction between teachers and students. With this goal in mind—and thanks to remarkable technological advancements—a wide range of resources has been created to significantly improve the teaching process.
While many of these resources have been designed to enhance the traditional classroom environment, others have focused on providing flexibility for individuals who are unable to pursue their studies "full time." These individuals often face constraints such as jobs with schedules that conflict with standard class hours, living far from educational institutions, or other personal commitments that make attending fixed-schedule classes challenging.
It was in response to these challenges that the concept of distance education was born. Distance education aims to provide a solution for people who need greater flexibility in their studies, enabling them to pursue education without the constraints of rigid schedules or physical attendance, ultimately making learning accessible to a broader audience.
Initially, distance education methods were somewhat "rudimentary." They primarily involved providing students with resources and a study plan to prepare for a test scheduled at a specific date and time. While this approach worked satisfactorily for many years, by the mid-2000s, it became clear that a complete overhaul of distance learning methodologies was necessary, leading to the emergence of virtual classes.
Virtual classes leverage the process of globalization and the widespread availability of internet services. They transform a web page into a virtual classroom, enabling students enrolled in a particular course to engage dynamically with their instructors. This setup allows for real-time communication, sharing of ideas, resources, and feedback between teachers and students in a comfortable and straightforward manner. Virtual classes eliminate the need for physical travel and provide students with the flexibility they need to balance their schedules.
A significant challenge in virtual education was developing a secure and efficient method for conducting tests and exams. Unlike traditional distance education, which required students to attend a specific location under the supervision of a teacher or institution representative, virtual education lacked a reliable way to supervise students during evaluations. In conventional systems, students completed their exams within a set time limit under strict supervision, ensuring they did not use unauthorized materials or receive external assistance.
Virtual education systems, on the other hand, allowed for setting parameters such as deadlines, delivery formats, and submission times but offered no way to verify the student’s identity or ensure they weren’t using support materials. This gap prompted the search for a solution that could visually monitor students and restrict their computer usage during exams. The aim was to prevent access to resources that could be used as unauthorized aids. From this need for enhanced supervision, the concept of online proctoring was born.
Online proctoring addresses these challenges by providing a secure way to monitor students visually and limit their interactions with their devices during exams, ensuring the integrity of virtual education assessments.
As the name suggests, online proctoring is a supervision service provided by various platforms to institutions offering virtual class programs. The primary objective of this service is to assign a supervisor who monitors the environment and behavior of a student, either in real time or by analyzing recorded audio and video, during the evaluation process. By leveraging different methods and tools, the supervisor studies the student’s behavior and surroundings in detail to ensure the integrity of the examination.
After the test concludes and the recorded resources used for monitoring are reviewed, the supervisor provides their assessment. If the supervisor's evaluation is positive, the student proceeds to be graded based on the accuracy and authenticity of their answers. However, if the supervisor determines that the student used unauthorized resources during the test, the student is sanctioned according to the policies of the institution.
Initially, online proctoring was viewed as "extremely invasive." Over time, however, it has evolved significantly, offering numerous advantages that often surpass traditional supervision methods. As a result, it has become one of the most effective and reliable alternatives for preventing cheating in virtual learning environments.
Features such as webcam recording and full-screen locking have greatly minimized security concerns, enabling exams to be conducted securely for thousands of students simultaneously.
As previously mentioned, online proctoring services have evolved significantly since their inception. Companies offering these services have developed various methods that enable them to monitor students with varying levels of detail, depending on the chosen approach. These methods also include features that restrict the student’s interaction with their computer during the test. To provide a clearer understanding of these processes, the commonly used methods for online proctoring are explained below.
This methodology involves monitoring the student through their webcam or mobile phone camera while they take the test. The primary goal is to observe the student’s actions and environment in real time to ensure they are not using any unauthorized resources. This approach is commonly used in verbal evaluations, where the supervisor not only monitors but also conducts the evaluation, or in written exams on paper (though this is less common nowadays). During these exams, the student’s gestures, facial expressions, and surroundings are closely monitored to confirm that they neither use nor have access to any support resources while taking the test.
Proctoring through the analysis of audio and video recordings involves capturing and reviewing exam sessions to ensure academic integrity. During the test, the system records the student’s environment, facial expressions, and actions through their webcam and microphone. These recordings are later analyzed to identify any suspicious behavior, such as the presence of unauthorized individuals, use of prohibited resources, or unusual activity.
This method provides an additional layer of security and ensures that any potential violations are thoroughly investigated. Audio and video proctoring offers flexibility for test administrators while maintaining a high level of accuracy and fairness in assessments.
This method consists of using a specific type of software which is capable of "facilitating" the supervision process. It is essential to point out that there is different software for its application in the supervision area, and each one of them has different characteristics that help the supervisor to achieve his objectives.
This type of software is designed solely to "simplify" the supervisor’s job by facilitating the monitoring process. Typically, these programs must be installed on the student’s computer and rely on real-time proctoring or audio and video recordings. Additionally, they can restrict access to specific applications that could serve as unauthorized resources during the test.
However, these software solutions do not include features for conducting evaluations within their platform. They are exclusively designed for monitoring purposes, making their use limited to institutions that have the capability to conduct evaluations on a separate platform.
Nowadays, most institutions rely on software that not only facilitates real-time and recorded monitoring but also enables teachers to design exams directly within the platform. This eliminates the need for students to use external applications during the evaluation process, as the software restricts access to most applications to prevent the use of unauthorized resources. With the features provided by such software, supervisors can closely analyze student behavior during exams and, in some cases, immediately determine if a student relied on external resources. Once a verdict is reached, test results are often published immediately, although the overall evaluation process may take between 1 to 5 days.
As previously mentioned, there is a wide range of software available for proctoring services. While most operate using similar methodologies, institutions select specific solutions based on their unique preferences and requirements. It is important to note that the features offered by each software often play a significant role in the decision-making process.
The origin of online proctoring stems from the need to verify that students studying through virtual platforms are not using unauthorized resources during their exams. For a degree to hold academic or professional significance, it is crucial to ensure that the student possesses the necessary skills to apply their qualifications effectively. This need led to the development of alternative methods to accurately verify test results and uphold the credibility of assessments.
Over time, various online proctoring methods have emerged, addressing many disadvantages of traditional in-class proctoring. Unlike conventional methods, online proctoring focuses on providing "specialized attention," where a supervisor monitors a single individual, analyzing their environment and facial expressions to detect potential use of unauthorized resources. This focused approach enhances the reliability of the process by allowing supervisors to thoroughly observe student behavior throughout the exam.
The efficiency of online proctoring lies in its ability to provide continuous, real-time monitoring of a single student. Advanced technologies enable precise tracking of a student’s actions during the test, minimizing opportunities for fraud. Research by Fask, Englander, and Wang highlighted that students taking unsupervised online exams are more likely to cheat compared to those in proctored face-to-face settings. By applying this concept, it can be inferred that students using online proctoring services face significantly fewer opportunities to access unauthorized resources, ensuring highly accurate test results.
From a technical perspective, online proctoring ensures a high level of security. The methods employed not only collect data but also protect it from alteration or unauthorized access. This guarantees that results are 100% reliable and free from interference by students or external agents. Only the organization providing the service maintains control over the data, ensuring integrity and confidentiality.
In summary, online proctoring is an excellent solution for reducing instances of academic dishonesty. It ensures accurate test results, efficient data handling, and secure storage of reliable records. By enabling supervisors to focus on student behavior and leveraging advanced technologies, online proctoring supports fair assessments and upholds the credibility of educational achievements.
As mentioned earlier, various programs and methods enable online proctoring processes. However, in today’s educational landscape, it is far more efficient to use anti-cheating software that not only facilitates proctoring but also provides a stable platform for conducting evaluations. This shift is due to the significant changes in the educational environment over recent years. While supervising students during written exams was once considered adequate, this approach has become inefficient, particularly because of the challenges in proofreading. Students would need to digitize their work for supervision, making the process cumbersome.
In response to these challenges, software that combines both supervision and evaluation has become a more appealing and effective solution. Such programs simplify the process by restricting specific applications during exams, enabling supervisors to focus entirely on observing student behavior. At the same time, these platforms offer teachers user-friendly tools to design exams, incorporating multiple-choice questions, fill-in-the-blank sections, and other formats that streamline the evaluation process. This comprehensive approach makes both proctoring and evaluating significantly more efficient and practical for modern education.
Institutions offering distance education services, especially those focused on professional instruction, must have software that enables secure evaluations to ensure the authenticity of results and accurately assess student capabilities. This is crucial for maintaining the credibility of the degrees and certifications issued by such institutions. For this reason, universities, training centers, language schools, and any other organizations providing virtual instruction should implement a comprehensive system for evaluations that includes an online proctoring service.
With TestInvite, you gain access to a proctoring service that not only enables seamless monitoring but also provides the most modern platform for conducting virtual exams. We offer advanced features, such as the ability to create multi-section exams, establish random question order patterns, integrate question banks, and include audio and video-based questions. You can also set time limits, enforce application restrictions, and utilize many other innovative tools.
Additionally, our cloud computing service, built entirely from scratch on Google’s infrastructure, allows you to store unlimited exams and recordings simultaneously. We also support monitoring through the analysis of recorded audio and video or, if preferred, in real-time. With these capabilities, TestInvite is the ideal choice for institutions offering virtual classes or planning to adopt this teaching method. To implement our software and explore our services, visit our website. When it comes to proctoring, TestInvite is your best alternative.
