Recently my graduate school (which is a distance education program) has announced that it will be implementing remote video proctoring during all of our exams. This means that we, as students, have to purchase a video recording device that has a 360 degree view of our environment and also records audio. It must also have a fingerprint-reading device to ensure that we are, in fact, the person taking the exam. The video and audio recordings are then sent to a separate off-site location to be reviewed for signs of cheating.
The idea of the video proctoring is to cut down on cheating and hopefully create a testing environment that is similar to that at nursing school. This means that prior to taking the exam there should be no books, papers, audio, cell phones, etc., in your environment. My personal study space needs to be as similar to a simple classroom as it can be.
This has raised many questions for us students. First of all, what about kids? Many students do not feel comfortable with the idea that their child may happen to wander in during an exam and be recorded and watched by a total stranger. Also, what about test anxiety? It is stressful enough to take an exam in graduate school, let alone when you know that you are being monitored and that someone is on the other end watching you.
I also believe that there are issues of privacy being affected by this. In essence, this is allowing total strangers to come into our home and observe us. This means that some of us will no longer be taking tests in our pajamas, talking to ourselves, or leaving the room to use the bathroom. While this will come as a huge adjustment to some of us, I also believe that it will help us in the long run to get used to this method of sterile testing again. Eventually we will sit for comps or board exams and we will all need to be used to a professional testing atmosphere. As great as it is to sit at home in our pajamas watching television and eating while we are taking our online exams, we may be getting a little too comfortable; remote proctoring could be what it takes to get us to sit up and start taking our exams like we mean it.
What do you think of remote video proctoring? Does your school implement it? How has this changed how you take your exams?
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Remote Video Proctoring
2 comments:
My school doesn't have that kind of thing. But in my personal opinion, it's not good. Why don't they do the old fashion way? You will not have much privacy anymore. And the level of pressure will be more higher.
Very interesting! I never had a "take home and video yourself" exam before. I want to try the pressure it will give. Thank you for the post.
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