The growing importance of online education, especially MOOCs, has created a unique set of challenges and opportunities for universities. Many have gone online to expand their reach and attract new students, but as technology has advanced, so has the threat of cheating during online exams.
The online exam has become a hot topic for discussion these days. It is a fact that the internet helps students to achieve success. While on the other hand, it is true that the internet is a place to cheat on exams. Students can easily access Google and find the solutions to the questions.
How can colleges stop cheating during exams? This article explains some effective methods of remote proctoring and the uses of remote proctoring software to avoid cheating.
How Can Universities Stop Cheating During Online Exams?
Use a Remote Proctoring Software
Remote proctoring software is a type of software that is used for proctoring exams. It can be used to administer the tests remotely and monitor the student’s performance. Remote proctoring software is mainly used in educational institutions to conduct exams remotely.
They are also beneficial from the perspective of the students who have to take exams outside their home country or city. The remote proctoring software provides a comforting environment that helps in reducing exam anxiety.
Change in Format
Another way to minimize cheating in exams is by doing some changes in the format. Instead of just multiple-choice questions, try using fill-in-the-blank, matching, essay and short-answer questions.
For example, if you’re testing someone on their ability to identify shapes, you could give them the shapes in fill-in-the-blank, matching and short-answer questions and let them sketch the shapes in an essay question. This way, you will learn how well they can write, how well they can identify shapes, as well as how well they can read and follow directions.
If your test is only multiple choice, then the chances of students looking up answers online will increase. To avoid that, you should use varied question types to test knowledge, comprehension, and application. Here are a few examples of different types of questions: Multiple Choice, True/False, and Short Answer Essay (with correct spelling and grammar).
Integrity
Academic integrity is the idea that scholarly work should meet a certain standard of honesty. The concept has been around for thousands of years but was formalized in the modern sense in 1915 when Harvard adopted student guidelines.
This policy established that students must cite the sources they use in their research and that they must acknowledge any outside help they use.
Academic integrity is important because it creates a level playing field for all students: it’s impossible to know if a student has cheated on a test if that person doesn’t cite his or her sources. A student who fails to cite a source is just as guilty as a student who plagiarizes an entire paper. This idea of fairness is an important part of maintaining academic integrity.
Creatively reminding the students about the integrity policies is a respectful way of letting them know and motivating them not to cheat on an exam. Offering other alternatives for retaking the test unprepared will reduce students’ chances of cheating in online exams.
