Essay on Pros and cons of online examination
Answers
An online examination is the conducting of an examination or test online in order to measure student’s academic performance and his knowledge. Traditionally, these evaluations were conducted orally or through written tests. Students gather in an examination hall or room where a question paper is given to students and students have to write answers within the allotted time period. These questions are not seen previously in order to ensure a fair evaluation of all students. Students then submit their answer sheets and after a period of time, there scores are declared.
With an online examination, all these traditional elements continue to persevere, however, the mode of taking the test has changed – instead of a physical examination room, students instead log into an online examination portal or system through which they access the question paper and share their answers. Evaluation and the publication of results also happen within this particular portal or system.
Pros
The advantages of implementing an online examination system at any educational institution are plenty. The following listed are some of the key points which are beneficial for any educational institute implementing an online examination system.
Environmental Friendly
Straight out of the gate, an online examination system cuts down the negative impact of the traditional pen and paper exams have on the environment. The sheer amount of reduction in the use of paper is immense and wastage of paper is also restrained. In a world where students will be graduating into an environmental crisis being caused by climate change, this kind of eco-friendly initiative and forward-thinking approach to everyday processes is vital. Students will imbibe these values over the course of their education and will contribute towards the environment.
Technologically Advanced
Another key advantage of using the online examination system is that it integrates well into a technologically rich world. The use of pen and paper in professional situations is reducing vigorously. Most of the work is being done using email, text messages, computers for presentations, computer-based design, etc. Making students familiar with a variety of interfaces using this examination system is preparing them for the real world. It is very likely to their familiarity with such an interface and processes which would be helpful for events such as training and testing even in the future.
Eliminates Labour Cost
The sheer amount of resources that can be used to set up a single online examination is mind-blowing— from teachers setting the examination, to administrators ensuring that enough copies of the exam question paper have been made for all students. Using an online examination system eliminates many of these processes and the associated labour costs, which directly and positively impacts the bottom line of the educational institution implementing the system and saving a hefty sum of money.
Saves Time
Creating, monitoring and evaluating a test are time-intensive tasks for everyone involved in the process from the student to the teachers. Using an online examination system allows some amount of reduction in the time investment required for the examination process as a whole. This is because features like addition and import of questions, provide easy access to the exam for students, and batch-wise evaluations allow students and teachers to save valuable time that would ordinarily be wasted on non-primary tasks and instead direct those energies towards actually setting and assessing scholarly progress and focusing more on the academics for students.
Secure
A great advantage of the online examination system is that it increases student privacy and also enhances the security of the entire process for all the stakeholders involved. For instance, there can be no meddling or untoward activities within the system since there is no opportunity for malicious elements to intervene the system and produce erroneous responses or results.
Cons
Open Book Exams
Due to the nature of the format of an online examination system, exams administered through this particular platform to some degree become open book exams. Unlike the traditional examination settings that did not allow external course related materials into the examination hall where the exam was being conducted, nothing stops students from referring to their course materials during an online exam. Since there is also no direct supervision or physical supervision during the exam time period, the entire system is reliant on an honor system to prevent cheating or other malpractice.