The COVID-19 pandemic has made work from home a new norm. It has also significantly impacted the field of education. While most institutions are going ahead with virtual classes, many of them are also taking the final semester examination online instead of postponing them.
Says Rakesh Mediratta, Dean, Academics and International Partnerships, IFIM business school, “At IFIM, all the academic processes including the examinations were conducted as per the decided calendar and there were absolutely no deviations. IFIM conducted the end term examinations on a third party platform (Mettl) for the first time. This process started at the institute with a series of intense planning meetings, followed by training of staff and faculty members for the examination operations and evaluations. All question papers were converted from physical mode to an online format.”
The process of moving the students to online, might be a bit of concern as they might not have sat for an online examination before.
“The students were apprehensive about the online examinations. Their fear circled around issues like internet connectivity, the infrastructural problem and preparedness for the platform,” says Mediratta.
To address this issue, institutions are having online sessions with the student to clear their doubts. Alongside the doubt clearing sessions, they are as well exposed to demo examinations. This enables them to understand the process and familiarise them with the new examination environment.
While there is no alternative to thorough preparation, here are a few things students should do. They should go through the guidelines and rules and gain clarity on the same. The online examination technology is a robust technology that does not require too much bandwidth and can operate at even low internet speeds. Hence the students should not worry about taking the tests from remote locations They should have internet connectivity and a proper laptop or computer with all the required software installed. If possible, power backup and mobile hotspot connectivity can be maintained to handle power cut issues. A good typing speed is helpful. It is also recommended to keep a timer close so that the answers are uploaded or saved on time and the examination is completed without fail.
“There are checks and balances in the examination portal that take into account various events like loss of connectivity or power failure and resumes the tests from the point it stopped with the extension of time. Hence the students should not have any apprehensions on this,” he adds.
As more restrictions are brought in to curb the spread of the virus, we will certainly see more online examinations in days to come.