The pandemic and the imposed restrictions have forced a rethinking of testing processes, evaluation, and the search for alternatives applicable entirely in a digital environment. The management of higher schools and the technical teams responsible for conducting distance learning had to reorganize the test as part of the overall learning process in a short period. In the chapter, a developed methodology for conducting remote examination procedures is proposed. It is suitable for application in subjects where knowledge assessment is done using tests, developing topics, etc., which can be prepared/completed by the examinees through a computer with internet connectivity. The authors present the results of surveys of students and teachers from the Tsenov Academy of Economics, Bulgaria, which serve as proof of the positive perception of the created and tested methodology for conducting remote exams.
TopIntroduction
For more than two years, as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, all higher education institutions around the world have closed their doors and student learning has moved into virtual space. Nearly 1.6 billion students from some 161 countries have discontinued traditional education (Hussein, Khalil, & Marie, 2021). The World Bank also noted that educational institutions in more than 120 countries around the world have closed (ECLAC-UNESCO, 2020). These circumstances led to the transformation of the then-existing traditional teaching techniques into digital ones, fully migrating to an online environment. Replacing conventional teaching, online learning has become the new standard for teaching. The transition from predominantly traditional teaching to online learning also brought unexpected situations and challenges (McKibbin. W., Fernando, R., 2020).
The Covid-19 pandemic imposed restrictions on the mass gathering of people, which directly reflects on the classical conduct of examination procedures with the physical presence of an examiner and examinees in the same room, at the same time. Before the pandemic, many higher education institutions, incl. and Tsenov Academy of Economics, even if they had well-organized and supported platforms and successful practices for distance learning of students, they preferred the testing and evaluation process to be carried out in a physical environment controlled by them. The examination was carried out mainly in writing (on paper), using tests, developing theoretical questions or solving an assignment. The answers are filled in by the examinees themselves under the continuous supervision of the examiners (examiners) or proctors specially appointed for the purpose.
The pandemic and the imposed restrictions were provocateurs to rethink the testing and evaluation processes (Chan, Bista, & Allen, 2022). A search began for alternatives applicable entirely in a digital environment. The management of the higher schools and the technical teams responsible for conducting distance learning had to reorganize the test as part of the overall training process in a short time. It was necessary to propose solutions that would ensure a real and fair measurement of the knowledge gained by the students, while at the same time not allowing opportunities for copying and cheating during the examination procedure.
Before the Covid-19 pandemic, it was these concerns that motivated many distance learning universities to prefer to move the examination process out of the online learning environment and into an offline environment controlled by the higher education institution. This policy was also valid for the Tsenov Academy of Economics, Bulgaria, from which both authors are. The university, despite its 20 years of experience in distance learning, until the imposition of social isolation restrictions, conducted the examination process in an offline environment on the university campuses or in specially hired examination centers in student-friendly locations.
When choosing online proctoring systems, three main factors influence the decision: the cost of the service, security against cheating in the examination process, and ease of use by proctors and examinees (Brown, 2018). The goal when developing specialized systems for the online proctor is to make them as light and comfortable to use as possible while ensuring high security of the examination process. But, this usually comes at the expense of price. For most higher education institutions, choosing the right online exam system can be a difficult challenge, precisely because of the high cost of the service.
Also, although as a secondary factor, it should be noted that educational institutions, when trying to implement a new service, are hindered by several of factors, including institutional policy, culture and existing solutions. Most universities are still introducing distance learning, and although student assessment is part of the educational process, it is still in the background.