Questions Covered in This Article
- What is online proctoring?
- How can I use online proctoring with my Lumen Courseware?
- What limitations should I be aware of prior to implementing online proctoring with Lumen Courseware?
- What are some DIY alternatives to proctoring?
- Where can I go for help?
What is online proctoring?
Online proctoring allows you to administer quizzes, tests, and exams to students without being present or having all test-takers in the same location. Online proctoring can comprise many different services, such as browser lockdowns, video recording of the test-taker, etc. Most online proctoring resources are delivered via your campus LMS and have a cost associated with each test administered, which may be passed on to the students directly or via a campus technology fee. Some of the goals of online proctoring include reducing cheating, flexibility for test-takers, and a consistent testing experience.
How can I use online proctoring with my Lumen Courseware?
Because online proctoring purposefully prevents students from accessing information other than the approved test materials, accessing Lumen courseware content for Waymaker or OHM may require special assistance.
Our experience has been the majority of our users who wish to deploy online proctoring with Lumen courseware use OHM--either integrated with their LMS or via direct login. Instructors using Waymaker are more likely to create their own high-stakes tests directly in their LMS, and use the Waymaker study plan and quizzes to assess student preparedness and measure learning gains without the use of proctoring.
In LMS-integrated Lumen courses, we use LTI to make the seamless integration between LMS capabilities and Lumen-specific content. This makes teaching and learning easier for you and your students, but this could require extra steps if you intend to use proctoring services with Lumen courseware. Generally, if you want or need students to access Lumen materials within their test, you will need to add the URL for your courseware (such as ohm.lumenlearning.com) within the proctoring set-up process in order to guarantee links to assessment content will not be blocked.
If you are using OHM via direct login, you will need to manually enter the URL for OHM and/or check to see if you need a third party whitelisted for your particular proctoring service. We have had great success with HonorLock, but there are other proctoring services with which Lumen courseware may also be compatible, such as Proctorio, ProctorU, Examity, and Respondus.
What limitations should I be aware of prior to implementing online proctoring with Lumen Courseware?
There is a fee for proctored exams which may be covered by your institution, or incurred directly by your students. With the COVID-19 outbreak, many proctoring services are waiving their fees.
Many online proctoring services require the use of a webcam as well as screen recording software to record the test taker for identification and to reduce cheating. High-speed internet access and reliable computer setup are required for the proctoring session to run without technical problems. For students who might not have access to either, alternate accommodations should be considered (see below).
We highly recommend creating a practice test with one or two questions to administer to your students for participation credit only. This will allow you to verify the proctoring service is working as you intended without running into complications on the actual exam day. It will also give your students a chance to familiarize themselves with the proctoring process and reduce anxiety come exam day.
What are some DIY alternatives to proctoring?
1. Self-video Capture
If your students have access to a webcam, they can be asked to record themselves and their screen while they take their exam. The recordings can be shared with you via email. For Mac users, QuickTime is available for free. For Windows users, there are a lot of downloadable options available.
2. Manual Proctoring via Zoom, Hangouts, Skype
Any video conferencing or web conferencing service could be used as a proxy for a manually proctored exam. You will need to check on limitations related to the number of participants.
3. One-on-one Mini-oral Exam
In addition to an unproctored exam, schedule individual 15-minute virtual interviews to review a particular question or topic.
4. Restructuring the Course to Employ Unproctored, Lower-stakes Testing
Breaking up exams into several low-stakes tests may act as a mild deterrent to cheating given that the efforts to game the system must now be applied to many assessments instead of a single high-stakes exam. In addition, many institutions are considering going to a pass/fail grading system for courses impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak.
Where can I go for help?
Lumen Support is always here to help you. You may also want to check with your LMS administrator and/or your proctoring service as they may have specific instructions for your institution that could provide troubleshooting assistance.