Proctoring Technologies for Test & Exams
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Effective test and exam proctoring is an important part of the work that we do as faculty to ensure integrity and create supportive spaces for students to participate in assessments. This guide will provide you with strategies and considerations for the use of technology in support of proctoring practices across the various modes of delivery at Conestoga.
For courses taught in-person…
During your in-person class, you might have students writing tests or exams on paper, via eConestoga (or another platform) on their personal devices or via eConestoga (or another platform) on college computers in a lab.
Paper-based:
There is no technology suggested here! This is a case of you walking the room, observing student behaviours and ensuring that handheld devices are not being inappropriately used. Tests and exams in this environment that contain multiple choice questions can utilize DataLink Connect for ease of grading.
eConestoga on personal devices:
Use of Respondus Lockdown Browser enabled through the Quiz Tool in eConestoga is strongly recommended. Similar to paper-based testing, you will also need to walk the room, and observe student behaviours, screens and windows being used and ensure that handheld devices are not being in appropriately used.
NOTE – It is strongly recommended that Respondus Monitor NOT be used in an in-person test or exam setting. There are important privacy considerations here, and Respondus Monitor is considered a detection software that students have the right to opt-out of. For more information on this, visit Advising Students on Detection Software Used in Assessments.
What do I do if a student requests to write the in-person exam from home?
In-person courses have an expectation that all students will be present on campus for all scheduled tests and exams. If a student indicates they are unable to attend a test/exam in-person as scheduled, you can offer for them to write the exam at a Test Centre on an alternative date/time.
eConestoga on college computers in a lab:
Conestoga’s lab computers are equipped with Faronics Insight, which can be activated in testing situations to allow you to observe the screens of your students from the podium computer. Note that currently, Faronics is not supported with the parallel use of Lockdown Browser within the eConestoga Quiz Tool. If you are considering using Lockdown Browser instead of Faronics, please not that with Lockdown Browser enabled, students will not be able to access additional software that might be required for test/exam completion.
For courses taught online synchronously/asynchronously…
Within an online synchronous/asynchronous course, you may have students writing tests and exams that take place synchronously (i.e.. at the time of the scheduled class) or asynchronously (i.e.. during a time period that is set outside of the scheduled class). Typically, these types of tests/exams are done via the Quiz Tool in eConestoga. Although there are some situations where your students will take a synchronous online test that does not take place within eConestoga.
Synchronous via eConestoga:
It is strongly recommended that Respondus Lockdown Browser be enabled within the Quiz Tool in eConestoga. You may also choose to enable Respondus Monitor, including the option for screen capture. Be aware of the considerations related to student privacy rights if you are planning to use Respondus Monitor.
Synchronous not on eConestoga:
If your students are writing a synchronous online assessment that does not take place in eConestoga (therefore no Lockdown Browser or Monitor), you might want to consider making use of Zoom’s Focus Mode as a supportive way to proctor your students. Here, students can volunteer to share their screen with you as they complete the assessment, allowing you to answer questions in the moment and to observe their progress.
Asynchronous (via eConestoga):
Similar to the synchronous testing on eConestoga mentioned above, it is strongly recommended that Respondus Lockdown Browser be enabled, and that you make a choice whether or not to use Respondus Monitor, including the option of screen capture. Recall that there are important considerations related to privacy rights of students with the planned used of this technology.
Note that this is the advice we would also give to anyone that teaches a fully asynchronous course, where students complete online exams/tests through eConestoga in the absence of a synchronous/scheduled time.
Please reach out to our Teaching and Learning team with any questions or individual consultation needs around these technologies and proctoring suggestions.
