What is Video Proctoring and What are its benefits?

There was a time when invigilators used to keep hawk-like eyes on the students so that the morality of the examinations can be preserved. But these are all now becoming traditional ways of proctoring as the technological advancements have substantially examinations and the ways of invigilation. The technological advancements have given us the boon of online proctoring. Online proctoring is an emerging trend in the field of examination. More and more companies and educational institutions are now adopting online proctoring instead of traditional ways of invigilation. Many big companies are the early adopters for video/online proctoring.

What is video proctoring? It is a kind of invigilation in which the activities of candidates are monitored using a webcam so that the morality of the examinations can be maintained. It is just an advanced way of regular proctoring which uses video means like a webcam to monitor the activities of the candidates.

To conduct video proctoring, one has to search for online proctoring service providers. One has to specify the areas based on which the candidates should be monitored, and the skill level required for a job post.

The online proctoring has three options

• Live video proctoring

In live video proctoring, the trained and qualified invigilator monitors the candidates giving exams through audio and video means. It is a kind of expensive proctoring because they involve human interventions just like a regular form of invigilation.

• Recorded proctoring

In recorded proctoring, the video of candidates giving exams is recorded and later on, their activities are monitored by playing that video back and at faster speed so that suspicious activities of the candidates can be noted. Like live proctoring, this is also expensive, but it requires less intervention by the human as compared to live video proctoring.

• Advanced automated proctoring 

As the name says this is the most advanced option of proctoring and it does not require any human intervention in it. The advanced video and audio analyst monitors the activities of the candidates and also flags the suspicious practices of the candidates. Because of no intervention by humans, it is relatively less expensive.

So these are the three available options for video proctoring that the companies and educational institutions can go for.

Now comes the reason why more and more companies and educational institutions are opting for this. The following are the benefits written which justify its use by the above-written organizations.

Benefits of Online Proctoring To The Candidates

1. The video proctoring provides flexibility to candidates in terms of the timing of taking the exam. No invigilator is confined to conduct the exam on a particular day and particular time. The candidates are just the allotted exam window within which they have to appear. This gives them complete flexibility as to the time to take the exam.
2. The candidates are also flexible to choose any location to sit for the exam. They don’t have to appear at an assigned exam centre for the conduct of the exam as everything is done using online means.
3. The candidates can concentrate more on the exam when they are given a familiar environment in which they can sit and appear for the exam. They can feel the comforts of home, office by taking them to these places.
4. Some candidates look for privacy when they give the test in test or exam centres. Online proctoring provides them all the privacy they want.
5. The best advantage of this is that candidates do not have to write for hours like in regular exams, they will use computers like other online exams and can use online tools for calculations or notes, etc.

Benefits of Online Proctoring For The Organization

1. It is quite inexpensive for the organization as compared to other offline exams because here the companies don’t have to arrange for the examination centre, invigilators, etc. the burden related to administration gets reduced. It is quite helpful and economic because locating and running test centres for examination in major cities can enhance the burden of the company.
2. Because it is so easy to conduct exams on any day and at any location, the companies or the educational institutions can conduct exams more frequently. They don’t have to wait for big or predetermined dates. They can conduct those exams whenever they want to be based on their tuitions or needs.
3. The geographical reach for the examination also gets increased. In other words, the online proctoring enables the organizations to reach larger geographical scales for their examinations.
4. The major advantage that it offers is the increased level of security. The invigilator is continuously monitoring the candidate through a large video screen. He is monitoring all activities and the environment of the candidate, once he sees a candidate doing any malpractice, he will immediately check out candidates’ IDs, and do further proceedings. Sometimes in case of serious malpractice by candidates, they may remove the exam’s access from his PC. So, the level of security is quite high in case of video proctoring.
5. At the time of examinations, the exam halls are at pressure for the conduct of exams as they are crucial for colleges and universities, so this pressure gets reduced when companies or universities go for video proctoring.

These are the key benefits of online proctoring to the candidates and the organizations. Companies wishing to go for such means can opt for this as it will add more and more benefits to them.

Conclusion

The article can be concluded that there is an increase in the demand for Online proctoring. The reason for its growth can be many such as it is helpful for the maintenance of integrity and morality, for increasing flexibility of time and place for candidates, for reducing the pressure on the exam halls, for asking a wider variety of questions to the candidates, for ensuring the maximum level of security, etc. So the technological advancements have made this task of recruitment easy. That is why now more and more companies are going for proctoring services like these.