Hosting Exams on an LMS? Here’s How an Online Proctoring Software as a Service Ensures its Integrity

Global trends suggest that a long-term tailwind buoys the education market. And the sector’s astounding rise is being catalyzed by widespread implementation and popularity of Learning Management Systems (LMS).

Learning Management Systems such as Moodle, Canvas, Blackboard and D2L, and many more have become tools of choice for institutes, universities and corporates seeking to offer digitized learning experiences beyond campuses. Be it higher education, professional courses or a credential offering module, LMSs’ have simplified and streamlined learning content by hosting programs, progress reports, student scores, assessment outcomes and support materials on one single source. Its secure, centrally accessible, location-agnostic characteristics have enabled every beneficiary to learn and grow even when devoid of on-campus education. This seamless knowledge delivery system has enabled significant continuity amid the turmoil created by the COVID-19-induced disruption since 2020.

However, despite the broad spectrum of possibilities offered by LMSs, its inability to administer exams safely limits this pervasive software’s diversity. Ensuring strict supervision and curtailing malpractice attempts during an online exam are yet unaddressed challenges in an LMS.

If you notice carefully, no invigilation or proctoring mechanism is involved anywhere during the examination process- a mechanism that secures the examination drive and safeguards test-takers’ experience within an LMS.

How does one authenticate test-takers, supervise the drive and ensure the most relevant results without monitoring test-takers’ behavior, screen or the environment? Protecting the exam’s integrity, preserving the reputation, and validating that students taking the exams deserve the degree are always of utmost priority for academia hosting the exam on an LMS.

One way of preserving the transparency and fairness of any examination process taken on any LMS is by enabling online proctoring software as a service.

Online Proctoring Software as a Service is a state-of-the-art, cloud-based AI-powered or manual layer of remote supervision that can be integrated into any system, software or platform. This arrangement allows exam administrators and faculty to customize and initiate online proctored exams successfully at any given time.

In simple terms, it is a proctoring software for online exams that eliminates any proctored exam cheating instance. With its credible anti-cheating features and insightful analysis, this remote proctoring software as a service can equip any popular LMS or platform to administer safe exams. Couple with robust features and a combination of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and stand-alone services, Online Proctoring Software as a Service is truly a new-age solution capable of addressing all your remote proctoring-related concerns on an LMS.

Online Proctoring Software as a Service is made available as a secure web-based plug-in that can be integrated into LMS. Since most of the LMSs open in browsers, this plug-in is added to the browser to equip any popular LMS or personal platform to undertake safe exam administration.

No matter how dynamic and versatile an LMS, an online exam proctoring software as a service can be customized to suit the online testing needs with no change in the user or candidate experience.

Suppose you are a university or an institute that already has its LMS or legacy platform but needs only a seamless layer of proctoring technology. Then you can integrate remote proctoring software service onto your system in either of the two ways:

A. By using LTI (Learning Tool Interoperability) extensions: For instance, Mercer | Mettl integrates its remote proctoring software as a service online with over 250 LTI compliant systems instantaneously. With a single protocol, any platform can have a sophisticated layer of online proctoring software as a service within minutes.

Its proctoring plugin-play allows exam administrators and faculty to customize and initiate proctored exams without leaving their LMS environment with the click of a button.

B. The other way is via deep integration. For instance, Mercer | Mettl will expose its REST APIs to integrate with any system and enable remote proctoring software as a service online. It takes up to a week or more to set it up. Clients who require a custom proctoring workflow or have a Non-LTI LMS or web platform can opt for deep integration. Deep integration allows extensive customization possibilities with all major LMS, HRMS and other platforms.

Most advanced Test Proctoring Software as a Service provides all those features that come under the umbrella of remote proctoring.

Remote Proctoring Software as a Service covers the complete gamut of online proctoring technology-

Let’s explore them in detail:

To negate impersonation by students during exams, Online Test Proctoring Software as a Service enables a 3-point candidate authentication process ensuring examiners of test-takers’ authenticity. Live authentication begins after the candidate clicks on the exam link. The webcam proctored test will then ask the student to show an approved ID proof. An OTP will then be sent on a previously registered mobile number to verify him/her. Simultaneously, the exam proctor will also compare the person on-screen with a previously shared photo. All this is done on-the-spot to attest to the candidate’s legitimacy. The test-taker will be allowed to take the online exam after all details are matched and approved.

AI proctoring is an incredibly futuristic technology that ensures cheating is not possible in an online proctored exam cheating. It ensures the same by providing cheating predictions and accuracy. An AI algorithm is trained by experts to assist in proctoring after mining and analyzing hordes of data on patterns and trends in test-takers’ behavior. The AI empowers the system with predefined parameters to gauge candidates’ behavior and movements. The AI’s advanced algorithms enable it to predict, flag and register even the minutest of discrepancies and suspicion. Some common AI flags include ‘the candidate not present,’ ‘mobile phone detection,’ ‘partially visible face’ and much more.

Academia may prefer human proctoring and require human proctors to invigilate the exam on their behalf to ensure students abide by the examination rules. In that case, they can connect with third-party vendors who provide trained and experienced professional proctors. Alternatively, academia can choose to deploy their staff and faculty members to live proctor the applicants and supervise tests in real-time. Human invigilation is possible in both ways on an LMS.

Secure Exam Browser is another interesting attribute that can be activated when leveraging AI proctoring software as a service. This feature allows academicians to host and proctor online exams/tests in a safe LMS environment by locking the test screens once students commence their online proctored exam. This lockdown mode prevents them from opening new browser tabs/incognito tabs/windows. It blocks functions such as copying/pasting and restricts keys such as Alt+Tab/ Cmd+Tab/ 3-finger swipe. It also prevents access to secondary external devices during an online exam.

But this isn’t all. Best proctoring software as a service provider offers some unique features that ensure that online proctored exam cheating is impossible.

Online exam proctoring software as a service offers unparalleled ease to academia, besides allowing students the flexibility and convenience to take remotely proctored assessments from anywhere via their LMS. It is efficient and time-saving, allowing the admins the flexibility to administer exams based on their preference while maintaining the process’s integrity. More universities and educational institutes must embrace this concept readily.

Here are some other advantages that lend more weight to the idea of adopting this remote proctoring tool, adding it to your LMS.

Eliminating Unfavorable Instances:

As we mentioned, a handful of students usually always resort to cheating while taking the online exam. And it is impossible to ensure the exam’s integrity without the LMSs or platforms having any invigilation mechanism.

Teachers, recruiters and administrators are empowered to monitor test-takers’ actions and conduct closely with online proctoring software as a service at play. For instance, leading proctoring companies, such as Mercer | Mettl, provide state-of-the-art auto proctoring software as a service to eliminate any untoward activity during the drive. When test-takers are aware that innovative technologies are constantly monitoring and analyzing their behaviors and activities, they are more mindful of their actions and refrain from tricking the system.

Seamless Educational Continuity:

The COVID-19-induced disruption has had a pernicious impact on educational continuity, forcing universities and institutions globally to consider either suspending high-stakes national entrance, semester and recruitment tests or postponing their academic calendars. This would have had dire repercussions on students who were on the threshold of completing their education and about to commence their professional journeys. But the option of remote proctoring of online exams brought much clarity to the uncertain landscape as it addressed all educational continuity-related concerns. Without compromising safety and well-being, online proctoring software as a service with its location-agnostic, robust anti-cheating features enabled universities and institutes to safeguard countless futures by conducting extremely secure online examinations with high integrity.

While tabling India’s union budget for F.Y. 2020-21 in February 2020, the Government of India embraced online learning and higher education. The government acknowledged its potential for future growth. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman even spoke on making India’s young people more employable through better higher-education opportunities. This indicates that the radical transformation in the sector is unfolding in the right direction. Admissions, classroom teaching and everything else are moving online. Why leave exams out? Online exams and e-assessments are central to this argument. The gamut of the industry is ever so evolving.

Remote proctoring software as a service is the new-age powerful wave, and integrating it into your LMS or personal systems, will only boost your market presence and outreach. What is holding you back? Now is the time to ride the online proctoring wave. The road to accomplishments with progressive technology is only unfolding. Where it may take us is anybody’s guess right now.

Before you wrap up your reading quota for the day, we’ve listed answers to some frequently asked questions around proctoring software download, AI-proctoring software below to help provide more information on the topic.