With rapid digitization of the world in almost every field, e-learning and online examinations is the next big thing of the future. The easy availability of the computers and widespread nature of the internet has laid a strong foundation for conducting most of the prestigious exams online. The online examination system also helps in speeding up the process of conducting examination keeping the hectic and manual tasks at bay. An integrated system which fits perfectly into the place and reduces paperwork.
Computerized vs. Manual Examination System
Automated process of examination is much better than the manual system as it has following advantages:
- Time saving
- Increased efficiency
- Allows neat handling of data rather than error prone records.
- Decreases overhead
- More accurate
- Immediate results reduce the student anxiety
- Various reports and graphs are generated which helps in improvement of weaker areas
Disadvantages of Paper-Based Examination
Paper-based examination are carried out on fixed days and according to a fixed schedule. Therefore, the absentees rarely have another chance to take up the exam again. Moreover, they involve a lot of paper work (e.g. printing of exam papers, arranging answer sheets, etc). The evaluation of these exams is also a very tedious job, after the students complete their exams, the teacher has to mark each paper manually and then consolidate the result. This process is very cumbersome and takes a lot of time and hard work.
Future Scope of Web-based Examination
With examination system getting fully online, it can automatically process the results of examination based on the question database. Also, it incorporates the intelligent capabilities to mark the text based answers not only when there is an exact match, but it also recognizes similar answers by finding the synonyms of the words used in the answer. The system also provides manual override feature where in the teacher can manually mark or update the result for an exam. There is an option to resume the examination from last saved point, i.e., a student can stop the examination in the middle and can start again at any other time. When the student will start the same examination again, it will start from the same point where it was stopped earlier.
The system will present an easy to use interface for Teachers, Students and Administrators. Once logged in, students will be able to see the due examinations and can take those afterwards according to their convenient time.
E-learning Solutions
With majority of the important examinations now being moved to online mode, there are many e-learning platforms available. Tending to provide real test environment conditions, there are various online test series which help a lot in getting prepared for the D-day.
Online examinations are here to stay in the longer run as they provide the required flexibility to take tests and reduce the manual work. It makes the whole process of taking examinations more efficient for students as well as the teachers.