The very idea of e-Exams: student (pre)conceptions

This paper explores the preconceptions of students as reported via a voluntary online pre implementation survey administered in late 2013 on the topic of e-exams. The survey was conducted as part of a wider research program into the development and implementation of on campus computerised examinations using BYOD. The survey at an Australian university received just over 480 responses from undergraduate students across a wide range of discipline areas including Arts, Commerce, Engineering, Humanities and Science. Twenty-four Likert scale items on e-exams covered pedagogical suitability, fairness, security, cheating, technical reliability, keyboard proficiency, physical comfort, equipment provision and preferences for pen-on-paper or computer based testing. Two open comments on concerns and opinions were included. Data was analysed using Man-Whitney’s U Test across programs (discipline groups), gender and by level of experience of computerised exams. The survey was conducted with the intention of uncovering pre-conceived ideas held on the part of students with regard to the idea of e-exams ahead of a planned series of e-exam trials. A range of concerns were expressed by students both for and against the idea of exams that provide the planners of e-exam approaches valuable insights into the attitudes of one of the most significant stakeholder groups

STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF PEN AND PAPER VS. DIGITAL ASSESSMENT.

How do we cater to the growing student body who want to be able to organise their university learning at their convenience (Wooden, Summerfield, O’Shea, Watson, & Wilkins, 2018; Australian Psychological Society, 2015)? Is a move to digital assessment an answer? A first-year chemistry course at The University of New South Wales has undergone a course redesign with the separation of unit learning outcomes into Threshold (core) and Mastery (non-core) outcomes. The threshold learning outcomes are taught online via weekly lessons and formative quizzes. In past years, three face-to-face, paper-based multichoice validation quizzes were used as summative assessment of the threshold learning outcomes. At the end of 2019, UNSW Chemistry piloted digital assessment for the final validation tests (E-exam trials at UNSW, Ethics HC 180137). The tests were administered online in a testing centre. Students were surveyed on their perceptions of sitting a summative digital assessment. Preliminary results indicate that students perceive digital assessment as a comparative experience to paper-based assessment in terms of effect on factors such as thinking processes and stress levels. Students are in favour of digital assessment allowing more flexible learning timetables and instantaneous marks and feedback. Technological difficulties and ensuring the integrity of online assessment is a concern for students (and teachers!). Solutions to these problems lie in community exchange of successful approaches – some of which will be discussed here (Bearman et al., 2020; Lee-Post & Hapke, 2017). REFERENCES Australian Psychological Society (2015). Stress & wellbeing: how Australians are coping with life: the findings of the Australian Psychological Society Stress and Wellbeing in Australia survey. Retrieved August 18, 2020, from https://www.psychology.org.au/getmedia/ae32e645-a4f0-4f7c-b3ce-dfd83237c281/stress-wellbeing-survey.pdf. Bearman, M., Dawson, P., O’Donnell, M., Tai, J. & Jorre de St Jorre, T. (2020). Ensuring academic integrity and assessment security with redesigned online delivery, Deakin University, Melbourne. http://dteach.deakin.edu.au/2020/03/23/academic-integrity-online/ Lee-Post, A. & Hapke, H. (2017). Online Learning Integrity Approaches: Current Practices and Future Solution, Online Learning, 21(1), 135-145. Wooden, M., Summerfield, M., O'Shea, M., WATSON, N. & Wilkins, R. (2018). The Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey, RESTRICTED RELEASE 17 (Waves 1-17). doi:10.26193/OFRKR

Securing Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) programming exams

Traditional pen and paper exams are inadequate for modern university programming courses as they are misaligned with pedagogies and learning objectives that target practical coding ability. Unfortunately, many institutions lack the resources or space to be able to run assessments in dedicated computer labs. This has motivated the development of bring-your-own-device (BYOD) exam formats, allowing students to program in a similar environment to how they learnt, but presenting instructors with significant additional challenges in preventing plagiarism and cheating. In this paper, we describe a BYOD exam solution based on lockdown browsers, software which temporarily turns students' laptops into secure workstations with limited system or internet access. We combine the use of this technology with a learning management system and cloud-based programming tool to facilitate conceptual and practical programming questions that can be tackled in an interactive but controlled environment. We reflect on our experience of implementing this solution for a major undergraduate programming course, highlighting our principal lesson that policies and support mechanisms are as important to consider as the technology itself.Comment: Accepted by SIGCSE 202