Exams on Smartphones Possible? These Colleges have Done It!

With gadgets easily accessible and India becoming the nation with the second highest number of internet users, it is now time to take the next step and let education and technology move hand in hand. Taking the cue, some of the colleges in India have digitized semester exams, assignment submissions, tutorials, IT assistance and attendance.

To enhance mobility, save paper and ease up the exam assessment process, various colleges have started conducting sessional tests and semester exams on smartphones in the classroom setup. Smartphone apps have made it possible for students to take exams online and provide teachers with an analysis of the exam sections that the students find confusing.

Colleges conducting Exams through Smartphones:

1. Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay:

• IIT Bombay uses an app called SAFE (Smart Authenticated Fast Exams) that was designed in-house to organize auto-graded, cheating free exams.
• The app also alerts the invigilator if the students are trying to switch apps or call someone. Be it a short test of a 90-minute exam, SAFE app can be used for both.
• IIT Bombay is currently using the app to conduct exams for 750 students across 5 courses.

2. K J Somaiya College of Arts and Commerce:

• The college uses the Offee app to conduct exams for over 3000 students.
• The college has also made it compulsory for all students to take exams through this app.
• The app helps in administering exams, release scores almost immediately and prevents plagiarism and cheating.
• The Offee app is also being used to store video lectures, e-books and share notes with students.

3. ITM Group of Institutions:

• To increase student-faculty engagement and ease up the student assessment process, the ITM Group uses shared Online Docs to conduct quizzes for students.
• These docs are also used to share assignments with teachers to digitize the evaluation process.

4. Manipal University:

• Manipal University has taken the digitization of exams to the next level and also provides a tab through which students write their answers in the online exam window.
• The option to cut, copy, undo, redo and rough note features are also provided in this additional tab.
• The answer sheets are stored in the cloud for assessment. Assignments are also collected through the same medium to reduce the paper work.

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Although digitization of exams is helpful to cater to the educational requirements of a large group of students, the limitation of the system is that it requires the students to bring their own devices. Scaling the process throughout India is not feasible as the availability of smartphones and internet in remote areas is scarce.

Another limitation is the lack of awareness in some parts of the country. To increase user-friendliness, it is essential to provide education regarding technology and spread awareness among students of the underdeveloped regions of the country.

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With the class-size increasing at educational institutions, it is important to integrate technology with learning to provide quality education. Be it large scale exams, providing services to residential students, addressing grievances or any other academic activity, smartphones and internet are the best solutions.

Leave your comments below describing whether you think this is a good system and must be implemented on a larger scale!

With inputs from Hindustan Times