The online exams are referred to as the examinations which are conducted online with the use of internet technology. Exam software is now used in comparison to the traditional classrooms which had 4 walls and some benches in them on which the students used to sit and then appear in the exams. Even there is full-time flexibility to the students to appear in a particular exam. One just needs an online browser and a good internet connection in order to conduct the examinations. The whole concept involves creating an online account and the signing in so that one can appear in the exam. One can select from the objective type and the subjective type questions. There is link generation to all the students clicking on which will open the dialog box of the exam which can be attempted by the students.
One must select the course which one wants to do and then one must register himself or herself for it. One can see various online courses online and then choose from them. It is very easy to start with the exam. The examiners can add some basic introduction part and then questions related to that curriculum there on the portal. In order to make it more interesting, one can also add the images and videos to it. There are proper time frames within which the test is to be completed. One can even share the start and the end date along with timings so that the participants feel okay with it. After all this, the link is shared so that people can have access to it and attempt the paper. After all, this one can even have access to the answer key and the instant results as well. One can even use statistical tools to analyse the overall performance of the group.
Some of the most important advantages of online tests have been explained as follows:
- Saves paper and is environment-friendly: one can contribute by saving trees and environment by using these systems. No need to get the question papers printed and all things can be performed online. All of the things can be performed online without using a single bit of the paper.
- Helps in saving time: there is another option called auto-grade. This has multiple choice answers and there is no option to recheck them. There are no human efforts involved in this and all of the things are automatic.
- No time to distribute: there is no distribution time to be wasted using this concept. The whole task is done when one has just uploaded the uniform resource locator. One can use the email accounts of the students for easy distribution of the links. The students get immediate results after these exams.
- No overspending of money: whole concepts exist around the emails which is absolutely free of costs. There are no logistics and staff-related expenses. There is a proper time frame for the students to attempt. There are no charges to be paid in the form of the salaries to the teachers, invigilators and the other staff as well.
- Saving money of students: these exams are not much expensive in terms of fees. There are no transportation and accommodation costs on behalf of the students. It is even possible for the people residing in remote locations to appear in the examinations and do various courses.
- High security as compared to the traditional setup: one can even make a whole new bank of questions. The servers help to shuffle the questions and all get different set of questions. This is even secure in terms of the personal information the students provide to the online servers. The whole system is even free from virus and malware.
With a test, one can check the knowledge level of the students. This is done with a series of questions. The formats may vary but the basic purposes are the same. There are formats and patterns in such a manner that it is in the best interest of the students. This helps to find out the weak areas in them and they take proper corrective action to improve them. The exams are also of similar kinds. There can be both multiple and subjective type questions. The end result is just to pass or fail. The tests help to check the existing and the learned knowledge of the students whereas the examinations are the means of declaring the results like if one is pass or one is fail. In case of fail one has to study again and reappear in the examination.
There are many kinds of tests. They have been explained as follows:
- Related to the diagnostics: this help to know the existing knowledge about a specific topic. One can use the information here to see if one has leaned or not. One can even spare some extra hours for this to be improved.
- Related to the placements: these are used at the time of admissions to an institute or job placements so that the knowledge level and skills can be tested. Even there can be some types of language tests so that proficiency can be checked.
- Related to the progress of people: these are used to assess the progress of students in a subject and are conducted after equal intervals of time. One can get a great overview of the things with this.
- Related to the objects: these kinds of tests are used to check the knowledge of students. These are multiple-choice questions which help to find right or wrong. There are some predefined formats which help to provide answers.
- Related to the subjects: these are usually taken on answer sheets and in-depth knowledge is tested using this. These are the essay type questions that have big lengths.
The time of the online examinations now and the traditional setups are being replaced by them. They help to judge the students in a much better way as compared to the traditional exams.