WEBINAR: 4 Tips for Overcoming Exam Anxiety

As faculty, instructional designers and remote proctors, it is our duty to ensure an equal and fair testing environment for the students we serve. Most students feel that remote proctors exist to catch them in the act of cheating which can create a sense of distrust and high anxiety. How do we, as educators and professionals, change the way in which our testers view proctors and the platforms we use to facilitate exams so that we can help students with test anxiety management? How do we educate faculty in preparing students for a virtual test environment in this age of cyber “insecurity” and distrust. For remote proctors and faculty the results should be the same – equal and fair test environment and sense of security of exam content. In this webinar, you’ll learn 4 tips for overcoming exam anxiety and you’ll be able to:

  • Understand the role of a remote proctor
  • Identify ways to educate students about online proctoring and alleviate misconceptions about privacy invasion
  • Educate faculty on how to create a positive online exam experience for students as well as themselves
  • Use online exams appropriately – low stakes vs. high stakes – what is at stake for student and faculty
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Speakers:

Paula Rodriguez

Director of the University Testing Center at Colorado State University.

Paula Rodriguez is the Director of the University Testing Center at Colorado State University. She received her Master’s Degree in Educational Psychology from the University of Northern Colorado. Part of her job as the Director is to oversee the management of the CSU Online exams process. She is a member of the proctoring committee at CSU that provides guidance to faculty and students on proctoring best practices and online proctoring tools. She and her team recently received national test center certification for the CSU Testing Center through the NCTA.

WEBINAR: Best Practices for Proctoring Online Exams in STEM Curriculums

Deploying effective online exams for STEM curriculums can be a challenge! Over the past couple years, Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) has been working to improve the workflow for their Math students to complete high stakes online exams, while also submitting paper-based notes for faculty to evaluate how students arrived at their answers. In this academic webinar presentation Kate Beverage, Director of Technology for Teaching and Learning, and Lindsey Van Gieson, Instructional Technology Systems Manager, will discuss some pedagogical and technical STEM best practices they have developed, how WPI used them in conjunction with Honorlock’s remote proctoring software and address faculty and student academic integrity and privacy concerns. To learn more about Honorlock’s licensing agreement with NERCOMP, click here.

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Surviving Remote Teaching

We recently hosted a live webinar entitled, “Surviving Remote Teaching:  Top 5 Things You Need to Know,” with Gabriela Alvarez, the Director of Learning Design and Innovation at Florida International University.  The information was so helpful, we wanted to share it with our blog readers. We hope you find these remote teaching tips informative and helpful as you prepare for the Fall semester.

The Top 5 Things presented by Gaby are rooted in the Community of Inquiry Model pictured below.

All these various inputs drive learners’ educational experience.  Distance learning is no different.  Teaching is teaching, no matter the medium, but how you present your distance sessions are guided by the following interactions:  

  • Instructor to Student – or how well you interact virtually with your learners 
  • Student to Student – how your students interact virtually with each other
  • Student to Content – how your students interact with the content you provide for them.

We can impact how well our students perform by using these interactions to guide our design of distance learning as well as our own behavior while doing so.

So, here are the 5 Remote Teaching Tips:

Tip 1: Your design really, really matters.

Everyone realizes that we are moving from “Emergency Remote Teaching” to a more thoughtful online mechanism of learning, now that the crisis seems to be passing a bit.  Here are a few things to think about as you contemplate your online sessions’ design.

  • Consider what elements of your teaching benefit most from real-time interaction.  That means really turn a critical eye toward what you need to teach in an interactive fashion.  It may seem onerous, especially in the early stages, to think you have to “be on” every moment of every session, but the truth is, you don’t necessarily have to be.  Think about engaging ways for the students to explore the content without you providing didactic instruction.  
  • Flip where you can. The flipped classroom has been very successful in schools and businesses.  Learners consume pre-recorded content (even by you!) and then come to their synchronous sessions to deep dive into the application.
  • Plan your synchronous interactions.  
  • Simplify where you can.  So much of what we have in the classroom is because we are face to face.  How much of that do you really need to get your instruction across?  Students (as well as teachers, especially now) are trying to balance access, content and structure in and out of our academic lives – so give yourself a break and figure out the best, easiest way.

TIP 2: Your Attendance Is Mandatory

And by that, we mean you.  Not them.  You must be present and engaged to win.  As in Tip 1, people are stressed and you need to try to be intentional with providing opportunities for the student to interact with you.  Here are a few ideas:

  • Let your students get to know you and each other. Spend time intentionally getting to know them and letting them know you.  You’d be surprised at the calming influence this can be for them.
  • Send frequent announcements.  Communication is always key in stressful situations.  Don’t assume they know.  Make sure you tell them.
  • Give substantive feedback.  Teaching is feedback, no matter the medium!  Make sure you develop a way to provide the feedback they need.  They may need more or less right now.  Just ask and follow through.
  • Hold virtual office hours.  Make sure they can contact you.  It also helps to put a lid on the “noise” you may receive in a digital world.  Remember, time and place is interrupted in the digital space.  Where they may hold their questions till “next class” in the brick and mortar world, in the digital space, they can ask things on the fly.  And probably will expect an answer in that way as well.  So making sure they understand when you will be available will save everyone some angst.

TIP 3: Establish boundaries and Set Expectations on at least two parameters:

PERFORMANCE

  • How often, when and how?  Make sure they clearly know what to do.
  • Proctoring requirements, especially if you are new to proctoring
  • Other online-specific course policies that you may have

INTERACTIONS

  • How do you expect students to interact in your course?
  • How can they expect you will interact throughout the course?  Make sure they understand how you expect the class to communicate.

Check out the webinar below to see an example of FIU’s template.  Yours may be different, but it’s a good exercise to go through to understand what expectations are.

Tip 4: Usability matters…a lot!

Spend time looking at your course as if you were a student.  If you have to, enlist others who aren’t as close to the instruction as you might be.  They can sometimes see things you don’t.  If they are having trouble, your students will be having trouble.  For example, these are some things to watch for:

  • Is the course navigation logical and consistent?  If people are lost in the navigation, they don’t consume the content, plain and simple.
  • Is the text-based content legible?  Are you using an old copy of a copy that you scanned in?  Go find the original and make sure people can see what you need them to see.
  • Test your course site navigation (as a student).
  • Orient your student to the layout of your course.  Spend a bit of time (it can even be a pre-recorded module!) that walks them through how to get around in your course.
  • Provide instructions on how and where to solicit technical support.  And lastly, you aren’t the Luddite whisper.  In a very nice manner, post where they go for password resets, etc.

TIP 5: Mind your policies.

Especially if you teach at multiple institutions, make sure you understand what the privacy and accessibility standards might be.

Family Educational Protection Act (FERPA)

Guidelines to consider are personally identifiable information privacy:

  • Know how directory information is defined at your institution.
  • Use the technology provided by your institution.
  • Do not post student grades publicly.
  • Can I record my synchronous sessions?
  • Consider your proctoring procedures.

Consider the abilities of ALL your students in a digital space:

  • Videos should be captioned.
  • Audio files should have transcripts.
  • Use color carefully.
  • Provide accessible documents formats.
  • Provide alternative text for images.

Well, those are the Five Remote Teaching Tips. If you would like more information or remote teaching resources, please view the recorded webinar here.  Be kind to yourself!

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Jan Wilson

As an organizational development and learning consultant, Jan has provided strategic planning, process alignment, change management, curriculum development and planning, as well as learning solutions to a variety of clients in pharma, healthcare and state governments. Jan earned a Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in information technology from Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, and a Master of Education in Human Resource Development from Vanderbilt University, also in Nashville, Tennessee. Additionally, she has served as adjunct faculty at the Peabody School of Vanderbilt University.

9 Best Practices to Ensure Online Testing Integrity

How to protect online testing integrity

How to protect online testing integrity

  1.  Low Stakes Assessments – Nothing is worse for a learner than to realize their midterm or final will be taken with new proctoring software.  “Who are these people?  Does my school not trust me? What if the software glitches and I can’t finish my test?”  Rest assured, none of that will happen with Honorlock, but your test takers might not know that. Use low stakes assessments – provide a practice test or think of fun quizzes so that students can get comfortable with the proctoring software in a stress-free environment.
  2. Test Banks – Use test banks that to randomize questions for students students. And make sure that is known so they won’t be tempted in the first place!
  3. Concepts and Understanding – How questions are worded can make a big impact on how to gauge understanding. For example, try to craft questions that students answer conceptually rather than a simple definition. Using concepts helps students learn more and actually tests their knowledge.
  4. Limit Information Access – It goes without saying that limiting access to information during test-taking is the reason for proctoring services.  You need your students to be able to show they master content without looking up information. But, you also need to make sure you don’t lock them out of necessary information they don’t need to commit to memory in order to solve a problem or demonstrate their mastery of a particular subject.  Things like figures and tables they need to solve a problem should be provided in the question or websites whitelisted in the proctoring system. This helps students not spend precious brainpower remembering models when you really want to see if they can solve a problem in context.
  1. Knowledge Application – An important aspect of teaching and learning is how well your students can apply the knowledge you taught them. Keeping reference material at bay during a test shows you they have mastered the material and can apply it. This is important to employers as well. Employers will one day take that student as an employee.
  2. Trust, but Verify – Using online proctoring on all tests lets students know that it’s an expectation of your course. It’s also important to have a conversation with students about why academic integrity is so important – to the school, but also to the students who will have earned their degree in your institution. 
  3. Syllabus Information – Your syllabus can work wonders in explaining expectations, test rules and why cheating is never an answer.
  4. Find Methods to Observe Behavior – Anyone that has developed online learning will tell you what one intends sometimes is not what is practiced. This means that students can sometimes misunderstand specifics that you might have felt were obvious. For that reason, it’s important to pencil in a full quality check that includes reviewing the usage logs (who is having trouble), watch the proctoring videos, or maybe even a search of student discussions.  All these help you see how your testing is being consumed so you can tailor it if need be.
  5. Request feedback – Let students know you want to know and encourage them to provide feedback to you. 

Tip:  Listen to the feedback objectively and then do something constructive with it.  It could be something as simple as someone needs further explanation, but you won’t know if you don’t ask!

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Jan Wilson

As an organizational development and learning consultant, Jan has provided strategic planning, process alignment, change management, curriculum development and planning, as well as learning solutions to a variety of clients in pharma, healthcare and state governments. Jan earned a Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in information technology from Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, and a Master of Education in Human Resource Development from Vanderbilt University, also in Nashville, Tennessee. Additionally, she has served as adjunct faculty at the Peabody School of Vanderbilt University.

Improve Online Learning during COVID

Online learning has been a wild ride for higher ed.  “Just make it so, number one” is how it felt to those doing the instruction. Students needed to finish courses and preserve their credits, COVID or no COVID. 

Educators and institutions have been very clear that they need more help in understanding how to effectively design, develop, and deliver high-quality instruction online. 

This is true for all instructors and institutions but is greatest for those teaching at institutions that serve those who will likely be affected most because they lack access to needed resources and technology.  

What has dropped this week is a faculty-focused online playbook from Every Learner Everywhere that provides those expert resources and guidance to assist us all as we struggle to master the next phase and improve online learning.

The Online Playbook to Improve Online Learning in Response to COVID-19

The online playbook, Delivering High-Quality Instruction Online in Response to COVID-19, was developed by the Online Learning Consortium, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, and Every Learner Everywhere, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Here’s a summary of the 55 page playbook about designing with equity in mind, course design, content management, and more.  

To begin with, the online playbook provides a path for continuous improvement of instruction along a quality-oriented continuum and provides guidance along with three milestones:

  1. Initial Design
    Guides immediate and basic needs for moving a course online.  In the past few months, this has been “your hair on fire” modality. And that was totally ok.  Going forward, you will use less “fire” and more thoughtful design. It is useful for the translation of face-to-face or blended courses for fully-online delivery.
  2. Enhancement
    It provides options to strengthen the student learning experience.  This milestone presents itself when you have the time to recognize what worked and what didn’t, and how to improve online learning experiences for your students. It is useful for improving face-to-face course elements that do not translate easily to online modalities.
  3. Optimization
    Optimize offers ideas and resources for online teaching that aligns with high-quality, evidence-based instructional practices. It is useful for the continuous improvement of the online learning experience and student outcomes.  This maps to a more settled milestone where you can incorporate more support for the longevity of any course.

These are all good principles to use whether you are in a crisis or just generally for good learning design.

So, In a Nutshell:

When you are thinking of how to design your course or courses, the use of an evidence-based model (they link to Backward Design) helps you begin with the end in mind.  If you begin with where you want them to end up, it is much easier to see the forest for the trees in laying out your course.

The following is excerpted from the playbook:

Key course design principles include:

Beyond effective design and presentation of content and materials, there are several things you can do to set yourself and your students up for success:

  • Become familiar with the LMS that your institution uses (and your remote proctoring solution if you have one ).  
  • Select supplementary tools based on your course outcomes and goals.  Here is a great list of some from which to choose.
  • Introducing yourself and your course is important for establishing your class environment, setting expectations, and for allowing students and instructors to get to know one another. In an emergent situation, providing a course welcome in the online course can help ease the disruption and set the stage for instructional continuity.
  • Design your course to provide intentional opportunities for students to interact with the instructor, each other, and the course content.
  • Set clear and explicit expectations for your course for both performance and interaction. This is especially important in the online environment, where there are fewer verbal or behavioral cues than in face-to-face courses.
  • Provide options and opportunities for students to communicate with the instructor. This is especially important in online courses, where real-time interaction is limited or unavailable.
  • Provide academic support resources (including institutional resources such as library and tutoring services as well as supplemental resources) and ensure that students are aware of them.
  • After an online course is completed and has been offered, it is important to regularly evaluate and rove the course to ensure that it is up-to-date, relevant, and following current best practices for high-quality online education.

Download the Faculty Playbook here.

Click below to get information about quickly implementing online proctoring if your institution is moving to online learning related to COVID.

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Jan Wilson

As an organizational development and learning consultant, Jan has provided strategic planning, process alignment, change management, curriculum development and planning, as well as learning solutions to a variety of clients in pharma, healthcare and state governments. Jan earned a Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in information technology from Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, and a Master of Education in Human Resource Development from Vanderbilt University, also in Nashville, Tennessee. Additionally, she has served as adjunct faculty at the Peabody School of Vanderbilt University.

Student Privacy, Online Exams, and COVID-19

As COVID-19 continues to impact the US, colleges are rapidly moving to online learning—an abrupt and jarring transition for many students and faculty. In some places, all courses will be offered online and most colleges and universities haven’t decided if courses in the future will also be online-only. So, what does this mean for students?

For those of you who are already learning online, very little about your schooling structure has changed. However, for students who had intentionally chosen an on-the-ground, in-person learning experience, this might feel like quite a loss. Not only are you being asked to learn new technologies and maintain your grades during a global pandemic, you’re probably missing the on-campus connection with faculty and classmates.

Online Learning: The Practicalities

In addition to processing this entirely new dynamic, you probably have some logistical and privacy concerns as you make the switch to online learning. We don’t blame you—learning a new technology is challenging enough in itself without the additional pressure of doing it overnight. So, we want to take some time to ease your worries and help you understand how Honorlock collects and uses your data.

For starters, we want you to know how seriously we take student privacy online. Honorlock was founded by college students—we get the worries and frustrations that often accompany online learning, and our goal has always been to make those things better.

One of the ways we do this is by maintaining a commitment to honesty. We understand why you might have some concerns about using our platform, so we want to be completely open about what information we collect from you, how we collect it, how (and how long) we store it, and how we use it. So, without further ado, let’s take a look at what Honorlock asks from you, how that compares to other proctoring services, and what else you need to know about protecting student privacy online during exams.

What Information Does Honorlock Collect?

You’re probably wondering what this all means on a practical level. What, exactly, does Honorlock gather during your exam? The short answer is that we gather as little as possible.

  • Using our Chrome extension, we gather your IP address
  • Using your school’s LMS, we also gather your name and email address
  • During the exam, we capture a screen recording and a webcam recording
  • To verify your identity, we’ll also ask you to take a photo of yourself as well as your student ID

That’s it.

You won’t be required to create an account or password—everything about our online proctoring system can be accessed through your LMS. We also don’t access your webcam outside of your exam—as soon as you’re done testing, we stop using it. And, as always, if you continue to be concerned, you can just uninstall the extension and reinstall for your next exam.

The data we collect is for the sole purpose of verifying your identity and ensuring academic integrity. We’ll never sell or share your data and, after 12 months, it is purged from our system. Plus, while we have it stored, we make sure it’s encrypted and secured—everything at Honorlock meets industry standards with AES-256 block encryption. Also, as an AWS partner, Honorlock follows federal NIST 800-88 guidelines for proof of data/drive destruction.

Does Honorlock Have Access to Mobile Devices or Detect Phones?

You may have heard that Honorlock can detect the use of cell phones and other secondary devices.

Here’s the real deal: we do not have access to your mobile devices.

It’s true that our system can create and send alerts if you attempt to search for answers, but those alerts are based on the sites you might visit—not your device. We never have access to your mobile device’s operating system or information—not during your exam and not at any point after.

Does Honorlock Sell My Data?

We do not sell your data. You may have concerns about student privacy online and data security, but don’t worry, Honorlock has you covered.  We only share your data with your educational institution and delete it per school policy.

Using Honorlock’s Online Proctoring System

We know that for many of you online education wasn’t part of the plan. Our goal is to help you make the best of a challenging situation. As you adjust to using Honorlock’s online proctoring system, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our support agents with questions—they’re here for you 24/7/365.

We wish you all the best as you transition to online schooling during the pandemic and will be cheering you on as you finish your semester!

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Alice Cifuentes

Alice has several years of marketing experience within healthcare and most recently in higher education focused on social media growth, tradeshow management, and communication. She is passionate about creatively navigating new challenges and discovering innovative ways to connect with educators.

Online Education: How to Successfully Work Remotely

As we enter the next phase of this abrupt transition to online education it is important to focus on how to successfully work remotely. While this may not be permanent, it is important to learn how to best manage your responsibilities to ensure the success of your students during this time. We’ve compiled a few remote work tips for how to successfully work remotely.

Develop a Regular Cadence

Without a consistent schedule, you risk your ability to focus, stay productive, and meet your institution’s education goals. Cathleen Swody, Ph.D., organizational psychologist and founding partner at Thrive Leadership, states that “Dressing pulled-together helps us feel pulled-together.” Maintaining a sense of regularity as you would heading into your office and/or classroom is essential. Ensure that you are sitting down during regular hours to provide support to your students and that you are equally taking breaks throughout the day. Create personal reminders and events; become your own personal manager. Developing a structure can aid significantly in preserving mental health during this chaotic time and reduce the possibility of burn out. 

Stay Connected

Do not be a stranger to your fellow faculty members! When you are fully remote it is easy to feel like you and your colleagues are less connected to one another. According to the Buffer State of Remote Report loneliness and collaboration/communication accounts for 40% of the challenges of working remotely.

It is more important than ever to support each other to ensure that the success and education of your students remain constant despite this crisis. How can you do this? Here are a couple of our favorite remote work tips:

  • Plan regular one-on-one calls with peers. It is an overwhelming time for everyone so having someone check-in is incredibly valuable. Ensure that you not only discuss the challenges they are facing with their classes but see how they are doing personally. We are all traversing a nervewracking time of change, but a sense of comradery can go a long way in making someone feel supported.
  • Start a weekly department-wide meeting. Discover new opportunities, discuss concerns, and offer ways to contribute.

Stay Productive

Working remotely introduces new distractions that must be combated. When you are not giving a lecture or providing one-on-one attention to a student, how do you manage your other responsibilities in a focused manner? Here are a few strategies we like:

  • Consider noise reduction headphones. Our home environments may not be fully set up to support a quiet workspace, but reducing the sound of distractions can significantly improve your ability to concentrate.
  • If your home does offer the ability to designate a workspace, ensure that it is a stress-free area that does not interfere with your ability to teach nor intrude into the lives of other household members. Avoid sitting on the couch in front of your TV or lounging on your bed.
  • In order to stay productive, you also have to ensure you unplug from your workday. Close the door to your office, put away the laptop, gather up your lecture notes, etc. Safely stow away your work materials and recharge for the next day. Read our previous blog post, “Top 10 Things to Take Care of Your Right now” to learn more about how to unwind. 

Most importantly, working remotely does not have to be complicated. Find what works specifically for you to ensure that your students’ education remains consistent.

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Alice Cifuentes

Alice has several years of marketing experience within healthcare and most recently in higher education focused on social media growth, tradeshow management, and communication. She is passionate about creatively navigating new challenges and discovering innovative ways to connect with educators.

Moving to Online Courses During the Coronavirus Pandemic

As more schools shut down and start moving learning online due to the COVID-19, it’s important to know that there are solutions out there for ongoing education and helping students continue acquiring the skills they need.

Click the button below to see how you can implement online proctoring in 2 days to help protect exams and support students during COVID

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Here are some common questions that people have as they convert their homes into an adequate learning space:

What if students don’t have their own computers or webcams?

If your institution has not implemented a 1:1 student-to-device program, it can be hard to find a resource for students now.  Unfortunately, laptops are one of those items people are rushing to buy worldwide due to the increase in work from home workers as well as learners.  Check with local nonprofits and businesses that may be ramping up programs that provide laptops during this time.  Here is a link to an article that lists several organizations and creative ideas to find a low price or free resources.

What if students don’t have adequate internet access?

Maintaining digital equity for all students is a major hurdle for most college campuses moving learning online right now because if they don’t have access to the internet during the current global pandemic, it will be impossible for them to learn. With shelter in place requirements in place or coming, even the public library may not be an option for learning for quite some time.

Here are some suggestions for how students can gain access to the internet:

  • Spectrum is offering free broadband and Wi-Fi internet access for 60 days to students impacted by the coronavirus shutdown. Charter Communications, Spectrum’s parent company, announced Friday that beginning March 16, it will make its services available for free for 60 days to households with K-12 and/or college students who don’t already have internet through the company. Installation fees will also be waived for new student households. It also said it would open its Wi-Fi hotspots for public use.
  • Comcast is also making it easier for low-income families who live in a Comcast service area to sign up by offering new customers 60 days of free Internet Essentials service, which is normally available to all qualified low-income households for $9.95/month. The company is also increasing internet speeds for the Internet Essentials service from 15/2 Mbps to 25/3 Mbps for all new and existing customers, which will be the speed of the service going forward.
  • More vendors may be offering access as the pandemic response matures.

What if I or my students lose the internet? Will their exam answers be lost?

Honorlock offers 24/7 technical support 365 days a week to help students with issues as they take their exam, easily accessible through an Honorlock support menu available on their screen. Honorlock also monitors additional activity like someone trying to leave the test session, copy/paste questions, or open a new browser. We also have encrypted protocols in place to save work, view the test taker’s answers, and allow the proctor access to review exam session videos.

What is Honorlock’s availability like during the coronavirus crisis if we launch and have issues?

As educational institutions transition to moving learning online during the current global pandemic, we anticipate an uptick in demand for our services. Our HonorSquad continues to closely monitor the COVID-19 situation, focus on best practices and plan ahead. We’ve contacted AWS (Amazon Web Services) to obtain extra capacity, talked to third party video conferencing vendors to ensure that they understand our demand, and increased our staff. More simply put, we’re preparing as if it was finals week. For more information, check out our Our Pledge To You During Coronavirus and feel free to email us (support@honorlock.com), or launch a live chat at honorlock.com.

What does Honorlock do exactly?

If you are in the process of quickly moving your instructors, students, and staff to an online platform to minimize any downtime with their continued education, keep in mind that Honorlock is a safe and efficient way to facilitate your exams.

Honorlock provides on-demand proctoring services that do not require advanced scheduling or bulky software downloads. Because maintaining academic integrity is of the utmost importance to us, we’ve also patented a one-of-a-kind mobile device detection system.

Honorlock’s innovative and exclusive online proctoring features include:

  • Search and Destroy: To help deter cheating, we employ our proprietary test bank removal service that actively searches the Internet and destroys any unauthorized copies of your test questions. In an online world, it’s far too easy to share and find test answers. We put a stop to this by immediately filing DMCA copyright takedown notices if we find any copycat test information.
  • Multi-Device Detection: Honorlock is proud to have the only technology that can detect multiple devices that may be used during test-taking to try to find answers. Our system even takes screenshots to help prove that attempted cheating may be happening during an exam.
  • Voice Detection: Faculty has told us that online testing services that send voice detection alerts tend to be over flagged, putting unnecessary stress on students. Honorlock reduces the number of inappropriate flags with its proprietary system. The voice detection service even goes beyond that by listening for keywords that students may be using to try to cheat, like flagging words such as “OK Google” and “Hey Siri”.
  • Live Pop-In: Honorlock offers the only Live Pop-In system that combines automation and live proctoring by prompting test proctors to pop into the exam if there’s any suspicious activity going on.

How to get started transferring courses online ASAP with Honorlock

The urgency to get students transitioned into an online learning environment has never been greater. If you are a school or administrator that needs a safe, secure robust proctoring system right away, Honorlock can help. To get started, simply go to this page and follow these steps:

Step 1: Sign a condensed 2-page agreement that makes it easy to get up and running while eliminating liability threats.

Step 2: Fill out a simple order form (Honorlock charges $5 per exam) that will only be billed after the impact of the coronavirus has lessened.

Step 3: Go live with same-day integration and training.

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Tess Mitchell

Tess has 20+ years of experience heading up corporate marketing teams in healthcare and higher education. She is passionate about thinking differently to lead teams to discover new and innovative ways to drive positive outcomes.

Maximizing Efficiency in Education: AI & Automation

If you’ve ever caught yourself feeling overwhelmed by the thought of adapting to new technology in education, you’re not alone — the field is evolving so quickly that it can be challenging to keep up. And, while it’s true that not every shiny new solution is necessary or helpful, it’s essential to evaluate each one and implement those that will improve the experiences of your students and faculty. 

When considering a new piece of technology, you have several priorities to balance. One is efficiency — does this new tool make things run more smoothly, or does it create friction and frustration for everyone involved? At the same time, it’s vital to maintain a sense of humanity and connection — students want to know that they are more than a number and that their learning experience is specific to them. While these goals may seem to conflict with one another, in reality, they often go hand-in-hand.

A Shared Solution

By integrating automation and artificial intelligence into the classroom, you can begin to respond to concerns about both efficiency and personalized learning. This works in several ways. By increasing efficiency in education for teachers, you save them time, allowing them more bandwidth to connect with each student. They can identify struggles, provide guidance and tailor the learning experience. At the same time, implementing artificial intelligence can provide a more personalized learning experience as the software adapts to each student’s needs and helps them learn. And, by creating an efficient and easily navigable context for students, you also offer them more mental capacity to focus on learning. Instead of worrying about the minute details of class scheduling or how to take an exam, they can attend office hours and study sessions to gain further clarity on difficult material. 

Automation and Artificial Intelligence

 At Honorlock, we’ve seen first-hand just how valuable AI and automation can be in the classroom. We’re continually evaluating new educational technologies to find the most useful and streamlined solutions for efficiency in education. Wondering how these tools can help contribute to efficient teaching strategies in your context? Here are four of our favorite ways to harness the power of technology in education. 

  1. Class Registration — When it comes to implementing automation, class registration can be a great place to start. Students love the convenience of registering online from anywhere and using a system that can easily cross-check issues like prerequisites eliminates potential mistakes and helps students stay on track with their degree plans. It’s easier than ever for students to track their academic progress and work with their advisors to create the perfect schedule from semester to semester. AI and automation in this process can also ensure that a student never double books their time. This can prevent headaches down the road from having to change class schedules at the last minute and helps students make sure they get into every course they need each semester so they can graduate in a timely manner.
  2. Room Scheduling & Facilities Management — Few things are more frustrating than reserving a room on campus, only to find that someone else has also reserved it and is already using it. This is a challenge for scheduling conference rooms and private study rooms, but it’s even more of a problem when it comes to classrooms — sometimes disrupting an entire class period (or more) as faculty sort out the issue. Thanks to AI and automation, however, this is becoming less and less of a problem on campuses. By using an intelligent scheduler, your school can prevent conflicts and ensure that the correct people are in the correct place at the correct time. And, by adding automation, you can make it even easier to schedule recurring events like meetings and classes. Ultimately, by making this process smoother and less frustrating, you can help your students and your faculty focus on the learning experience rather than the logistics required to make it happen.
  3. Grading — For faculty, one of the most challenging parts of the day can be facing the stack of papers left at the end of class. Whether assignments are physical or digital, the task of grading can seem impossible. TAs have long been part of solving this problem, and they continue to be vital in the grading process, but, especially in large classes, the amount of correction required can still be overwhelming. Thanks to new developments in AI and automation, however, it can be easier than ever to manage. Whether checking for plagiarism, correcting grammar or grading multiple-choice assessments, there are more tools than ever to help faculty spend less time focused on minute details and more time focused on concepts and student success. 
  4. Online Exams — One of the simplest and most important places to integrate automation and artificial intelligence is in exams. Students are looking for a straightforward on-demand process, and faculty want to know that students are maintaining integrity in answering questions. With a solution like Honorlock’s Live Proctor Pop-In, your institution gets the best in online exams. Students don’t have to schedule in advance — their exams are ready and waiting for them 24/7/365. Throughout the test, students are monitored by artificial intelligence. If the system detects a potential violation, such as talking to someone else in the room or walking away from the computer, it alerts a live proctor. They then pop into the exam session to check in with the student. If the student is attempting to cheat, the proctor can intervene appropriately. If not, they can get the student back on track with the rest of their test. Both students and faculty can have confidence that tests will be proctored effectively, helping students focus on learning and faculty focus on teaching instead of worrying about the logistics of exams.

Using Technology to Maximize Efficiency in Education

When it comes to equipping students to learn well, efficiency is a crucial element. By implementing automation and AI, you free faculty and students from worrying about minute details. Ultimately, this leads to a greater focus on education and higher rates of student success. 

To learn more about automation and AI in Honorlock’s online proctoring system, click here.

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Tess Mitchell

Tess has 20+ years of experience heading up corporate marketing teams in healthcare and higher education. She is passionate about thinking differently to lead teams to discover new and innovative ways to drive positive outcomes.

4 Ways Technology is Changing How Students Learn

Ever-evolving technology is continually changing the ways we live in and interact with the world, and education is no different. Today’s educators are tasked with charting the course forward, implementing the innovations that are beneficial and useful while avoiding those that aren’t.

With so many new online teaching solutions on the horizon, however, it can be difficult to determine the right next steps. After all, as an administrator, you are not merely choosing whether or not to use new technology at your school. Y

ou’re trying to parse out the options that will help your students learn best, allow you to offer education to the most people, and help your faculty streamline their processes so students can succeed—all while ensuring that everyone involved is aware of how new software works and assured that their data is secure while using it.

Everyone involved wants to know that these new teaching technology alternatives are just as effective as the systems they’re replacing, and no one wants to feel as though the human touch in education is disappearing altogether. Instead, they want access to technology that can extend their reach. But what does that technology look like?

Technology in the Classroom

Even when students are attending classes in person, educational technology is changing the way they learn. Especially in larger lecture courses, digital innovations help everyone’s voice be heard when an instructor asks a question, and it also gives instructors room for creativity in things as simple as taking attendance by having each student present answer a question from their own device.

It also allows instructors to more easily bring guest instructors into the classroom via videoconference, record lectures for students who may need to review later and create more engaging presentations of their content. Instructors have nearly endless opportunities to innovate thanks to new technology in the classroom.

Remote Education Innovations

Where educational tech shines, however, is in online education. Schools today know that, if they want to grow their programs, online education is key to their success. More students than ever before are looking for education that will fit into their lives—not the other way around. And online education lets them do exactly that.

From lectures to homework to classroom participation to exams, students can experience every piece of their education remotely. All they need to enroll in your program is a computer with internet access—a fairly low barrier to entry for most students.

The Challenges of Online Assessments

While this online learning technology can improve the student experience by making education accessible to more people than ever before, there can still be some stumbling blocks. For many schools, exams are the first one they run into. Can you ensure that remote assessments are as secure and accurate as in-person exams? After all, in the classroom, remote proctoring is the same as it’s always been.

Even with new devices and learning technology at students’ fingertips, the remote proctor’s job is virtually the same—ensure that students aren’t accessing external resources (whether on paper or on a screen). When the entire exam takes place online, remote proctoring becomes significantly more difficult. There are solutions, however.

Because staff and faculty can’t proctor exams for distance learners in person, they need tools to ensure that exams are being effectively administered. That typically means enlisting the assistance of an online proctoring service who can provide the innovative online teaching solutions your faculty needs to ensure academic integrity.

Solutions to the Online Proctoring Problem

In a world where most students have access to multiple devices—from smartphones and watches to external monitors and tablets—what does it look like to prevent academic dishonesty in distance learning? How can you choose an online proctoring solution that will effectively address your faculty’s concerns about testing integrity without compromising the student experience? How can you set students up for success by ensuring that they’re taking the proctored exam process seriously?

Here are a few ways an effective online proctoring solution can help:

  • Browser Locking — As a baseline, any online proctoring system should give instructors the ability to secure the student’s browser to prevent them from accessing other tabs, windows, or external applications. By keeping students on the exam page, you can help them focus on their assessment and prevent them from attempting to access test answers.
  • Printer Prevention — In order to help faculty protect their exam content, you’ll want to provide them with a system that prevents students from seeing the entire exam at once and blocks their ability to capture the data—whether by printing, copying and pasting, or taking a screenshot. This is especially important because, in an online proctoring context, students are taking exams at different times and so may be more motivated to try to share information with one another.
  • Customizable Guidelines — Like in-person exams, instructors need the flexibility to set specific test rules and guidelines —whether it’s open-book or on a specific time limit. And, when they are able to set specific expectations, proctors are more easily able to ensure the security of the exam, only flagging students for behavior that is actually problematic.
  • ID Verification — Online testing also creates the possibility for a student to enlist help by asking someone else to take their exam. Thanks to continued technical advancements, however, it’s easier than ever for online proctoring software to verify student identity prior to beginning the exam, ensuring that each student earns the grade they receive.
  • Detecting Secondary Devices — This may be the stickiest question when it comes to exams—how can proctors ensure that students aren’t using their smartphones to access test information? Technology that helps proctors detect the use of additional devices and allows them to intervene to stop the behavior can go a long way toward helping you prevent dishonesty.

Online Proctoring to Improve Learning

Whether you’re ready to find out how online proctoring can help your program offer education to more students than ever before or are looking for a new, more technically advanced proctoring software, Honorlock can help. You want to offer your students the best possible education, and that includes secure tests with the right features to help you protect your program’s academic integrity.

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Tess Mitchell

Tess has 20+ years of experience heading up corporate marketing teams in healthcare and higher education. She is passionate about thinking differently to lead teams to discover new and innovative ways to drive positive outcomes.