Honorlock Exam Proctoring Customer Testimonial
Peter Burrell, Associate Professor at University of Cincinnati and Business Attorney
“Honorlock is an incredibly user-friendly platform – very intuitive… Very easy to get it launched. It was great, we had no problems launching it and making it work.”
A rapid shift to online learning in 2020
Like many other educators and students across the country, Peter Burrell, who’s an Assistant Professor for business-related graduate and undergraduate courses at the University of Cincinnati, was abruptly pushed to online classes in March 2020 due to COVID.
And like many other educators, Burrell primarily taught in-person classes and had minimal experience with teaching online courses.
Adjusting and adapting to online teaching and learning
With the rapid shift, Burrell was faced with a two-fold dilemma: adjusting to teaching online courses with a large number of students and protecting assessments.
“I started talking to some of my colleagues and they had used Honorlock and I was like, well, I’m going to do it. So, I did a training program and found Honorlock is an incredibly user-friendly platform – very intuitive,” Burrell explained.
After quickly getting familiar with Honorlock’s easy-to-use online proctoring software, Burrell was ready to get started – even with a large number of students taking his courses’ online exams. Burrell typically has around 70 to 300 students in each course, but a particular course in Fall 2020 was a little more daunting, “I had 500 students in one class but the first assessment with Honorlock went smoothly,” Burrell said.
Setting up online proctored exams was quick and simple
Part of the reason Burrell was able to learn how to use Honorlock’s online proctoring software is because of the direct LMS integration. Honorlock’s integration with the LMS creates a familiar testing experience for both instructors and students because it all occurs within the LMS they’re already using.
Instructors create exams like they normally do and then select the online proctoring settings they’d like to use, and it’s just as simple for students. Students can simply log in and launch the online proctored exam from the LMS.
It’s quick and simple to integrate Honorlock’s proctoring platform with an LMS, whether Canvas, Blackboard, or D2L, “The integration between Canvas and Honorlock was really seamless. Very easy to get it launched,” Burrell said, “It was great, we had no problems launching it and making it work.”
Preparing students for success and reducing test anxiety
Part of Burrell’s success is how he prepares students before the proctored online exam ever starts. Assessments can inherently cause students to experience test anxiety. In fact, a recent university student survey found that most student test anxiety ultimately relates to not knowing what to expect and technology concerns.
To help reduce student test anxiety, Burrell provides students with ongoing practice exams to help students acclimate to using the online proctoring software and to ensure that there are no technology-related issues. “Students are more used to online proctoring, but I still do the practice quiz just in case they’ve never used the platform.”
Educating students about the benefits of academic integrity
“As professors, we’re here to help them become better students…There’s certainly a want for a fair playing field and punitive action is necessary, but it’s an educational opportunity,” Burrell said about his approach to encouraging students to have a genuine understanding of the importance of academic integrity.
Burrell has transparent conversations with students about the impact of academic integrity, “I tell my students a story and relate it to the real world. I tie it to why this is important for the student and in their future… If you cheat, you cheat yourself.”
Finding a supporting partner to protect online exams
In addition to making online exam proctoring quick and easy, Honorlock provides 24/7/365 support for both faculty and students. “The responsiveness I got from Honorlock was second to none,” Burrell emphasized, “The product and the service I got was really just superlative and it made the experience, especially test-giving and the test-taking experience from a students’ perspective a lot more palatable.”
Dedicated to creating a better online learning experience
It’s clear that Burrell is dedicated to creating a stronger online learning experience for his students that will prepare them for the future. And just like he develops engaging online courses and has thoughtful conversations with students, Burrell aims to create a better online testing experience for each student – one that’s fair for all and ensures equal opportunity and measurable progress.
Does Peter Burrell plan to use Honorlock’s online proctoring platform in his future courses? “Absolutely. No question about it,” he confirmed.
About Honorlock’s Online Proctoring Software and Services
Honorlock combines the benefits of AI test monitoring software with human review to make online proctoring simple, easy, and human.
While other online proctoring companies just try to catch cheating, Honorlock’s approach is to do what’s best for students, faculty, and the institution without sacrificing security or academic integrity.
Click below to read more Honorlock proctoring testimonials
Want to see how Honorlock works? Reach out to our team of experts to schedule a demo.
About Peter Burrell
A 1984 graduate of Notre Dame Law School, Peter has been a lawyer for more than 35 years and a professor teaching law to undergraduate and graduate business students for over 25 years. In his law practice, Peter works with closely held and family-owned companies, advising them on employment matters, HR compliance, contract negotiations, business succession issues, and regulatory matters.
As a professor, Peter taught at the University of Cincinnati for over 25 years, starting as a part-time adjunct in 1993 and teaching full-time as an associate professor teaching business law to undergraduates and corporate social responsibility to graduate students from 2013 – 2022. In 2018, he was honored to receive the Michael Dean EXCEL Teaching Award. This is considered the top teaching award the University of Cincinnati’s business college gives out to one professor each year. Peter also served on the Teaching Excellence committee and Faculty Senate during his tenure at UC.