Plateform of contest and exams: how does it work?

You are a training center, a university or a company, and you want to digitalize your evaluation processes? Take the plunge and use the exam and competition management platform. How does this type of solution work and what are its advantages? How to set up a reliable and efficient monitoring system? You probably have some questions: TestWe has the answers.

The organization of an online exam is aimed at various audiences: higher education institutions, training organizations, companies. Whether it is to evaluate students or trainees or to organize a remote recruitment, an e-exam tool can be adapted to several uses and allows to gain efficiency at different levels.

Even if this practice has expanded with the health crisis and the lockdown periods, many institutions (university, private school...) have already made online exams with digital tools. Such a system is, for example, long planned for students who follow a course of study abroad. Finally, thanks to reliable and secure solutions, equipped with a monitoring system, the holding of quality exams serves the reputation of an institution. This reassures teachers as well as students or companies that will recruit them.

Using a 100% Web-based solution also makes it possible to offer remote tests or competitions before validating admission or registration in a private school. Quizzes such as the SESAME exam can be prepared and organized using online testing software.

For a training center, using an online assessment software is an effective way to validate skills and knowledge. It is the ideal complement to e-learning, for centers that have already adopted distance learning methods. Thanks to simple functionalities for creating tests or quizzes, it is possible to apply certification to candidates after a session. Exams can be organized in both face-to-face and remote modes, depending on the requirements or needs of each center and each candidate.

For companies, the digitalization of the recruitment process is a trend that has been gaining momentum since the health crisis. Moving away from paper and face-to-face recruiting removes the distance barrier for some candidates who cannot travel (or are reluctant to do so), but not only. The implementation of an online testing solution makes it possible to offer various assessments during a recruitment process: personality tests, skills tests, soft skills assessments. All of this is automated and easy to manage for the recruiter. This saves time and opens the door to a larger number of candidates while avoiding casting errors.

Beyond its functionalities, an online assessment software represents an added value for each organization, for several reasons.

Taking an online exam is not something that can be improvised, that's true. Tools such as TestWe have anticipated this, and offer a simple and efficient way of organizing the tests, which can be fully customized. Resources in the form of question banks also allow teachers to create tests and MCQs in a few clicks. The other major advantage of an online solution is that it saves time in grading and monitoring the grades of students, learners and candidates. All resources and documents are stored in the same place, which also encourages internal collaborative work within the educational teams.

Switching to an e-exam tool means taking advantage of new opportunities to assess knowledge and skills:

• tests in the form of MCQs ;
• analysis of documents or multimedia content (video learning solution)
• audio or video restitution ;
• etc.

Online exams, an open door to cheating? This is a legitimate question, but secure platforms such as TestWe benefit from reliable and efficient anti-cheating devices validated by the CNIL. With a remote monitoring system, the tests take place in a reassuring environment for everyone. For a recruiter, it is the assurance of evaluating the right professional. For an exam grader, it's the same thing. And for a student who has worked hard to graduate, it's an additional guarantee of confidence in their institution.

In a policy of reducing costs and lowering the carbon footprint, limiting travel is an obvious choice. This is as true for universities, schools, training centers or companies. With an exam or a test organized remotely, there is no need to book rooms, restaurants or hotels. For a candidate who wishes to apply for a job offer, there is no need to limit himself to a geographical area. If the future company is able to offer a recruitment session using a test platform, it says a lot about its ability to organize telework in the best conditions.

If the inequalities in terms of equipment and technology (computer, tablet, smartphone, Internet connection) are now well established, the use of an exam or competition management platform offers an answer to this problem. In the case of TestWe, the exams are available on several types of media, according to the candidate's preference, and take place asynchronously, without an Internet connection. And there is also the possibility to organize exams and competitions in person, with the same tool, in a synchronous way.

How can you be sure that a digital exam and competition platform will meet your needs and those of your audience? There are some criteria that can help you make the right choice among the existing tools.

First of all, make sure you analyze your internal needs, the time and human resources you have available. For example, it may be appropriate to set up a working group to digitize tests, competitions and exams. And ask yourself the right questions:

• What modes of knowledge restitution are available on the platform?
• Who can access the exam administration portal?
• How are the results corrected and processed?
• What statistics are available?
• How is the registration and identification of candidates carried out?
• How is monitoring organized to prevent cheating?
• Is there an offline mode for candidates?
• Does the solution comply with current data security regulations (CNIL and RGPD)?

Have your students and candidates ever wondered how to cheat with an online exam platform? With software like TestWe, this is not possible, and this is a main criterion for choosing the right tool for your organization. First of all, the proctoring feature ensures that both face-to-face and remote proctoring is possible, while respecting the confidentiality rules in force. But it is not the only option. With many possibilities to build your tests, you can design exams in which cheating is not an issue: new ways of knowledge restitution that call for analysis and creativity, rather than rote learning.

Are you considering setting up dematerialized exams on a 100% web-based platform? Think best practices before you start.

Before offering your quizzes, exams, competitions and tests on a digital platform, it is best to make sure that the entire educational team (teachers, trainers) is involved. Communicating in advance is the best way to get the maximum number of professionals in your organization on board. This also applies to students and candidates, to whom you must clearly communicate the behaviors to adopt... or not, but also to your trainees and learners. Be sure to notify each candidate as soon as they register.

To avoid technical problems on the day, there is nothing better than a test. Mock exams are a common practice to prepare students and candidates for a final test: in the case of an exam planned on an online solution, it will also allow to familiarize all the actors with this new tool. This will help to resolve any difficulties and to plan improvements before deploying this mode of evaluation.

Depending on the evaluation mode, the proctoring tools change:

• In synchronous mode, the test is proctored in real time by a human proctor: a teacher, a professional, an assistant. This is similar to a traditional paper-based exam.
• In asynchronous, the proctoring is done by remote monitoring systems, using the webcam of the device. Taking pictures allows to identify the candidate, and the audio recording allows to check his direct environment. Finally, the computer's functions are locked to prevent any attempt to consult documents during the test.