Abstract
Background
Due to the changing nature of higher education, alternative online assessment methods have needed to be utilised, rather than transitional face-to-face examinations. However, these alternative assessment strategies must be adequately supervised. Northumbria University utilised a remote proctoring service provided by Honorlock, to supervise online unseen examinations and detect activity that may suggest academic misconduct.
Research
A realistic evaluation approach was applied to evaluate students’ perspectives on the use of Honorlock. An online survey was sent to all students who were aligned with the respective teaching modules. The survey aimed to assess a baseline level of self-reported IT competency and to explore students’ views on the practicality of online exams using Honorlock. 49 students from 3 different cohorts participated in the first phase of the study and 37 additional students are currently participating in phase two.
Findings
For the first phase, qualitative and quantitative data were analysed using thematic analysis and a statistical software package for cross-correlation. Coding and initial thematic analysis were done independently and concurrently by the researcher team before being shared to triangulate results and increase rigour. The statistical data suggested correlations existed between some of the variables and therefore some themes were interconnected with others. Five central themes emerged from the findings: practice with hardware, familiarity with software, confidence with IT issues, academic misconduct awareness and pastoral support.
Due to the changing nature of higher education, alternative online assessment methods have needed to be utilised, rather than transitional face-to-face examinations. However, these alternative assessment strategies must be adequately supervised. Northumbria University utilised a remote proctoring service provided by Honorlock, to supervise online unseen examinations and detect activity that may suggest academic misconduct.
Research
A realistic evaluation approach was applied to evaluate students’ perspectives on the use of Honorlock. An online survey was sent to all students who were aligned with the respective teaching modules. The survey aimed to assess a baseline level of self-reported IT competency and to explore students’ views on the practicality of online exams using Honorlock. 49 students from 3 different cohorts participated in the first phase of the study and 37 additional students are currently participating in phase two.
Findings
For the first phase, qualitative and quantitative data were analysed using thematic analysis and a statistical software package for cross-correlation. Coding and initial thematic analysis were done independently and concurrently by the researcher team before being shared to triangulate results and increase rigour. The statistical data suggested correlations existed between some of the variables and therefore some themes were interconnected with others. Five central themes emerged from the findings: practice with hardware, familiarity with software, confidence with IT issues, academic misconduct awareness and pastoral support.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publication status | Submitted - 9 Apr 2022 |
| Event | Engaging Students: Building Communities: 3 rivers conference 2022 - Duration: 29 Jun 2022 → 29 Jun 2022 |
Conference
| Conference | Engaging Students: Building Communities |
|---|---|
| Period | 29/06/22 → 29/06/22 |