Apparently I don't write all that clearly ...

Whatever happened to the little blue booklets?

 

cran, blue books are still around. I've used them in the past. One of the funniest thing I've ever had happen came when I was using them for a junior-level class at another university. I got a little epistle in one that said, "Dear doctorquant, blah, blah, blah. In my six years of college I've never had a test like this."

Ragu ... they can take it anywhere, but there are a number of ways to add friction to anyone who's trying to pull something. They're not foolproof, of course, but I've seen nothing that suggests anything untoward going on. In the future, I am going to use some of the newer integrity tools -- for example, you can require them to have a webcam up and running and it records everything they do, mainly to discourage a student from getting someone to take the exam for him/her -- but I'm pretty confident in what I've been doing so far.

Re: the timing thing, as they take their exam a blue bar counts down to the second how much time they have left. They can't miss it. There is absolutely no excuse for going beyond the time limit. Trying to push that "time allowed" button is such a common thing, though. Just yesterday, for example, I had a kid try the "bubble-in" ploy. That approach is when you spend every last second circling the answers on the actual test, then bubble-in your scantron sheet after time is up (so you squeeze an extra minute or two). No way, Ellie Mae. I let this kid know with five minutes left that when I called time he better have that answer sheet filled in.

The reason I started this thread, though, was the lunacy of there being something actually confusing about my test instructions. You've got 150 minutes. The exam's due at 1:30 p.m. Blow either of those and you run the risk of getting a 0.

 

This would have never happened if we put a camera in your classroom.

 

Actually, there are cameras in my classroom(s).

 

Screw the students!

 

The directions may not be confusing, but they are redundant. The exam becomes available at 11 a.m. and ends at 1:30 p.m. Why bother stating they have 150 minutes to complete it?

Not knowing how you administer the test, I was initially under the impression they could begin the exam any time, but they only had 150 minutes to complete it, and it had to be done by 1:30 p.m. As someone else noted, why not have a hard stop that closes the exam at 1:30 p.m.? It would save you the trouble of tracking down which questions were answered after the deadline.

As an aside, I'm curious - What do you do in the event a student has trouble with their internet connection, like an unexpected power outage or similar malfunction that is legitimately beyond their control?

I love technology, but it seems like sitting them down in a classroom with a blue book or Scantron sheet and a pencil would avoid any procedural issues and allow them to focus on the test itself.

 

There's a firm in Boston called ProctorCam that provides proctoring for online classes.
I've take a lot of exams using proctor cam.

You log in. They check you ID. You use your cam to survey the space in which you are taking the exam, so they can see you don't have crib notes posted all over the walls. You put your cell phone across the room, so they can call you if they need to but you can't use it. They get remote access to your desktop and they watch you on camera.

Boston University uses them for online courses, and it works pretty well.

 

BU also uses Blackboard.

The exams I've taken have always been posted for a day or two: 10 a.m. Thursday through 7 p.m. Friday an you get a time limit to complete it. That is set by BU's instructor, but the student has to schedule a specific start time and day with ProctorCam.

 

We do stuff like that ... I am going to start using the proctor/cam services in the spring. Just haven't done them yet. But that's why I made the final exam be held at the actual exam time. I also offered the regular, in-class option, which 15 or so students decided to use.

 

Proctorcam sounds like something you stick up your ass.

 

Yep.
I don't understand anyone who is confused by the wording, but bigpern's first point above would simplify things. I read the original post thinking the same things he/she did about being able to start at any time. I WANT MY SCANTRON!

But the instructions say you have 150 minutes AND it must be done by 1:30. Violating EITHER could result in a zero. No excuse for anyone above grade school not getting that.