Online learning and examination is the need of the hour, as more and more colleges and universities look forward to conducting online examinations.

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bhubaneswar has developed a state-of-the-art method for conducting online exams in a comprehensive manner while plugging the loopholes in the existing system, the institute claimed..

This system will be very helpful in overcoming the obstacles that an institution faces while conducting online examinations. For instance, the limitation holding only computer-based tests, reliability of invigilation, and connection problems faced by the commercially available online examination systems.

According to RV Raja Kumar, Director, IIT-Bhubaneswar, the proposed online examination system is robust and can be used for holding tests of wide-ranging nature from simple computer-based ones to detailed conventional examinations.

The system uses two or more network connections for the reliability of the connection and additional facility for proctoring for reliable invigilation. Unlike in systems where a student has to come to an examination centre equipped with computers, in the proposed system, a student can take the examination from home or anywhere across the globe, Kumar said.

The institute has successfully tested the entire system by holding a mock test involving about 240 students stationed across the country with question papers of 31 subjects and 20 invigilators. It was found that the tests can be held successfully and effectively as long as a student has at least one of the two connections working at any time during the examination, the director said.

The state-of-the-art method uses a virtual examination hall, actual invigilators, question paper distribution online and submission/reception of soft copies of answer books which may be printed, if required.