Podcast: Jarrod Morgan of ProctorU explains live monitoring of online tests

Posted by Joan Phaup
Andrew Jackson University, a distance education school based in Birmingham, Alabama, faced a big question several years ago: How could students take tests the same way they pursued their studies — off campus, via the internet — with the same level of security they would encounter in a test center?
Jarrod Morgan, who was then the school’s director of technology, recently told me the answer:

 We decided to come up with our own process based on the face-to face monitoring experience that’s been used by colleges and universities and test centers for decades and decades.

 

What that means is that you have to see the person, you have to see what they’re doing, and you have to know who they are. So if you can do all three of those, see the person, see what they’re doing, and know who they are, you’ve essentially monitored that exam the same way you would do it in a test center.

 

Great idea! But how did they implement it? By using webcams, screen-sharing technology and layered authentication methods, with a live proctor observing each test taker.
The success and popularity of this solution led to the formation of ProctorU, a live, online proctoring/monitoring service that allows people to complete assessments from wherever they are while  ensuring exam integrity. Questionmark partners with ProctorU to bring added security for higher-stakes exams taken outside testing centers.
In this podcast interview with  Jarrod, now the company’s vice president of business development, you will hear more about how online monitoring works and why  academic institutions, businesses and other organizations are choosing this option. We also talked about various security challenges, including identity fraud, and how to combat them. We touched on how test takers have responded to this idea, too. Feel free to listen in!