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In times of Corona, many students experience an online exam for the first time: How does it work?
Photo: Folio Images / DEEPOL / plainpicture
1. What types of online exams are there?
Exams that go online due to Corona are often based on face-to-face exam formats, says Julius-David Friedrich.
As an education expert at the Center for University Development (CHE), he deals with new and old forms of examination.
According to Friedrich, the most common online formats are
pure online exams, often with multiple choice questions and sometimes with screen monitoring,
so-called open book exams, in which aids such as textbooks are allowed and are not supervised, and
oral exams conducted via webcam.
Universities should also think about alternatives to the legally secure online exam, recommends Friedrich.
The education expert sees an opportunity in new exam formats.
»Competence-oriented exam formats ensure that the same question is asked less routinely and more transfer payments are required.
For learning success, that would be even better in many subjects than simply asking for knowledge. "
2. What can go wrong with online exams?
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Quite a lot, actually.
Often it depends on the technology: documents can be uploaded too late, files have the wrong format, the e-mail inbox can be full or the internet can be bad.
Anna Ventker, 19, is studying French and pedagogy for teaching at the University of Paderborn and has already experienced it.
»The lecturer's internet connection went on strike during an oral exam.
The exam was then canceled and I was able to submit the task as an audio document, «she says.
Such technical mishaps during an exam always meant additional stress, Ventker says, too - for students and lecturers.
Anja Neuber, 47, a teacher for special tasks at the Institute for Genetics at the University of Cologne, says that she has not yet experienced any technical difficulties with online exams.
With a colleague, however, a student was thrown out of the exam due to a poor internet connection.
“We can then use our exam tool to give the students additional processing time,” says Neuber.
This also applies to students with proven reading and writing difficulties or dyscalculia.
"My friend will know when I have an exam - my cell phone is then in flight mode"
Student Anna Ventker
In addition to the technology, the environment can also be a problem.
Roommates can burst into the room without being asked, while neighbors can suddenly drill a hole in the wall.
If you want to be well prepared, you should tackle such problems in advance.
“My boyfriend knows when I have an exam - my cell phone is then in flight mode,” says student Anna Ventker.
3. What if I don't have a working laptop right now?
A quiet study, a computer, plus a good and stable internet connection: the requirements for online exams are pretty high.
But can the university really expect that students are equipped for all of this?
No, says CHE expert Julius-David Friedrich, after all, all students are entitled to equal opportunities and fair conditions - and this is not always the case with online exams.
Some universities also seem to be aware of this.
The University of Bremen, for example, has had its own e-exam center for a long time.
Study achievements for which you need a computer can be done there, even without your own laptop.
Due to Corona, however, work is currently being carried out under stricter hygiene conditions, fewer places are available than usual.
At Anja Neuber in Biology at the University of Cologne, most of the exams have been written online for several years.
If you don't have the opportunity to take part in a digital exam, the university can help organize a room at the university, says Neuber.
There are also test exams with which the students can test in advance whether the technology really works.
At some universities, exams are also still carried out on site, with appropriate hygiene and distance rules.
4. Can the university just monitor my computer and me?
There is currently a lot of controversy about this question.
At some universities, students have to install so-called proctoring programs that not only monitor the screen, but also register clicks and inputs and record sounds.
So far this has been rather rare.
Julius-David Friedrich from the CHE is critical of the development: "The so-called proctoring must not result in data protection being worthless." says Friedrich.
At many universities, for example, on-site exams continue to be offered - if only for reasons of equal opportunities (see question 6).
"It is up to us to ask the questions in such a way that they are challenging even with aids"
Anja Neuber, lecturer at the University of Cologne
The University of Cologne has chosen another path: Here the students are not monitored at all and the controversial topic is thus circumvented.
"It is up to us to ask the questions in such a way that they are challenging even with aids," says lecturer Anja Neuber.
However, this demands a lot from the examiners: "As a lecturer, it is often incredibly difficult to assess what a demanding question is."
5. Will I also be monitored when I go to the bathroom?
Even if the general conditions are often discussed excitedly: During online exams, students have a right to the protection of their privacy.
For this reason alone, there are limits to monitoring, as in the lecture hall.
“With us, anyone can use the toilet at any time.
The processing time is then of course not stopped, but that would not be any different in a face-to-face exam, "says lecturer Anja Neuber.
6. Can I also write the exam on paper?
Often, online exams are actually just one way to successfully pass an exam.
Those who do not have the necessary technology or other good reasons can often continue to write the exam on paper.
However, due to the corona requirements, the dates are often delayed.
For example, some exam dates from spring and summer are only now being rescheduled.
If you want to write planned online exams on paper, you should register early - and be prepared to have to justify this.
Alternatively, there are also oral exams in some courses.
So far, this seems to be the exception.
7. Can I also write online exams at another date that suits me better?
The examination regulations prescribe repetitions and second appointments.
A completely free choice of dates seems to be easy to implement online.
However, this model is so far very rare.
Your faculty at the University of Cologne offers two alternative dates per semester, says Anja Neuber.
Additional time windows to be examined would not be offered.
8. What if I have questions about a task?
Here, too, it is worth talking about planned online exams as early as possible in the semester.
Because in mass exams with proctoring programs (see question 4) it may be that no teachers are present at all.
On the other hand, students have an easier time with so-called open-book exams.
Here you are expressly allowed to look up and research things independently.
In such cases, the greatest opponent is not the examiners' critical eye, but time.
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Student Anna Ventker
Photo: Nicole Donath
In principle, inquiries are also possible during online exams.
With student Anna Ventker, for example, the lecturers could be reached during the exam either in an individual meeting room at Zoom or by email.
“Of course, every question takes additional time.
That's why I opened a second tab and my mailing program before the exam, ”says Ventker.
Lecturer Anja Neuber can be reached by her students by phone, chat and email during the exams: "It works well," she says, "nobody has complained yet."
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