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Electronic exam

An electronic exam is a format of exam that is conducted on a computer. They can offer benefits such as ease of marking, reduced need to read illegible handwriting, and time savings.

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May 26, 2026
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An electronic exam is a format of exam that is conducted on a computer. They can offer benefits such as ease of marking, reduced need to read illegible handwriting, and time savings.

Models

  • eExam System: the first use of any eExam1 for the award of a degree was in November 2009 at University of Tasmania.2 It was later adopted for entrance examinations by Tasmanian Qualifications Authority in 2011.3 In 2016 the eExam became the subject of a national project in Australian universities.4 Security methods limit access to the eExam flash drive, prevent use of all communication channels, and require a unique desktop security image photograph for every sitting. The source code is available under open source GPL licences.
  • CQUniversity Australia: Exam Pro was used in a supervised eExam consisting of short answer and essay-type questions.5
  • Abitti: its mission was to transform university entrance assessments in Finland to eExams by 2020.6 The source code7 is available under a GPLv3 license.
  • RU exam system: this uses a Linux-based system for student laptops at Reykjavik University8
  • Secure-Exam-Environment: from Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt uses Moodle on a Knoppix-flavoured Linux distribution.9

Challenges

Objections emphasize the unreliability of computer equipment or the potential for cheating. Some hacks cool the computer to 0 Celsius, allowing eExam information in the computer's RAM to be preserved for about 45 seconds.10 This is irrelevant if the exam is published after the assessment and open source software is used (since the material is in the public domain).11 These criticisms have been answered by a risk tree comparison with paper-based examinations, finding that typing and handwriting in examinations are similarly secure.12

The challenges of e-exams are usability, increased stress due to unfamiliarity with e-exam systems, and inadequate functionality.5

See also

See also

References

References

  1. "Welcome to Electronic Examinations". EExams.org. Retrieved 2016-08-10.
  2. Lane, Bernard (18 November 2009). "Laptops pass the big exam". The Australian. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
  3. Geeves, Phil (19 April 2011). "ITS315108 exam arrangements in 2011". Office of Tasmanian Assessment, Standards & Certification. Tasmanian Government. Archived from the original on 11 January 2017. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
  4. "Transforming Exams - A scalable examination platform for BYOD invigilated assessment". www.transformingexams.com. Retrieved 2016-08-10.
  5. Wibowo, Santoso; Grandhi, Srimannarayana; Chugh, Ritesh; Sawir, Erlenawati (September 2016). "A Pilot Study of an Electronic Exam System at an Australian University". Journal of Educational Technology Systems. 45 (1): 5–33. doi:10.1177/0047239516646746. ISSN 0047-2395. S2CID 64430855.
  6. "Digabi – timetable" (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 2017-03-12. Retrieved 2016-08-10.
  7. "digabi/digabi-os". GitHub. Retrieved 2016-08-10.
  8. Alfredsson, Frey (2014). "Bring-Your-Own-Device Exam system for campuses". Nordunet 2014. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
  9. Frankl, Gabriele; Schartner, Peter; Zebedin, Gerald (2011-10-19). "The "Secure Exam Environment" for Online Testing at the Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt / Austria Why Online-Testing?". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  10. Gruhn, M.; Müller, T. (2013-09-01). "On the Practicability of Cold Boot Attacks". 2013 International Conference on Availability, Reliability and Security. pp. 390–397. doi:10.1109/ARES.2013.52. ISBN 978-0-7695-5008-4. S2CID 206508798.
  11. Dawson, Phillip (2016-07-01). "Five Ways to Hack and Cheat with Bring-Your-Own-Device Electronic Examinations". British Journal of Educational Technology. 47 (4): 592–600. doi:10.1111/bjet.12246. ISSN 1467-8535.
  12. Sindre, Guttorm; Vegendla, Aparna (2015-12-15). "E-exams versus paper exams: A comparative analysis of cheating-related security threats and countermeasures". Norsk Informasjonssikkerhetskonferanse. 8 (1): 34–45. ISSN 1894-7735.

Bibliography

  • Hillier, Mathew (2014). "The very idea of e-Exams: student (pre)conceptions" (PDF). Rhetoric and Reality: proceedings of ascilite 2014, 23–26 November, Dunedin, New Zealand. ASCILITE. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  • Mogey, Nora and Fluck, Andrew, “Factors influencing student preference when comparing handwriting and typing for essay style examinations”, British Journal of Educational Technology, 46 (4) pp. 793–802.doi:10.1111/bjet.12171
  • Fluck, A and Pullen, DL and Harper, C, “Case study of a computer based examination system”, Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 25 (4) pp. 509–523. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14742/ajet.1126