Virtual Written Exams Proctoring Platform

Inspiration

Due to the lockdown, schools and universities are facing the challenge of organizing and monitoring written exams. The question now becomes is our technology good enough to accommodate these features virtually? What more needs to be developed? Existing softwares do not have a comprehensive platform that could facilitate this. Organizing this kind of exams requires a number of softwares to be used simultaneously making the procedure and monitoring more difficult. Our idea is to build a unified platform that serves as a means to remotely invigilate written exams and submit solutions.

What it does

It serves as a means to remotely invigilate written exams for courses that it would be impractical to have an online proctor exams. Students are always able to capture their solutions and submit them on the platform. Instructors have access to all submitted solution snapshots for grading.

How we built it

The prototype app was developed with Bubble. Users can login either as Instructor or Student, which allows for different functions inside the app. Instructors can upload pdf files of the exams, create and manage an exam room and access the students’ answers at the end. Students can only enter the exam room when allowed by the Instructor and have the possibility of submitting their answers in the end. The main feature of the app is the Exam Room where the exam file is displayed and a videoconference is automatically started, so that the Instructor can monitor the students during the evaluation. The videoconference is established through the Jitsi platform. The Instructor is the only one who can allow initial access to the Exam Room, who can Lock Room so that new students can no longer enter and who can end the call for all participants at the end. At the end, students can submit their written work by taking a picture of each of the papers and uploading it to the database. All of this happens within the app with no need to use other devices or platforms.

Challenges we ran into

We didn't have the technical knowhow on websocket which made us rely on an external app (jit.si).

Accomplishments that we're proud of

The fact that the platform will enable organizing written exams without stress and save time and effort for the faculty.

What we learned

The process has enhanced our critical thinking ability. Without prior experience we learned how to develop a web app. Importance of teamwork couldn't have been more emphasized and evident during this process.

What's next for Virtual Exams Proctoring Platform

Manage different exams, right now it is only developed for one exam
Multiple instructors and splitting the students into different rooms, for easier monitoring
Full-stack support