Proctor who: an analysis of seven proctoring solutions on the market

With the fast move to online education what are institutions doing to ensure fairness, flexibility, validity and reliability, particularly when it comes to forms of online assessment such as online quizzes and online exams?

What's stopping Sue from completing John's assessment when the entire course is completed online?

For many large institutions maintaining online integrity and accreditation requirements has meant investing in proctoring companies to invigilate some of their online assessments. The word on the street in Australian learning design circles is the sheer cost of the proctoring products means only some assessments at institutions can be proctored. This article analyses seven proctoring solutions on the market and provides information about the proctoring system that is built into the Ammonite LMS to ensure validity, authenticity and fairness across all assessments.

Proctor who?

A proctor is an online version of an exam invigilator. Some proctoring products offer a service of an authorised, neutral real person, others offer software to ensure the identity of the test taker and the integrity of the test taking environment and some proctoring services offer a combination of both.

There are two main players for proctoring exams on the Australian market, ProctorU and Respondus. Despite the data breaches in 2020, ProctorU is currently being used by Griffith University, UQ, QUT, University of Melbourne and UTS. The other large player, Respondus, is currently being used by James Cook University, Deakin, RMIT, University of Tasmania, Torrens University Australia, Victoria University and Charles Darwin University.

Analysis of proctoring services

Our analysis explores six current proctoring products, how they integrate into popular LMS platforms through LTI integration and highlights features and potential issues for Australian institutions to be aware of.

Proctoring product	LMS integration	Features	Issues
ProctorU - Live+	Blackboard Canvas Moodle D2L	Exam launch with live proctor ID verification software Live monitoring and intervention Technology flags events Chat feature for students to ask live proctors questions during exams Add institution branding skin onto the ProctorU product Institution can access ID and video data	Institutions pay as they go rather than get one product for using across all their assessment Students need to register with ProctorU to sit their test. ProctorU's registered student data, 44,000 students (!) was hacked and illegally shared online in 2020 Students need to download and install an additional program to use the service Students need to book in a time to use the service Additional cost that institutions need to pay for within their LMS
Respondus	Blackboard Canvas Moodle D2L	Locks the browser down. Students cannot: minimise the browser, message, screen share, print screen, copy/paste, right click or exit assessment until it is submitted Students do not need to register or schedule the software to use Instructors can review flagged events and proctoring results after an exam	Students need to download and install a Respondus Monitor to use Privacy issues - does not state whether or not data is not stored on servers in Australia Instructors cannot review proctoring data live Additional cost that institutions need to pay for within their LMS
ProctorFree	Moodle D2L	Allows students to take exams from anywhere with a standard microphone, webcam, and an internet connection. 1 click sign-on Students can take their exam anytime Chat feature for students to ask live proctors questions during exams Instructors can review the proctoring report after the exam	Instructors cannot review exams or assessments live Chromebooks, iPads, tablets, and mobile devices are not supported Equality for lower socio-economic students without internet at home: tethering and HotSpots are not supported. Many restrictions in relation to browsers, technical requirements of computers and technical requirements of cameras Additional cost that institutions need to pay for within their LMS
Integrity Advocate	Blackboard Canvas Moodle D2L	Low bandwidth protection Designed with universal design for learning and accessibility in mind Device compatible Students do not have to schedule a time in for their assessment Chat feature for students to ask live proctors questions during exams Allows all devices including mobiles and tablets	Data is stored on servers in Canada Additional cost that institutions need to pay for within their LMS
Proctorio	Doesn't state which LMS platforms it integrates with	Students do not have to schedule their exam Video and audio for exams are stored in the proper geographical regions based on the institution in accordance with local privacy and security laws Chat feature for students to ask live proctors questions during exams	Students need to install a plugin Students need to install a compatible browser Instructors cannot review data and exams live Additional cost that institutions need to pay for within their LMS
Examity Live Premium	Doesn't state whether it supports LTI integration	Exam launch with live proctor ID verification software Live monitoring and intervention Technology flags events	Students need to download a plugin to use the system Privacy issues - does not state whether or not data is not stored on servers in Australia Additional cost that institutions need to pay for within their LMS

An LMS that has proctoring built in

Across every assessment Ammonite's LMS automatically applies a proctoring solution at no extra cost.

All in one LMS product	LMS integration	Features
Ammonite	Blackboard Canvas Moodle D2L	Australian product hosted on Australian servers meeting Australian privacy requirements Built in proctoring solution into the LMS, no additional charge for proctoring for institutions using the product for their LMS Can be plugged in as an LTI into other LMS Supports all devices, including mobile phones, tablets and computers Proctoring data available for all assessments ID verification software Students do not have to schedule a time in for their assessment Empowers instructors and institutions to access, review and analyse assessment data Institution and instructors can access video proctoring data live during assessments Institution and instructors can access ID and photo data after assessments No extra work for students: no extra programs, browsers or plugins to install or register for Supports different kinds of assessment answers for students with disabilities such as allowing for video answers as opposed to written answers Can add your institution branding skin onto the Ammonite product

This built in proctoring system was released in Ammonite's system in 2013 and has been used by Ammonite's LMS customers since this time.

The following short video (2:40) shows:

• how Ammonite's system can be plugged in seamlessly to your current LMS, such as Moodle, Blackboard or D2L, using an LTI
• how Ammonite's assessment system verifies student ID card
• how Ammonite's assessment system has a built in process for students to agree to plagiarism policy required by universities
• Ammonite's proctoring solution works for all types of online assessment and Ammonite also has an online classroom tutors and lecturers can log into during an exam to check students live which is not shown in the video but we can walk your team through this in a live demo.

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to book a meeting with Ammonite, Australia's leading LMS, to see how Ammonite can help your institution to ensure validity, fairness and reliability across online assessment by offering a proctoring solution for all assessments.

References

Abrams. (2020, July 28). Hacker leaks 386 million user records from 18 companies for free. https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/hacker-leaks-386-million-user-records-from-18-companies-for-free/.

Examity. (n.d). Online proctoring on your terms. https://www.examity.com/live-proctoring/.

Integrity Advocate. (n.d). The most advanced ID verification and proctoring solution available. https://www.integrityadvocate.com/.

Patty, A. (2020, August 6). Hackers hit university online exam tool. Sydney Morning Herald. https://www.smh.com.au/national/hackers-hit-university-online-exam-tool-20200806-p55j6h.html.

Proctor Free. (2021). Online Proctoring Without the Proctor. https://proctorfree.com/.

Proctorio. (2020). Not just proctoring. https://proctorio.com/.

ProctorU. (2021). Our Most Advanced and Powerful Solution to PREVENT Proxy Testing, Cheating & Content Theft.https://www.proctoru.com/services/live-online-proctoring.

Respondus. (2021). Prevent cheating during online exams. https://web.respondus.com/.