Online proctored exams and digital inequalities during the pandemic.

Background: The emergence of the COVID‐19 and the resulting global pandemic has ushered in far‐reaching changes for countries across the world, not least of which are changes to their education systems. With traditional location‐based exams no longer possible at universities, the uptake of online pr...

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Publicado en:Journal of Computer Assisted Learning Vol. 39; no. 4; pp. 1103 - 1116
Autores principales: Hartnett, Maggie, Butler, Philippa, Rawlins, Peter
Formato: research tables/charts Journal Article
Publicado: Wiley-Blackwell Aug2023
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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      dt: Aug2023
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      pub: Wiley-Blackwell
      place: Malden, Massachusetts
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        10.1111/jcal.12813
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        atl: Online proctored exams and digital inequalities during the pandemic.
      aug:
        au:
          Hartnett, Maggie
          Butler, Philippa
          Rawlins, Peter
        affil: Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
      sug:
        subj:
          COVID-19 Pandemic New Zealand
          Computerized Educational Testing
          Digital Technology
          Healthcare Disparities
          Students, College
          Student Attitudes
          Confidence
          Clinical Competence
          Human
          Male
          Female
          Funding Source
          New Zealand
          Coefficient alpha
          Internal Consistency
          Inferential Statistics
          Spearman's Rank Correlation Coefficient
          Kruskal-Wallis Test
          Mann-Whitney U Test
          Post Hoc Analysis
          Thematic Analysis
          Descriptive Statistics
          Male
          Female
      ab: Background: The emergence of the COVID‐19 and the resulting global pandemic has ushered in far‐reaching changes for countries across the world, not least of which are changes to their education systems. With traditional location‐based exams no longer possible at universities, the uptake of online proctored exams (OPE) has occurred at a pace not seen prior to the pandemic. Students' experiences of online proctored exams during the pandemic are reasonably well‐understood in terms of digital access and ease of use of the technology. However, less is known about students' perceptions of digital confidence and competence to complete an online exam, both of which are important digital equity considerations. Objectives: This study investigates students' digital confidence and competence to undertake online proctored exams to determine whether issues of equity exist for students. Methods: This study reports the results of a survey (N = 761) of one university's students' experiences of end‐of‐semester online proctored exams in New Zealand. Results: Most students were positive about online exams, felt reasonably confident to complete an exam, and had the necessary digital access (i.e., devices, internet) and competence to succeed. However, digital inequalities were found between students' perceptions of digital competence based on ethnicity. While more time learning online equated to increasing self‐reported digital competence for most ethnic groups, this was not the case for Pacific learners. Takeaways: Perceptions of low digital competence can contribute to digital inequalities. Educators can support learners to develop positive perceptions of digital competence by teaching digital literacy skills. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic: Online proctored exams (OPE) have replaced many traditional exams because of the pandemic.Research on the use of online proctored exams during the pandemic suggests some acceptance among students.Apart from access related issues, little is known about digital inequalities associated with online exams. What this paper adds: Most participants were positive about OPE and felt reasonably confident to successfully complete them.Confident students were more likely to report that the exam software was easy to use.Perceptions of digital competence differed based on ethnicity.Marginalized groups were more likely to experience digital inequalities than other groups. Implications for practice and/or policy: Digital inequality is about more than issues of digital access (i.e., devices, internet).Provide differentiated technical support for students who express low digital competence.Teaching online exam digital literacy skills might increase perceptions of digital competence.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype:
        research
        tables/charts
        Journal Article
      ougenre: Article
    language: English
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