Linnaeus University tests digital examinations
Linnaeus University now starts a pilot project on digital examinations.
“Both students and our activities have asked for this”, says Hans Tunér, departmental manager at the office of facilities management and services.
The project will investigate and test different choices that can be made in the work to create a legally certain, high-quality and efficient process for the university’s examinations.
“This is a natural development. It will become the dominant way of carrying out examinations in the future. The entire school system is developing in the same direction and there are, for instance, also plans to digitalise the Swedish Scholastic Aptitude Test”, says project manager Johan Lindeberg.
There are, of course, both pros and cons when changing systems. What benefits do you see?
“The handling will become more rational compared to today when we copy a large number of examinations on paper. This paper handling also results in a lot administrative work”, says Hans Tunér.
“I would say that the largest benefit is the reduced work load for teachers. In particular when correcting examinations. It is also a question of fairness – now it will be easy for us to interpret what our students have written. It will lead to fewer misinterpretations. It will also make it easier for our students. They are so used to expressing themselves at the computer, to write, to be able to edit and move text paragraphs”, says Johan Lindeberg (who is also a teacher).
One choice concerns computers. Should students bring their own computers or should the university provide computers on loan? The project will look into this.
“Initially, there will be a cost regardless of what we choose. However, many members of staff will also benefit from the time that is saved if we get the examination process running smoothly”, says Hans Tunér.
“Yes, the biggest challenge as I see it is the physical environment. To ensure that the university’s costs are not too high while at the same time offering a system that is legally certain”, Johan Lindeberg explains.
In the long term, the idea is to change entirely to digital examinations.
“It’s hard to say how long this will take. There will be a transitional period, but we don’t know today how long it will be”, says Johan Lindeberg.
“Regardless how long it will take, it’s about time we start working with this”, Hans Tunér concludes.
The project will start on 1 December and go on until 31 December 2019. The aim of the project is to look into a number of questions concerning the handling of digital examinations and to provide a good decision basis for the senior management team at the university.
Contact
Hans Tunér, departmental manager, office of facilities management and services, phone 0730-89 46 64, email hans.tuner@lnu.se
Johan Lindeberg, project manager for digital examinations, phone 076-760 36 75, email johan.lindeberg@lnu.se
Annika Sand, senior press officer, phone 076-830 01 05, email annika.sand@lnu.se