In 2022, South Australia became the first state in Australia to allow students to register for and complete their high school leavers writing exam online. Prior to this change, students needed to visit one of the state’s many high schools to sit a paper test that was then graded by a teacher. Now, students can check their results in the privacy of their home, allowing more opportunity for self-reflection, review, and assessment.
This change was made possible by a number of factors, not the least of which was the high-quality nature of the teaching and learning platforms utilized by the state government. These platforms provide the benefit of student-centered learning, where the teacher’s role is shifted from that of a provider of knowledge to that of a facilitator of learning. In addition, many of these platforms provide real-time feedback, allowing students to quickly identify areas in which they need to improve.
One of the major concerns voiced by the educational community when the policy was first announced was the potential for cheating, especially given the anonymity that students experience online. However, as the year progressed and students began to avail themselves of this new service, these fears seemed to be allayed. In fact, some even suggested that students should be given some form of recognition for completing the exam online. This would involve the setting of a written exam at the end of the year, graded solely by machine, with no opportunity for cheating.
Is Online Learning the Future of Education?
The first question that one should ask is whether or not online learning is the future of education. The answer is yes, but it depends on the context within which the question is asked. To establish a context, it is useful to examine the types of students that might be impacted by, or benefit from, online learning.
There is no question that distance education is the future of higher education, with around 30% of Australia’s university students taking a distance learning course. Those who choose to complete a university degree online have multiple advantages, not the least of which is the ability to work at their own pace, in the comfort of their home, with no need to attend lectures in person.
It is estimated that more than 500,000 Aussie students will graduate with a STEM degree (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) in the next five years, with around 350,000 of these students expected to enrol in a post-graduate certificate or a bachelor’s degree. The good news is that the majority of these students will have the opportunity to gain the knowledge and skills they need to find high-quality jobs in their field.
The high cost of attending university, coupled with the need to secure a high-quality job, means that more and more students are choosing to forego the formalities of a university education in favour of a more streamlined and cost-effective route to a job. This shift to online learning has had some notable benefits for students, many of whom can now further their education even after they’ve graduated. In addition, online learning provides more flexibility for educators, who can now choose to teach where, when, and how they see fit, with no need to limit themselves to regular classes at set times in regular educational institutions.
Impact of Online Learning on the Teaching Profession
One of the major concerns when considering the impact of online learning on the teaching profession is how much the role of the teacher will change as a result of this new technology. While much of what we know about teaching and learning comes from our interactions with teachers in formal educational institutions, much of our interaction with teachers now takes place online, in the form of classroom blogs, where students can engage with their teachers and other students around important topics. In many instances, teachers will use platforms such as Blackboard, to provide their students with resources, materials, and assignments.
The rise of the educator as a celebrity, coupled with the increasing use of podcasts, blogs, and other digital platforms to provide students with valuable learning materials, means that students now have more accessible learning resources than ever before. This, in turn, creates a greater degree of competition for the attention of both the students and their parents. In an effort to secure higher educational outcomes for their children, many Australian parents are taking a more active interest in their children’s education, often researching the best, and often the most economical, options available for their children’s education.
The need to raise academic standards, the growing numbers of students researching their desired career paths, and the increasing role of technology in all aspects of our daily lives, will, no doubt, result in significant changes to the way we educate our children in the next few years.
While much of what we know about teaching and learning comes from our interactions with teachers in formal educational institutions, much of our interaction with teachers now takes place online, in the form of classroom blogs, where students can engage with their teachers and other students around important topics. In many instances, teachers will use platforms such as Blackboard, to provide their students with resources, materials, and assignments.
\”How Soon Can Students View Their Scores Online if They Did Not Take the Writing Test?\”
Now that you have a good understanding of the context in which the question of \”How Soon Can Students View Their Scores Online if They Did Not Take the Writing Test?\” is asked, let’s examine the answer.
Prior to 2022, students in South Australia had to attend a local high school to sit a paper-based writing test. This test was then marked by a teacher, who would allocate a grade to each paper according to a pre-determined marking scheme. As you might imagine, this grading process was both time-consuming and required frequent redoing, as students could often find ways to game the system, and hence secure higher grades, even though they had not actually learned all that much.
In 2022, South Australia switched to an online-based, proctored testing model, where students could register to take the test online, either on a desktop, laptop, or tablet. Students could then access the testing platform at any time, from any location, and complete the test, interacting with the questions, via text, audio, or video, asynchronously with the teacher. After the test was completed, students would receive their grade, and, if they were happy with the results, could then click to receive their score.
As you might imagine, the switch to an online-based, proctored testing model, significantly reduced the amount of time required to mark all the tests, as students did not need to personally visit a school to take the test. This change alone can probably be attributed to the fact that more than 500,000 Aussie students are now registered to take their high school leavers writing test online.
In addition, the anonymity that students experience online, and the ability to track individual student performance, meaning that teachers can accurately gauge, on a regular basis, how much a particular student has learned, without fear of repercussion, or loss of anonymity, makes this an environment where students are more likely to actually try and do their best.
While this change has undoubtedly benefited students, it has also presented challenges that need to be addressed, not the least of which is the concern over cheating. As with any new technology, the question of whether or not students will cheat during an exam, and the ways in which educators should respond to this, must be considered. To this end, educators in South Australia, have adopted a policy similar to that of many American universities, where it is not only acceptable but also encouraged for students to cheat during exams if needed. In the case of online testing, this involves students using various tools and techniques to gain an unfair advantage during the testing process, and the ability to access information that is not available to others, or giving incorrect information, simply to secure a higher score.
As with any new technology, the question of whether or not students will cheat during an exam, and the ways in which educators should respond to this, must be considered. To this end, educators in South Australia, have adopted a policy similar to that of many American universities, where it is not only acceptable but also encouraged for students to cheat during exams if needed. In the case of online testing, this involves students using various tools and techniques to gain an unfair advantage during the testing process, and the ability to access information that is not available to others, or giving incorrect information, simply to secure a higher score.
In light of these and other concerns, educators in South Australia have developed a policy, where they grant students an extension to the end of the year, in which to complete the writing test. This gives educators and students more time to test and refine their learning, and, as a result, improve their educational experience.