Shared use of EXAM is making steady progress – the first exam visits and joint exams have been organised successfully

Huge steps forward have been taken on a national scale in the development of EXAM electronic exam software. Since January, students have had an opportunity to try out an exam visit at another university, and the first pilot of joint electronic exams has also been implemented.
 

Exam visits make studying flexible

In an exam visit, a student takes his/her own university's exam in another university's EXAM room. Exam visits promote flexible exam practices, as students can complete studies regardless of their residence or place of study. They are also an ecological option, reducing the need to travel.

During the past two years, exam visits have been developed as an integral part of the Cross-Institutional Studies project. Exam visits have been a much sought-after step forward, making studying considerably more flexible. The aim is to implement exam visits as extensively as possible in the consortium's universities around Finland during 2019, so that as many students as possible can have an opportunity to take advantage of this desired development.
 


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Further development of joint exams is the next step in the promotion of teaching cooperation
 

An examination required of medical specialists was piloted as an electronic joint exam using the EXAM software. The examination was organised at five universities simultaneously.
A joint exam means that universities (teachers) together create and assess an exam to be completed by students of different universities. National joint exams will be developed further in the sub-project of assessment development of the EXAMia DigiCampus project.

EXAM's potential in assessment and teaching cooperation was also presented to a large audience at the Interactive Technology in Education (ITK) conference in Hämeenlinna. Part of the discussion centred on how to enhance flexibility in general upper secondary education, and how this could be supported by more effective electronic learning environments, such as exam arrangements. It is obvious that people are interested in electronic exams, and their diverse potential is acknowledged at different levels of education.

EXAM is an electronic exam software, maintained and developed by the EXAM consortium of Finnish universities. The consortium currently includes 27 universities. CSC offers the universities operational services and supports the development of EXAM by providing the consortium with tools and help in project management. EXAM will be developed from 2018 to 2020 as part of the DigiCampus project funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture. CSC is responsible for coordinating the sub-project of assessment development.
 

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Further reading: Open learning materials, a clever identification method facilitating flexible learning paths and electronic assessment aroused interest (link in Finnish)

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