Virtualization, is it the answer to electronic examinations?

Today, fresh calls have been made for examining bodies to consider replacing traditional pen and paper with computers for use in examinations. Ofqual chief executive Isabel Nisbet writes in the Times Education Supplement of pupils using “IT as their natural medium for identifying and exploring new issues and deepening their knowledge”. She goes on to explain how school exams are “running the risk of becoming invalid, as their medium of pen and ink increasingly differs from the way in which youngsters learn.”

Many of the examining bodies have welcomed Ms Nisbet’s comments, highlighting many benefits, but also some of the stumbling blocks involved in implementing this kind of system. Such as, fair and secure access, ensuring that all students had exactly the same system with restricted access to the assessment only, but not only security would be an issue. In some comprehensives there could be around 240 pupils taking an exam at the same time, and Sion Humphreys, a policy adviser for the NAHT headteachers union, believes this to be inconceivable with computer hardware.

I feel however, with virtualization, electronic exams for GCSEs and other qualifications can become a reality. Covenco Applied Technologies has recently partnered with Kaviza, and with this we can provide and implement a large, secure and completely standardised virtual desktop infrastructure. Once the hardware is in place, desktop terminals could be ready for use within a matter of hours. Using an array of thin clients linked to a server, each desktop can be configured to restrict access to all functions bar the examination program, and each client will be replicated from a single image so there is no difference from one terminal to the next. For security, we can also provide a secure off-site server to replicate any data uploaded to the server on-site. So should there be any issues with power the data is already saved elsewhere and ready to be accessed or restored if necessary.

There are many benefits for using thin clients over normal PCs, especially in instances such as the one above, including power usage and desktop space. If you are interested in learning more about how a virtualized environment can benefit your company, please feel free to contact us.

For more on virtualization thin client technology go here – https://applied-tech.development-box.co.uk/hardware/thin-clients.html and for more about Kaviza click here – https://applied-tech.development-box.co.uk/hardware/thin-clients/kaviza.html

Article referenced [BBC.co.uk – http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-12566122]