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How to stop cheating in MOOCs

According to experts from the online exam assessment company Mettl, a good ‘assessment partner’ can curb MOOC cheating

MOOC-cheating-assessment [1]Millions across the globe are enrolling for massive open online courses (MOOCs) facilitated by major players [2] such as Coursera, edX and Udacity.

India’s HRD ministry is also encouraging MOOCs [3] to improve access of education to all corners of country with help from premier Indian institutes.

While MOOCs integrate concepts of instructional teaching along with eLearning for enhanced knowledge sharing, they’ve not yet started providing learners with credit score or assessment for a formal degree–just some ways to curb cheating.

(Next page: 7 tips on how to stop cheating)

This is also changing with institutes like Antioch University [4] in the U.S., providing learners with credit scores. Also, the rising demand for a formal degree from learners seeking credit scores through valid assessment has also nudged MOOCs provider to incorporate valid assessment programs.

The role of an online assessment partner who can help MOOCs conduct a smooth, cheating free examination is undisputed. Assessment will help both the student and the course instructor to establish the authenticity of the knowledge, skills gained from an online course.

This ascertains equal opportunity for an online course student at par with a traditional university degree holder. The following checklist will help any online course provider decide how to choose the right online assessment platform:

The biggest pitfall of disorganized assessment is, of course, its impact on the brand of the MOOC as well as the university. A certificate from an institute is more a testimony to the institute, not the candidate.

There exists a parallel line of reasoning that advises bypassing of grades, and let the course’s objectives be achieved through peer assessment and the student’s laurels.

Assessment is becoming an all-important aspect of the Best Practices of Online Learning. It most certainly pays to map all of these factors, weigh their pros and cons against the MOOCs vision and take an informed decision about an online assessment partner.

This article originally appeared on Mettl’s blog [7].