Online Tutoring Tools That Complement Proctored Certification Exams

Historically, certification exams were administered in a testing centre. Candidates would report there at their scheduled time, prove their identity, surrender all but a couple of pencils and enter the testing room. Proctors would patrol the space, monitoring candidates’ progress and watchful of potential cheating. More and more, proctored certification exams happen in cyberspace. It’s a more efficient means of testing that doesn’t involve elaborate setups, additional personnel, or high costs. The challenge is for tutors to help their pupils prepare for this new testing strategy using these digital tools.

Online Tutoring Platforms

In the early days of online tutoring, pioneers in this medium had little more than a webcam and a headset with a microphone to work with. Today, platforms exist specifically for tutoring online, which include student management, scheduling and web conferencing utilities. The user interface, where tutors meet their students, boasts an array of tools to enhance learning.
A digital whiteboard is essential to any online tutoring session. This utility gives you and your student a way to share written information. You may both save your whiteboard sessions by taking screenshots throughout the lesson.
Screen sharing is equally important. Tutors typically have many documents – worksheets, formula pages and so on. They would hand them out during in-person learning sessions, but working online, they only need to load them onto their screens. Teacher and student may then discuss the presented information.
Screen sharing is important for students, too. They may show their work or highlight something during the lesson that they don’t quite understand. So, make sure your screen-sharing utility works both ways.
If you tutor small groups of students online, you’ll want a platform that offers breakout rooms. That way, you can assign some students a task while you mentor others in the original ‘room’.
Finally, you’ll want a timer utility. All proctored exams, in-person and online, have a time limit. You must help your students develop their sense of time so they won’t not get caught short as the clock runs out come exam day. You may start using your platform’s timer function for your breakout sessions or during independent work so they can get used to working under time pressure.

Online Tutoring Best Practices

A part of preparing students for an online proctored exam involves recreating exam conditions. Whether tutoring a small group or individual students, your learners must know the exam format and conditions and what to expect on exam day.
You might start your tutoring course by showing them videos of past exams. These early demo sessions give your pupils distinct goals to prepare for. You might repeat the demonstration about halfway through your preparation course and again, just before exam day.
Follow the same pattern for mock exams. The first one will help you find your students’ weak points, as well as introduce them to their exam’s rigours. A mock exam halfway through your course lets you track their progress, and the last one is their rehearsal for the actual test.
Mock oral exams are especially important. Most proctored exam platforms can’t distinguish between an actual response and, say, a dog barking or a test taker coughing. Your students must master clear speech, lest the exam platform mark their spoken responses as incorrect.
Holding timed drills throughout your exam preparation course is a great way to get your students used to working under the clock. For example, if the oral portion of their exam included timed responses, you could mimic that formula during your sessions. You may then do the same for written sections, setting your timer to the number of minutes the exam allows.

Follow the Checklist

At the start of your online tutoring course, you have a lot of ground to cover. You must build relationships with your students, discover their learning strengths and target where they need help the most. You also have to make sure they know their subject matter and are well-versed in test-taking strategies.
That’s all from your side of things. Your students have concerns too, and you must address them. Also, you must stay abreast of the exam you’re preparing your pupils for, in case of any changes since the last exam cycle.
All this is on top of actual exam preparation – the materials you must have ready and the scheduling you must accommodate. Tutors are under pressure to perform well, so the best way to ensure success – yours and your students’, is to create a checklist.
It should include verifying all the technical aspects of online tutoring are in optimal condition: speakers, microphones, utilities and internet connection. Your schedule must include mock sessions and time for students’ speaking practice. A final run-through of the entire exam will ensure your students are thoroughly prepared for exam success.