Introduction
Ensuring the integrity of assessments is one of the biggest ongoing threats that faces both academic institutions and professions. Response to the challenge can take many forms, from assessment design to technical restrictions. One example of a technical restriction approach is the lockdown browser, which uses enhanced security measures to support supervised closed-book assessment. Over the 2022-23 academic year the Digital Assessment Team and the Central Assessment Team have worked with module leaders and administrative staff to pilot use of the lockdown browser within the AssessmentUCL (Wiseflow) environment. In the following case study presentation Marieke Guy, Head of Digital Assessment shares the outcomes of a series of pilots using the FlowLock lockdown browser. These pilots include Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) exams and assessments to take place during the main Central Assessment period in which students will use loaned laptops during in-person assessments held in the Excel. The pilot findings and recommendations will feed into decisions on future assessment approaches and will include implication for regulations, UCL estate and IT infrastructure.
Slides are available for the presentation.
Resources
- An overview of the Wiseflow FlowLock browser (see 02:25 minutes in)
- BYOD exams and lockdown browser testing – a blog post on the initial BYOD pilot
- Piloting the lockdown browser three ways – a blog post on the later BYOD pilot with mock and live assessments. Includes overview video showing the practice assessments.