Proctoring to improve teaching practice

Universities organise digital summative assessments in special assessment computer rooms and they conduct strong restrictions on the resources. This policy assures safety and security of assessments but obstructs authentic problem solving where open resources are needed. A digital assessment room is also not a proper solution when students for some reason cannot attend the assessment on campus. We present three scenarios from the science and mathematics teaching practice at the University of Amsterdam in which we have used proctoring to create the flexibility of online exams that was needed. Online remote proctoring of computer screens on the campus and/or students at home enabled (1) more authentic exams by allowing open resources, (2) use of own laptops (BYOD) in a regular lecture room, (3) off campus online exams as a part of an online programme, for example, at home anywhere in the world. We have shown that proctoring is not just a different way to control students using computers, but that it enabled improvement of the quality of learning processes in which summative assessments are an integral part.