Study.com and ProctorU Questions

[Merlin]

No, you cannot take the tests in a virtual machine. That is explicitly disallowed, and they even do checks to look for it as part of the proctor session. It is too easy to cheat that way. They do have a Mac OSX client as well. Not sure about Linux.

Fair enough. Linux guy on this end. I literally own zero Windows boxes. I'll just hold my nose and buy a cheap Windows laptop specifically for the purpose of proctored testing. It's not the end of the world, it's just annoying.

Alternatively, you could just set up a small windows partition on your Linux box and dual boot into windows. When I was running a primary Linux desktop that is what I would do when I needed to run windows games. I have since moved to OS X (BSD) but I keep a dedicated Windows machine just for gaming and do all my proctored exams on my gaming PC. I could do them on my main workstation, but it has dual monitors (which is also not allowed during proctoring) and I don't feel like disconnecting my second monitor each time I want to take a test.

If you're going to be doing a lot of proctored tests it will be helpful to have a stable environment. A dedicated Windows or Mac laptop would be ideal, but that is a lot of money to invest (even for a cheap used one) just to take a few proctored exams IMO.

[...]
Thanks for the info. Other than the stuff I asked, is there anything else I should know before I take my first proctored exam?

Its probably easier if you just take a look at the following youtube video. It will give you a quick rundown on the requirements and restrictions along with an overview of what to expect.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiehIf14Zkg

Aside from what is mentioned in that video, the only other thing I can think of is that some proctors are sticklers about you having a cellphone nearby but out of reach in case there is an issue during the proctoring session. If you don't have a cell phone or its not in the room some of them have been known to get testy and think you're trying to hide it or something.

Good luck!

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Study.com doesn't use proctoru but TESU does. I found it easy to do but very disturbing because you have to give them remote access to your computer and mouse. I unplugged all other devices from my home network, turned off phone and tablet. I used an old laptop that had been wiped clean of all my personal files. There was zero chance I would use any machine that has personal files on it and no way I'd give them any opportunity to access anything on my network. The laptop is now off and unplugged, never to be used again, at least not until I completely wipe the drive and reinstall an os. I think it's really stupid that TESU uses a site like that. It goes against everything we know about computer and network security.

I'm pretty sure all of the "live proctor" systems work that way. Screen sharing software is necessary to ensure they can see every mouse movement and such to make sure you're not doing something unexpected. The remote software they use doesn't allow them to remotely upload or download software from your desktop unless they use your computer to launch an application to do so. Yeah it's invasive, but they have to take measures to try to maintain academic integrity. It is the price you pay for the convenience of testing from home. The gaming computer I use for testing has nothing personal on it other than my games. Plus it has the whole suite of antivirus/antimalware/anti-rootkit software, though that shouldn't be that big of an issue since ProctorU (I assume its the same for the others) uses industry standard remote desktop solutions rather than their own custom software (I can't recall, but I think its either GoToMyPC or RemotePC) which should reduce (but not eliminate) the chance of getting malware during install.

Personally, I prefer the Software Secure/Remote Proctor Now solution which is what Study.com uses. They technically have the same level of access, but since it doesn't use a live proctor, its more about just capturing all your video and mouse activity. But it also feels less invasive since you know there isn't someone there staring at you while you're taking your test. Of course, the downside is that you have to wait a while for your video results to be confirmed before your exam scores can be made official.

I do like that you know at the end of your session what's going on with ProctorU. If there are any issues they stop the exam immediately, so you don't have to complete the exam and then have to come back to do it again because there was an issue with the video or something like with RPnow.

Pretty much every regular college uses one of the live proctor systems since RPnow doesn't appear to be as well known or trusted by the larger academic community yet.