International Journal of Education and Development using ICT

International Journal of Education and Development using ICT > Vol. 18, No. 1 (2022)

Information System Innovative Framework for Online Oral Examinations

Said Ally, The Open University of Tanzania
George S Oreku, The Open University of Tanzania

Abstract
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic largely disrupted the continuity of educational delivery. Online learning was the prompt response by educators. However, this comes with a big question on the conduct of assessment. Running examinations traditionally is vulnerable to high security risks and administration costs. A precise mechanism to administer examinations from anywhere is paramount. This paper presents a novel innovative framework for an online oral examination system called OREX. The framework was tested for 31 days between July and August 2020. The system allows questions to be randomly generated, and instantly activated based on the examination timetable. The software controls pairing between examiners and candidates, balances the workload between staff, and uses a virtually enabled examination room through an audiovisual conferencing tool. The OREX framework represents an imperative and profound innovation during the COVID-19 pandemic and provides an alternative assessment system for adoption by higher learning institutions, with new insights for the sustainable digitally enabled future of education.

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