In recent times online learning is trending everywhere. While it is a convenient way of distance learning, it is becoming more professional and letting people gain max benefits. Online learning is gaining popularity, and assessment methods are improving day by day. One of the most common assessment techniques is the online open book exam which are used to reinforce students’ learning and skills.
What are the Challenges of an Online Open Book Exam?
A majority of the students consider online open book exams are easier than closed-book assessments. Why is it so? Though open-book tests might offer you the convenience to search for answers, however, the time limit does not allow you to look up every question. Therefore, these exams mainly focus on the blend, examination, and application instead of memorization. Hence, you may need high-order thinking and commendable writing skills to excel in these exams. You may think it is not important to study for the open-book test, however, it may end up in poor performance.
What is the Key to Success for online open book exam?
If you want to know how to prepare for the open-book assessment, here are some useful tips:
- You need to have a sound understanding of the course
- You must organize notes in a proper manner so that you can find the answer immediately
- Train yourself to complete the exam within the given time limit
- Try to manage yourself
- You must revise the notes
- Safeguard your academic integrity
- You should focus on submitting original and plagiarism-free work
Hence, when you appear for this exam, you must know which material you are allowed to access and refer to. You might be allowed to access your course notes and textbook, hence you must stay away from web searches, and digital media platforms. Strictly follow all the exam guidelines. Reviewing the instructions before the exam will be a great help. You may review the academic integrity policy and how to safeguard your integrity in online learning. You should avoid posting or accessing exam questions on social media sites.
Which Steps to Follow When Preparing for The Exam?
When you have an exam, you must allocate sufficient time to prepare for it. Below are some of the simple steps you can follow for a good attempt:
Step 1: Know Instructor’s Expectations
Knowing your instructor’s expectations for the exam is important. You must have a clear understanding of the framework:
- When will you be able to access the exam?
- How much time will you be granted to attempt the paper?
- Do I have to attempt the exam in one session, or I am allowed a break?
- Which types of questions will I have to attempt such as MCQs, open-ended questions, scenario-based questions, etc?
- Which study material am I allowed to take help from?
- Am I allowed to carry out online searches during the exam?
- Can I ask for any clarification on a question? Will there be anyone available to help?
- Do I have to include in-text citations and references in the exam?
Step 2: Analyze the course objectives
When you analyze the course objectives, you will know what learning outcomes they expect. It will help you set up a framework and organize your academic material. You should start making associations between the course ideas, especially for the higher-order thinking questions.
For that, you must review your syllabus for the following:
- What are the course objectives? What learning outcomes do your professors expect?
- How is the course structured?
- What is the main theme or course topic?
- Which are the most important chapters?
- Are you able to sum up the key ideas and guiding principles of the course?
When you start listing down the course objectives, themes and chapters, you will begin thinking about the association between them. What is the relation between them, and how do they relate to the coursework you have attempted?
Step 3: Make Notes
When you make study notes, you know all the key points you have studied, and it will surely make your exam easier.
- You should start by creating notes from the classroom lectures, course readings, and other course material.
- Keep your notes organized according to the themes, chapters, and modules.
- Ascertain the type of study material you wish to have a better understanding of such as theories, procedures, calculations, and data trends.
- Summarize and combine the content using charts, diagrams, or concept maps.
Step 4: Exercise and Practice
You may think that it’s fine not to practice for an open-book examination. However, if you want to achieve high, you need to exercise and practice. If you have successfully organized your study material and notes and made connections, it’s a great start. One thing you must remember is that open-book questions will be more scenario or application based would require evidence, analysis, and critical thinking. Some of the useful methods to try out to excel in the exam are:
- Predict possible questions and then evaluate yourself by creating answers to the questions.
- Attempt a practice question, and discuss it with your instructor.
- Try to teach a course concept, describe the course theme, or show a sample answer to your instructor.
You can also try out Professor Smith-Chant’s SPEW Technique:
- Create a list of key terms in the chapter to relevant course concepts
- Set a timer for 3-5 minutes and illustrate each concept.
- After finishing, review your answers.
- Create notes of any ideas or concepts which were not up to the mark. Or review the less mastered concepts using the SPEW method.
Step 5: Formulate a System
The last step to prepare for the exam is to set up a system to find info instantly. Here is how you can do it:
- Create your test-writing space so that you have space to write and spread-out resources you will frequently need.
- Keep your notes in a binder to avoid shuffling the loose pages. You can use dividers, and sticky notes to quickly identify the relevant section.
- Create a chart or table of content to quickly access major concepts, key systems, and notes. Mark your chart or table of content with summaries of the key ideas of each unit, topic, or info category.
- You may color code your notes and charts.
- Highlight significant pages of your course book. For that, you may use sticky notes or separators.
- When using digital notes, you may use the highlighter tool or insert comments in the main areas so that you can instantly access different sections. You can even use a digital table of contents to link it to the heading.
If you don’t find these steps effective, you may take Exam Help in UK. If you are concerned about How Do I Search for Online Assignment Help? For that, you can search for online assignment help services in your region.
ReadEssay offers a variety of exam-help resources for students in the UK. These include tutoring services, study guides, and online practice tests. Our team of experienced tutors is knowledgeable in a range of subjects and can provide personalized assistance to help students succeed in their exams. Additionally, our study guides and practice tests can help students prepare for and feel more confident on exam day. Overall, ReadEssay is a reliable and convenient source for exam help in the UK.
