Using AI in Moodle Assessments

“We have leveraged Moodle to create instances serving courses and content to an extensive user base, exceeding 500,000 registered individuals in one particular instance for a client.”

It is not hard to understand the success of Moodle. Most individuals recognize its major advantage; it is a cost-effective solution as it is open source, so it is freely accessible. Once the budget is out of the way, the attention shifts to its pivotal strength of a vibrant and active community of “free advisors” who can tailor the platform to suit the unique learning and assessment requirements of any organization.

While Moodle’s aesthetic appeal may not be its standout feature, as an LMS it excels in functionality, ease of learning, and adaptability. Its versatility is further enhanced by a wide array of readily available add-ons to address specific functionality, feature or integration challenges within the LMS. Some of these add-ons can also be free to use.

Given this, it is therefore hardly surprising given Elumina’s foundation in eLearning that Moodle has been an integral component of our journey. We have leveraged Moodle to create instances serving courses and content to an extensive user base, exceeding 500,000 registered individuals in one particular instance for a client. We utilized Moodle to pioneer our initial Viva Voce offering, incorporating iPad support for these observational-based assessments (known in the healthcare domain as OSCE’s).

Consequently, when we at Elumina made the strategic decision to integrate our AI invigilation service seamlessly into the leading LMSs, it was only natural that Moodle took precedence as the initial LMS of choice.

In an era where educational institutions aim to expand their courses globally, the shift towards remote learning also necessitates a solution to support remote assessment. The integration of Moodle LMS with AI invigilation presents several compelling advantages:

• Flexibility in Scheduling: AI invigilation allows institutions to efficiently manage large cohorts of students, whether they are taking exams in traditional exam halls or remotely from various corners of the world. Automated registration and monitoring tools streamline the process, providing flexibility in scheduling assessments and reducing the size of the invigilation team
• Assessment Consistency: With AI invigilation, students can take assessments from virtually anywhere using their Bring Your Own Device (BYOD). This ensures that every student, regardless of their location, enjoys a consistent examination experience comparable to their peers in the same cohort.
• Academic Integrity: Maintaining academic integrity is paramount. AI invigilation technology offers a robust solution to monitor online assessments, flagging suspicious behaviour in real-time. This not only deters cheating, but also provides institutions with recorded evidence for later reviews and actions.
• Reduced Cost of Ownership: Implementing a comprehensive, cloud-based AI invigilation solution is without doubt more cost-effective than alternative approaches. For instance, the traditional method of recording three-hour assessments with audio, video, and screen captures can result in large, storage-intensive files that need to be stored and managed somewhere. An online, cloud based, AI invigilation solution offers an integrated, efficient, and cost-efficient option.

By harnessing the power of AI invigilation, educational institutions can uphold academic standards, expand their reach globally, and streamline the assessment process. Ultimately, it provides confidence to educators that students are receiving a fair and consistent evaluation experience, regardless of their physical location.

When envisioning the integration of our AI proctoring service with Moodle, we established four key design goals to ensure a smooth and efficient experience for all the user groups involved. By keeping these objectives at the forefront of our development process, we will make the benefits easily accessible for any Moodle instance:

1. Seamless for Students: Our primary focus is on the students’ experience. We aimed to create an interface that requires minimal training, ensuring that students can effortlessly connect and utilize the proctoring service without unnecessary complexity.
2. Easy to use for Invigilators: Invigilators play a vital role in the assessment process. We wanted to provide them with a user-friendly tool harnessing the power of AI to simplify their job and associated tasks. Whether they are overseeing real-time assessments or reviewing recordings later, one easy-to-use AI-based solution should empower invigilators to perform their duties efficiently and effectively.
3. Work with any Moodle Instance: As a company, Elumina is fully committed to standards and universality. Our solution needed a design that would work with any Moodle instance, leveraging existing standards and common features. This approach ensures accessibility for any educational institution, even those with multiple Moodle instances.
4. One-off Technical Configurations: We wanted an integration that was a one-off configuration between the Moodle instance and the AI modules that would then be a ‘fire and forget’ scenario. Once through the initial setup, Institutions will see an integration with minimal ongoing maintenance, allowing them to focus on their core educational objectives and assessment needs.

At Elumina, we draw upon our 100% cloud-based heritage to prioritize standards and out-of-the-box features. Our integration design revolves around using Moodle’s LTI and External tool features for efficient data exchanges. Additionally, we implement Single Sign-On options to reduce the burden on students, sparing them the need to remember separate URLs, usernames, and passwords.

Of course, it works! See it yourself in the video link below.

Seamless Integration: AI Proctoring and Moodle in Action

Andrew Parker
VP Customer Solutions

Learn more about Elumina’s online Proctoring solutions here: Moodle Proctoring Solutions