Considering a new Project

Hello, Oliver!

Is your question related to how to manage a candidate's enrollment and progress in your course via a learning management system (LMS)? 

If so, you might want to a look at the other threads on LMS questions and concerns (here's a master list of several):

https://community.articulate.com/articles/forums-compilation-learning-management-systems-lms

It sounds like what you are asking for is what an LMS is generally used for as Adele referenced. So you would have to look into getting an LMS. If that's not an option or a good investment at this time, there may be other possibilities.

Hi Adele/Walter

Thanks for your quick replies, but no its not about managing the candidates enrolment/progress, it's more to do with being able to able to demonstrate to third party accreditation bodies that if Candidate A has been enrolled, that it actually is Candidate A doing the training, rather than Candidate X or someone who is not even enrolled on the training scheme.

I was thinking along the lines of maybe a photo being captured from a webcam or something maybe to do with IP addresses etc????

Not sure if that makes it any clearer or not??

But basically we want to be able to demonstrate that the person who is sat in front of the computer doing the course, is the same person as has been registered.

In a previous role we had a similar issue to try and deal with. I suppose we can term the issue as "proctoring" assessments correct? In other words trying to simulate an experience online where the identify of the user is monitored by something reliable (in real life it's another person) who ensures you are who your online avatar says you are.

It's a very difficult thing to nail down, and I'm not even sure if it is possible to be 100% with any online solution, but here are some thoughts our team came up with:

1. Be preemptive, in other words, you can do a lot by having a well designed exam/assessment in place that tests the user on things they could really only understand if they had attended/viewed the content or have actually completed the assignments. While this doesn't validate a user ID per say, it does ensure that at least the person actually took the class and has went through the material.

2. You could potentially use a webcam to record the session and have the user constantly on screen. It won't stop someone from pretend to be someone else, but it will help to make sure they aren't cheating in any other fashion.

3. Set up a test site in various locations where students will be completing the course. They have to physically go to the site and there will be a live human on the other end who actually proctors the assessment. This is not as cost effective but it accomplishes the goals for the most part.

I hope this helps.

I do a lot of designing for accreditation training and hear this a lot. There is not a fool-proof method of designing elearning that will ensure the person taking the test is indeed the one earning the credit. There are however some best practices that can help ensure this.

ANSI accreditation does not require a webcam but rather a unique login to the course and then a unique login access to the assessment after taking the eLearning course. At the slide level, you can also hide the next button and restrict the menu navigation to ensure the learner goes through the entire course.

Most accrediting bodies have an ethics clause and so if someone were to cheat, they can be sanctioned. 

In order for people to act professionally, you need to treat them professionally. Making excessive requests that cost them more, take longer and only apply to the cheaters is not a great way to build a professional relationship.

Please give me a call at 262-385-1494 or email me at julie@waldengroup.net to discuss the requirements of your accrediting agency. We can brainstorm some ideas to propose to your management team.