Subj : ARRL/VEC VE Newsletter
To : All
From : Daryl Stout
Date : Thu Apr 16 2020 04:07 pm
From the ARRL website, April 16, 2020:
Remotely Administered Amateur Exam Systems Showing Promise
Facing a growing demand for amateur radio exam sessions in a time of
social distancing and stay-at-home orders, sponsors of some Volunteer
Examiner (VE) teams have risen to the challenge, and are developing
systems to remotely proctor test sessions.
"Many of our VEs and VE Teams have been working on remotely proctored
exam session ideas, employing both video, and in-person components,
following social distancing protocols," ARRL Volunteer Examiner
Coordinator (VEC) Manager Maria Somma, AB1FM, said. "We have been
receiving interesting and innovative suggestions, and we appreciate
the dedication and ingenuity our examiners have shown."
The Spalding County Amateur Radio Club in Georgia is among those that
have come up with plans to remotely administer amateur exams, while
complying with ARRL VEC testing standards during COVID-19 stay-home
mandates, and social distancing guidelines. Current systems leverage
Zoom video-teleconferencing technology, the "Fill And Sign" feature
of Adobe PDFs, reliable email, appropriate computer equipment, and
internet connection, and no volunteer examiners (VEs) present at
individual remote test sites. The Georgia club collaborated and
shared ideas with the Emergency Amateur Radio Club (EARC) in Hawaii,
which has successfully conducted sessions since 2011 with its own
remote testing system, initially with paper exams with a proctor on
site and now with fillable PDFs, with no on-site proctor.
The Georgia club obtained ARRL VEC approval to administer
video-supervised exams. The club's David Robinson, K4WVZ, said the
first exam session took place this week, with another set for next
week, and "many more in the pipeline" going forward.
"We have started with testing just one candidate at a time, but are
planning to ramp up to multiple candidates - probably two or three -
simultaneously," Robinson told ARRL. "Before we do that, we want a
few more single sessions under our belt, and a few more Video VEs
trained. It also gives us an opportunity to garner lessons learned
from each test session, and upgrade our procedures accordingly."
Robinson said this week's session went "exceedingly well," and the
candidate passed the test.
The club's procedures entail a pre-exam video interview with candidates
to ensure they understand all the requirements and procedures. "This
also allows us to test the candidate's ability to work with the video
and computer technology before the actual exam," Robinson explained.
"Training sessions were conducted for VEs to make sure they understood
their role and how to use the technology."
Following the exam, the VEs score the test, and sign off on the
paperwork, with the VE Team Leader submitting the application online
and by mail, per ARRL VEC instructions. Application and successful
exam are first accepted and then submitted to the FCC for processing.
New England Amateur Radio Inc (NE1AR), an affiliate of New England
Sci-Tech, (NESciTech), has taken it one step further, Somma said.
It got the approval of ARRL VEC to begin trials of what it describes
as "completely online testing with strict rules and protocols for
maintaining the integrity of the testing environment." NE1AR is
limiting candidates to one exam per candidate, due to the current
candidate backlog and the "difficulty of administering exams online."
Candidates must agree to a list of protocols, which include no visitors
(or pets) in the exam room, and a cell-phone camera scan of the entire
room and exam area "to show that there are no materials or people [in
the room] that could aid in taking the exam." If the VE team suspects
the possibility of cheating, the exam may be terminated, and the
candidate barred from future online exam sessions.
"We began a series of trials on April 1 under ARRL VEC review, and
have now been asked to help train more VE Teams on the process,"
NE1AR President Bob Phinney, K5TEC, told ARRL. "We have now tested
12 applicants, and are still working on streamlining the process.
We are working with the software developer of the exam delivery
system to help them adapt the system for video-supervised testing."
At present, Phinney said, only one person at a time can be tested.
Another time-related issue is how long it takes a candidate to go
through the NE1AR security protocol. "Sometimes, the setup and
follow-up for an exam take far longer than the exam itself, in order
that we provide complete integrity of the exam session," he said.
With pressure continuing to build to provide testing compatible with
COVID-19 guidelines and stay-home orders, ARRL VEC Manager Maria Somma,
AB1FM, has asked the amateur radio community to be patient. "Please
remember that with the introduction of significant new processes such
as these, that there should be proof of concept, establishment of
protocols and procedures, and beta testing, before expanding to a
larger audience," she said this week. Somma said video-supervised
exam sessions require a different skillset than in-person exam
administration, and not all teams will be equipped to deliver video
exams right away.
"ARRL is pleased to be one of the leaders in providing an opportunity,
although limited initially, for video-supervised exams in this time of
social distancing and isolation required by the current health situation,"
Somma said.
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