Online vs Offline: Do not be afraid of Computer Based Tests

Online vs Offline: Do not be afraid of Computer Based Tests

The AIEEE exam was conducted in the online mode for the first time in 2011. As the education board moves on to JEE Main from AIEEE, the focus has shifted more to online mode – computer based test. The question arises for many students – Should I take online JEE Main exam or offline? After some thought giving and analysis, here is our verdict and advice to all the students.

Success of online JEE Main exam

For a long time now, exams such as BITSAT and CAT have been conducted online on a large scale. Lakhs of students have been appearing for such exams each year in India. There are very few or negligible glitches that are faced by students. Undoubtedly India has come a long way in technical capabilities and handling thousands of test takers giving a computer based test

Are you confident enough to give a computer based test?

Considering that you aspire to become an engineer, the first question that you must ask yourself is “Can I handle a computer based test?”. It is a little ironical that students who own PCs, laptops, smartphones and are more than capable of handling so many computer applications are still apprehensive of facing a CBT. Why? Isn’t it inevitable that you will have to become adept at technology sooner or later? Technology is easily accessible to you and you are more than familiar with so many computer applications, then why the fear of a simple test?

The students who are online on facebook, quora, emails; they are far more habituated with a computer and handling simple things like selecting options by clicking a box or moving to next question, than they are with marking an OMR form.

Online vs offline

When JEE Main or AIEEE was conducted purely offline, even then issues of misreading of OMR sheets occurred. There were ample cases where when a student did not fill a OMR circle correctly, his/her answer was not read by the OMR checking software. It is a fact that there are more chances of your answer being misread in offline mode than online. In the online mode, at least you can be sure that if you have selected an option, it will be marked. You do not have to waste time filling little circles with a blue ball pen. Right?

Frequently asked questions

What if there is a power failure?

The simple device called UPS can handle issues of power failure. Plus in the past years when JEE Main was conducted online, there have been one or two cases of such issues. Even then, the centers where this happened had handled the problem efficiently and no student faced any problems.

Will the difficulty level of online exam be higher?

No. CBSE makes sure that level of exam is absolutely uniform on each day and each set of the exam. When you appear in board exams, even then students get different sets with different questions. Education board appoints efficient personnels who ensure that each paper has exactly same difficulty level. You might get lucky/unlucky if a certain set has questions that you have solved before and are in better knowledge of. Otherwise, level of questions and difficulty level remains same.

Who should not give online exams?

If you have never used a computer in your life, don’t give an online exam. But if you are reading this article, then we can safely assume you are among the luckier individuals who have access to technology and are good to go.

So do not fear! Just prepare the syllabus, take mock tests and be confident. You are the future engineer of this country, don’t let such fears stop you!

If you have any queries, please ask us in comments below.