École Culinary School revolutionizes education with proctoring

In the captivating realm of culinary education, the esteemed gastronomic institution, École Culinary School in Chile, has orchestrated a captivating educational transformation through the implementation of SMOWL’s proctoring solution.

Culinary education has evolved significantly in recent years, adapting to technological advancements to provide students with a more efficient and flexible learning experience.

Throughout this article, we will delve into how École has pioneered this solution to ensure integrity in digital assessments, thereby enhancing the learning experience for its students.

École Culinary School: leading the way in gastronomic education

École Culinary School has distinguished itself as Chile’s first and only institution of its kind sponsored by the Maîtres Cuisiniers de France, the prestigious association of French chefs.

With over 20 years of experience in the culinary field and accredited by the CNA since 2022, École has become a reference point in technical gastronomic training, offering students workshops equipped with state-of-the-art technology and utilizing premium ingredients to nurture their culinary skills.

The shift to online education

Transitioning to online education marked a pivotal step for École. Faced with challenges posed by the pandemic, the school swiftly adapted to remote learning, achieving continuous success while constantly evolving.

However, new challenges arose in the realm of online assessments. To ensure authenticity and fairness in virtual exams, École embraced SMOWL’s proctoring solution.

Until a few years ago, École exclusively offered in-person courses. But the pandemic’s arrival compelled them to shift toward digitally supervised teaching, a model that persists and evolves today, driven by the achievements gained. In this context, they decided to implement SMOWL’s proctoring software to safeguard the integrity of online exams and optimize available resources to cut costs.

SMOWL’s proctoring: ensuring assessment integrity

SMOWL’s proctoring became the essential tool École needed to legally ensure the integrity of their digital exams. This tool, seamlessly integrated with their online Moodle learning platform, simplified the testing process and enriched their students’ experience.

SMOWL offers authentication and a secure environment for students, preventing them from navigating away from the assessment tab or using unauthorized devices.

Administrators, educators, and students alike have found this integration to be an intuitive solution that streamlines the evaluation process while ensuring result quality.

Tangible outcomes and added benefits for École Culinary School

Data collected during SMOWL’s usage at École has positively impacted students’ learning experiences and academic achievements. 

Proctoring has contributed to a significant reduction in fraudulent attempts and plagiarism cases during assessments. Additionally, overall student performance has been boosted, implying heightened focus and commitment during supervised exams.

Insight into the utilized technology

SMOWL is a proctoring solution that furnishes objective evidence to ensure assessment integrity. It employs a secure method for student authentication, guaranteeing that exam access is granted solely to legitimate students. 

Moreover, it boasts advanced security features such as detecting forbidden behaviors and preventing navigation outside the assessment tab. Furthermore, SMOWL adheres to legal privacy requirements, including GDPR and FERPA.

Advantages of proctoring in culinary education

Beyond securing the integrity of online evaluations, proctoring provides substantial logistical savings and offers greater assessment flexibility. 

This flexibility enables students to tailor their learning to their pace and availability, a boon particularly beneficial in École’s culinary education, allowing aspiring chefs to focus on their training without logistical exam concerns.

Figures on Proctoring adoption in the educational sector

Global statistics indicate a substantial rise in proctoring adoption within the educational sector in recent years. According to a recent study by the International Association of Distance Education (IADE), nearly 78% of educational institutions currently employ some form of proctoring for assessments. 

This growth is largely attributable to the security and fairness benefits it affords assessments.

Successful use cases in other institutions

Apart from École Culinary School, numerous educational institutions and companies have successfully implemented proctoring in their assessment processes. 

For instance, PSICOTEC, a personnel selection company, has employed proctoring in assessments to ensure result authenticity and reliability, thereby optimizing their selection process. More information can be found in our dedicated blog article about this distinct use case.

Ethical and privacy considerations

The use of proctoring raises ethical and privacy concerns that must be responsibly addressed. Robust security measures and compliance with data protection regulations are essential to safeguard student information.

Additionally, clear communication with students regarding proctoring usage and obtaining their informed consent to participate in supervised evaluations are imperative. This is one of the reasons that influenced École Culinary School’s choice of SMOWL for their proctoring solution.

We were searching for proctoring software that could provide an exceptional user experience and high intuitiveness. With SMOWL, we’ve found exactly that.

Jesús Ignacio Cornejo Gonzalez, Director of Educational Technologies at École Culinary School

Conclusions and the Future of Proctoring in Gastronomic Education

Beyond its technical advantages, École has highlighted the flexibility in assessment scheduling and logistical savings, which the school team and students appreciate. 

SMOWL’s solution has enabled École to maintain its focus on educational quality. Positive administrative feedback further underscores the efficiency and effectiveness of this proctoring software in the gastronomic educational domain.

In essence, the experience of École Culinary School demonstrates that distance learning and proctoring are applicable across diverse sectors. 

SMOWL has proven to be an effective solution for ensuring integrity in digital assessments, even in the culinary education sphere. École stands as an exemplary instance of how this technology can enhance students’ educational experiences and facilitate the transition to digital education.

At Smowltech, we remain committed to developing advanced and easily implementable proctoring solutions, enabling more educational institutions to benefit from this technology and enhance the quality of education. 

If you’re interested in learning how proctoring can transform your educational institution, don’t hesitate to request a free demonstration from us. We’re excited to accompany you on this journey!