This question was recently asked at Moodle.org and there were some great responses to get the conversation started (https://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=220059):
[what is] the best way to run an online short answer quiz for 500+ first year humanities/arts students in a way that minimizes collusion and plagiarism?
A few considerations from the replies:
- route submissions through Plagiarism detection to thwart collusion/plagiarism
- create several exam “forms” which are administered to several smaller sections
- allow the exam to run as a take home (un-timed) examination to encourage thorough answers
- if the exam is quantitative (multiple choice, etc.) create large pools and randomize question selection
- don’t attempt to run the 500 exams at once (staggered start will help to minimize server issues)
- if the exam is high stakes (i.e. a final exam) you might also consider proctoring
What do you think, are you administering large examinations at your high school, university or college that would require these considerations?