It seems a lot of people don't like the idea of a fully proctored online test. Why is that? What's the value-add, beyond a brief in-person meeting with VEs and other fellow aspiring hams for an in-person exam? The questions and answers are all available online and in books already. The odds of successfully cheating with the remote proctoring I received are basically nil, and certainly not worth the effort, given you can study someplace like QRZ.com for 1-2 weeks and have most, if not all, the questions and answers in the pool memorized. My online college experience was very similar in the level of proctoring. The difference there was that the questions/answers weren't published online verbatim. So we had to know our stuff. There ARE tangential advantages to brick-and-mortar experiences, but in cases where brick-and-mortar are lifestyle or career prohibitive, online study groups and community groups do a decent job in substituting. I earned my Associate's Degree from Miami University in OH, as a non-traditional student, navigating a full-time work schedule and family while also carrying a full-time course load, attending brick-and-mortar. My Bachelor's was through Western Governors University on evenings and weekends. I fail to see how a properly served and earned online degree is fundamentally less than one obtained traditionally, except for the tradition. It also seems like there is a subset of folks who don't seem to want amateur radio to appeal to a larger crowd, and want to cling to tradition. I like tradition, I really do! But tradition for tradition's sake, without allowing for innovation, for fear of tarnishing tradition doesn't seem very welcoming to me. I realize not everyone is going to agree on this topic. Clearly. I just wish folks wouldn't look down on those of us who can't always do a brick-and-mortar experience. I'm thankful for being able to get my technician license during quarantine via remote means. That doesn't mean I'm going to shun the social aspect of the hobby. It was just a means to an end. It's my hope that I can soon attend club meetings and classes and an exam for my general license Maybe my opinion doesn't matter since I'm new to the hobby. Maybe my opinion will change with time and experience. Who knows?
There is always the guy that will cheat/game the system for the same reason Hillary climbed Everest. Seems to me too much effort for a good view. Faking an id. that has been going on since before roman times, but also also have to consider the cost benefit analysis. That fake ID could be used in person. how many know the security features on a driver's permit. Britain I believe requires foreign nationals to have bio-metric resident permit. Somebody wasn't checking IDs properly.... no id, no reason to take the test, he can not work legally away. Twin, why stop there? he could be a shape shifter from the Delta quadrant. If he was from Gallifrey he(she now) would have one of those psychic paper IDs.
Just don't see what there is to gain in cheating to get a ham radio license. There's just no point in it. At this point, we're having enough trouble getting the younger generations interested enough to even want to cheat on the test.
I really don't care since it's been proven that you can get a University degree online. But I am going to call all the new amateurs, " Virtual Hams"
I don’t 100% agree. As a father of young ones, they’re quite interested in what the radio does. What they’re not interested in is listening to a bunch of people whine about how a test is proctored, and if it meets the “sanctity of the hobby” (yes, someone really said that). So, if we want people to be interested, we need to do what makes sense - figure out how to take that interest and make it blossom, without squandering it by infighting. When that gets figured out, amateur radio will be just fine.
I’ll be sure to explain to the 10 year old that just got licensed that people think her test was fake, and she’s not as good a ham as everyone else. Want to take bets on how long she sticks with it?
For me, one of the reasons it took me a while to upgrade is because my schedule is bizarre, my days off are bizarre, and I couldn't find anyone to give me a testing session. I emailed everyone I possibly could, but nobody could put folks together for a testing session. When I finally found one, about 65 miles away, it was cancelled. I did finally find a group of 4 retired gentlemen who held a testing session JUST FOR ME. It was a 5 hour round-trip drive for me, but I left with a General ticket in hand. Wish I could have bought them dinner, because they went through a whole lot just to give me the test. For my Extra a couple weeks later, I just got lucky that a testing session was taking place and my work schedule just happened to get changed for that week. Otherwise, I don't know when I would have had the chance to upgrade. I don't say any of this to whine, however, this is 2020, not 1920. Technology has moved on, yet ham testing is still stuck in previous decades. Well...a lot of things ham are stuck in previous decades. But there is absolutely no reason to have in-person testing sessions anymore. Will there be cheating? I don't know. A few VEs could get together and sign their friends off as it currently stands. People who lack integrity are always going to lack integrity. Is there going to be a huge influx of people into the hobby if the testing is changed? I doubt it. But it will sure as hell make it way more convenient for those who are interested.
I agree with your sentiment; I disagree with this statement. In-person testing has a lot of value add; even as someone who is very much a proponent of the ability to test remotely, I still prefer in-person exams. I think the best question should be “how do we bring all the value add of in-person meetings to a digital world, where some people wanting to enter our hobby do not connect face to face the same way generations past do?
Please don't tell her. She is much a Ham as anybody else. The nice thing about young people is they haven't been jaded yet. They are accepting and not yet ossified. In a few years she will be among those making the decisions. Congratulate her on her achievement.
Sorry - i forget that text is not quite as forgiving as vocal sometimes; that comment was VERY much tongue-in-cheek; I have absolutely no intention of telling her anything other than “job well done; what do you want to do with your ticket?”
Exactly! Let’s get real - There’s nothing of actual value to be had with a ham radio license today. The value of the license is in personal enjoyment and enrichment. Back before widespread and affordable cell phones, arguably there was a real value to having an amateur radio license in order to have mobile VHF/UHF communications and use auto patches. And going way back there was a value when long distance phone calls were very expensive. None of that applies anymore. And nobody would go to the trouble to cheat on a test simply so they could be licensed and then act badly on the air. We have long time, often Extra Class hams who fill that role, regrettably. Lots of cheating? Fuggetaboutit. Let’s get on with remote testing.
What's wrong with "Virtual ham"??? My kids and grand kids did all their prepping online for their test in this virtual world. It helped them a lot, they got their license at 8 and another one at 10 and the others later on, but they came up with statement, they are Virtual hams In this Virtual world
Don't get me wrong...I get it. I do get what you're saying. And please understand, I'm not for getting rid of in-person testing completely. For example, some clubs give Technician licensing classes over a few week period. Would it be appropriate to have an in-person testing session following the class? Absolutely! Could you still do in-person VE sessions? Absolutely! But at least having the option of doing it remotely/online is huge as far as convenience is concerned. Even with all the online resources available, the Technician classes are still pretty darn full, at least the ones I have participated in.
