After becoming the number one most downloaded educational application in SA in 2022, The Invigilator app has expanded to Mexico, India and Australia.
Launched in 2020, the artificial intelligence (AI)-based tool mitigates the risk of unethical behaviour during online assessments and examinations, using non-invasive AI to prohibit collusion and cheating.
The app responds to the need for online, in-venue or blended learning assessments, for invigilation purposes, using facial verification and tracking of students attending a class. It also uses anti-plagiarism technology to ensure students present original work.
Co-founded by local chartered accountant Nicholas Riemer, The Invigilator is used by over 20 education entities, including the University of South Africa, University of Johannesburg and University of Cape Town.
After growing to nearly one million local students who use the platform, the app has been scaled for the global market, with Mexico, India and Australia being the first international markets to incorporate it into their tech-education management systems.
According to the start-up, in Mexico there are currently three academic facilities using or piloting the app: Tecnologico Universitario Aguascalientes in Aguascalientes, Olmeca in Tabasco and UNAM in Mexico City.
India also has three institutions that signed up: Shiv Nadar University, Vedica Scholars and PSGR Krishnammal College for Women. In Australia, Navitas College is piloting the app, which has a global presence of some 60 000 students, it says.
Riemer explains: “In 2022, when The Invigilator hit the number one spot as the most downloaded education app in South Africa [iOS and Android app stores], we realised we were at the point where the technology was scalable and the structure of our backend infrastructure and servers allowed for increased volume. We were, in essence, ready to launch to global markets.”
The team chose Mexico and India first because they have a similar context to Africa, where access to laptops and internet connectivity is scare, he adds.
“Australia came into the picture most recently when we progressed The Invigilator to PC platforms that incorporate video-monitoring and again, without the need for a constant internet connection.
“It only took a handful of months for The Invigilator pilots to prove to educators in the three nations that the app is one of the most transformative, AI-based solutions in the edtech environment globally. This is because of the all-inclusive nature of the technology,” adds Riemer.
Institutions are able to ensure students in attendance are who they say they are because facial recognition is required intermittently on The Invigilator, as the student progresses through an assignment or assessment.
Students can submit their scripts through the application with its built-in PDF scanner. The application then runs similarity checks with algorithm comparison checks across other students' submitted responses to ensure pupils have not copied from one another.
According to its creators, the app opens education to a large number of communities in the academic environment, as it does not require the need for expensive devices or constant internet/WiFi connection.
It requires only an entry-level smartphone or a PC.
“With the addition of The Invigilator PC, video checks have been incorporated. This platform runs exactly like the mobile app but with microphone and screen recordings of the device in use being included in the recording.
“This AI detects if students are talking or using their mobile phones, if textbooks are being made use of, their note-taking, and again, confirms the student’s identity,” explains Riemer.
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