Tired of sitting through revision tests at the school or coaching centre? Time you relaxed and found some help online. They are mostly free, can be taken any time of the day and are generally customised chapter or subject-wise depending on one's level of difficulty.
M.S. Manjula, a class XII student of DAV Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Gill Nagar, plans to call two other friends to take some online test in Physics.
“I have a gap of two days after English second paper. I have read enough from the text book, especially if I have to test my knowledge of objective marks, these online tests are quite helpful,” she says.
Most test-practising websites generally see an increase in the number of candidates using such tools before exams, especially if there is good gap between papers.
On Saturday, >www.iPractice.in received 854 hits on its website – a majority them being class XII students of the State Board who took tests in physics, chemistry and computer science, in that order.
Students say many of these online preparation tools help in one way or the other. Despite having enrolled in a coaching institute, S.R. Krishna, B.Com final year student of a city-based arts and science college, thinks taking such online tests will help build up speed.
“Unlike exams conducted by a coaching institute, I found such online portals customised. I can even choose to take the test for one lesson till I am thorough with it,” says Krishna.
Besides testing ones understanding through series of online mock tests, study material and guidance, some of these portals have tie-ups with educational institutions. Test prep platform >www.TCYonline.com , associated with TAPMI (TA Pai Management Institute) and Jindal Global Business School, a few months ago, to offer a 12-week MBA pre-entrance contest to groom students.
In the school segment, too, quite a number of portals offer help in completing assignments, conducting mock exams for Olympiads and NTSE (National Talent Search Exam) and providing model test papers for Board examinations. But there is a good patronage among school students for such exams.
Basant Pandey of >www.mycbseguide.com says he gets 20,000 hits (students) a day. Although, he notes, the number of hits received after February 25 has come down.
“Add-on to one's preparation”
“Students usually do not go through external material during exam days. They feel more comfortable revising the notes and papers they already have. Trying to get new things may confuse them. Still we get good clicks if there is longer gap between two exams,” says Mr. Pandey. From catering to students from classes IX to XII, the website will soon be extending for classes VI to VIII. Students, however, say online portals are not always recommended by teachers and it helps only to some extent.
It can only be an add-on to one's preparation. “Until last year, I took help of online site for English as guides were not available. Reading up summary, extra question and learning new vocabulary from passages were helpful,” says Vasudha Mishra, a class IX student of a CBSE school in K.K. Nagar. But, majority of these pre-tests are multiple choice formats and would not help in a school-based exam where every step is important in showing how the final step was arrived. “Also, it is easier to study from a book, where there is more information,” says Vasudha.
However, increasingly many organisers are tapping the online world with innovative features for the student community. >Excellup.com provides subject notes for classes VIII to X. For class XI, it offers notes and question and answers for Biology and interactive quizzes for general knowledge and English grammar.
