Please bring PENCILS and PAPER back to the in-person exam.
Just took PDD today @ Prometric and found the Whiteboard to be unhelpful(even with tons of practice before the exam).
I remember when NCARB announced the whiteboard feature, one of the speakers was saying "the whiteboard feature was designed for online test-takers in mind". It kind of makes sense if you have dual monitors and taking the test at home, but it makes absolutely no sense in a testing center when you only have a single 23-inch screen....... I also do understand the exam needs to be fair for both online test takers and in-person test takers. However, at least to me, the whiteboard is a major step back from pencils and paper... :(
NCARB, PLEASE BRING PENCILS AND PAPER BACK TO THE IN-PERSON EXAM!!! Or at least give in-person test takers the option to use pencils and paper????
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Kevin,
You are not alone. Since someone hasn't shared this with you yet.
http://youngarchitect.com/NCARBsurvey
I wrote a lengthy piece about my PA experience back on Dec. 20. If you had ANY technical issues at all, please report them NCARB.
Stay Awesome,
-Jared
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I have failed two exams already because I just can't diagram simple answers on the useless and slow "whiteboard"... I have been studying so much, even paying an expensive 3rd party study material and feel very handicap because of the lack of a real pencil and paper.... this is architecture and we were all trained to use pen and paper at all times; it is an oxymoron to use a calculator on the screen and then diagram information with a mouse while the computer drags memory and slows down.... Please consider this option again. Thanks
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I just started taking the exams and really don't understand the decision to do away with pencil and paper. My son has taken online proctored exams and he is allowed pencil and paper. He had to record his environment, show nothing was within 10 ft of his seat, record each blank side of his paper, record showing his pencil, etc. I believe he even showed his paper at the end. I understand that he didn't take a break during his exam, but why on earth make life miserable for everyone? Not allowing people to go back to questions after a break seems like a reasonable security measure. They are worried about people selling the questions? Good grief, all you need is a person with a photographic memory.
During the test I was envious of people taking other exams and they had paper and pencil, even reference materials!
I also found it annoying that you could search in the case study reference materials but not highlight.
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Frankly, IMHO, NCARB could CARE-LESS about how we feel about the whiteboard. Yes, I totally agree it is inefficient, not user friendly and too cumbersome for our use especially for a timed exam. We should absolutely be given scratch paper back no doubt. During the last few exams I took I got completely frustrated with the white board as I tried to sketch and type things out on it that I just dumped it because it was just taking way too long to navigate the mouse to the menu up at the top and quickly pick the right drawing and typing tools and then back to the board and visa versa not to mention that it usually gets in the way of the question and your choices such that it has to be moved around the screen and/or minimized then brought back up again so I threw up my hands on it and just figured that it was not an efficient use of my time. Fortunately I was able to get through PcM and PjM without it, not to much sketching I needed to do in these two but have failed PA twice trying to use it. And I don't think I will have anymore luck at PPD with it. Trying to sketch freehand with a mouse is too much of an effort and even when I tried to draw a decent sketch with even the slightest precision it looked nothing like what I had intended to draw after I was done with my sketch so I just ended up sketching it out and doing the math in my head…it was much faster but though I lacked a visual that I needed.
Why can’t NCARB get a grip of what we are saying to them in the community. We have expressed our struggles with it very simply and are explanations are pretty straightforward and to the point, that it greatly contributes to our downfall on already tough exams so we try to plead to them to reexamine the issue that it has consequences on us. But low and behold despite our desperate pleas to persuade them to reconsider, it goes ignored. On the contrary though, I am probably correct to say that they well understand all this but there is no budging on it on their part. No compromises. What is done is done to be truthful. What sensible reason could they still have to ban scratch paper from us…my guess is we will probably never know. All we can do is shake our heads in disgust with their heartless decision.
So ABSOLUTELY YESSS!!!, I definitely agree with everyone and say, “Let us have scratch paper back!!!!” You are keeping a necessary tool away from us. The whiteboard is not for our use it maybe in some other testing environment…but not in ours. They need to be here to support us, at least that is what they claim.
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