The significance of Internet and subsequent digital innovations is undeniable. Both students and teachers are now familiar with usage of technology and online platforms. Educational institutions must rethink their operating models in this digital era. Our current educational models seem limiting when viewed from this lens. Incorporation of technology in our teaching methodology stands to remove many limitations. But this would call for changes not only in teaching practices, but also in current examination systems.

To ignite this transformation from education to learning would require re-designing the curriculum as well as the pedagogy to suit an examination system that is focused on the ability of a student to synthesise a set of information for a desired outcome. One can consider providing an extended open-book exam by allowing access to Internet during an exam. An all-resource-access exam might be permitted to encourage students to support their answer with solid examples.

Implementation of such an open-resource examination system stands to remold the entire education system. The faculty should be ready to face this new digital pedagogical model which would require considerable planning to come up with new teaching methods, and evaluation standards. Also, in this case, question-generation becomes a larger issue. In trying to prevent the students from being able to find any such existing solution, the examination questions would have to become more complex and challenging.

A major problem that does exist in the current closed-book examination system is the plethora of hi-tech cheating options that are available to those who seek unfair means in educational pursuits. As newer clandestine technologies emerge, educational institutions will have to challenge it with better plans to arrest these ways and devise solutions to run examinations in a fair manner.

All of these challenges aside, the rewards from such an open system do seem to benefit the students who would not just gain from reduced stress during the exam due to an increased sense of control, but would also be involved in a more research-oriented or thought-based learning process.