by:
Bryce Smith
In an age of new technology
students are finding unique ways to cheat while taking online tests. Instead of
studying college students are pulling up search engines like google during
tests and scoring perfect scores. Campuses are now participating in massive
open online courses which students can do every assignment online and complete
final exams. Colleges are now
participating in a new service to avoid online cheating called ProctorU. This service
allows for proctors to be in the college classrooms while students take tests.
The issue of online cheating concerns many educators, particularly as
more students go for college credit not just for personal enrichment. Online
classes are not new, but earlier courses typically didn’t have to handle exam
proctoring on the scale required for many institutions. The University of
Florida in Gainesville, for example, has long offered many programs for
students studying far from the campus, with some monitoring done by ProctorU,
Each proctor can monitor up to six students at a time, watching three
side-by-side camera feeds on each of two screens. If a student’s decides to
cheat, the proctor gives a warning via videoconferencing software, just as a
classroom monitor might tell students to keep their eyes on their own papers.
ProctorU’s services will spread to many institutions within the next
year as technology continues to improve. Eventually students will virtually be
unable to cheat because of strict enforcement on college campuses.
Below is a video on the unique service:
I think that this proctor system will work for an immediate length of time but has me concerned in the long term. As technology advances, so will the methods and strategies of students who find shortcuts and ways around the system. In order to keep up with this trend I believe ProctorU should continue looking into ways to continue developing advanced systems to control this type of behavior. I believe by doing this that they will continue to be successful in monitoring the virtual academic environment of colleges and universities.
ReplyDeleteProctorU seems like a great idea, but I also believe that students will find a way around it. It seems to address a lot of holes in the arguments of opponents, but what happens when technology fails? I believe that there will be a company that creates an app or service that can interfere with ProctorU's abilities to proctor exams.
ReplyDeleteAs a student I feel like Proctor U shouldn't be given the power to tell me when I can take an exam. What if im unavailable any other time to take the exam? What then? Secondly, What if I'm in a public place such as a bus, store, car, or etc.. Are they going to tell me I can' t take my test until I'm in a room by myself? Bad idea in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteI knew that eventually an idea like this would come about. This product is very interesting and thought provoking, but I am certain that it's creators will face many challenges to their technology in the future. As students become more tech savvy and creative they will surely find ways around the technology. Also, I would be on the lookout for competitors in the space, typically when a great new product like this comes out, the market quickly fills with worthy competition, which is necessary to keep the technology growing and changing. The uses for this product are numerous, just think about the impact it will have on high schools and middle schools. Once technology like this becomes readily available, these schools will be able to expand their technology without the fear of students getting off task during the day.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great idea, but I don't think it can keep up....us college students get very creative.
ReplyDeleteAs great as technology is, because it fails so often, I cannot see this becoming popular. Like people said in the previous comments this will completely take away our ability to be flexible which is the whole point of having exams online. What if the time the proctor can be available is not the same as when the students can?
ReplyDeleteEverything about this concept seems wrong to me. It is making professors, who our tuition compensates, be lazy and not have to come to class on a test day. A professor is already lazy to give online tests (not mad though), which means that they shouldn't be allowed to enforce cheating because ProctorU encourages them to be even more lazy. As a student who pays for a professor's time to learn, I think that he/she needs to be in the classroom during test day, or they need to trust their students not to cheat if they are going to give online assignments. A teacher not having to come to class on test day and still able to enforce the honor code is too good to be true for them.
ReplyDeleteThe New age of technology is great but this it could fail at anytime due to professor not showing up to class and students cheating . a professor should be there on test day to make sure everything goes right but at the majority of schools teachers are there on test day.
ReplyDeletei like this idea because I observe a concerning ammount of cheating going on during testing, Products like these are a great step but like one of my classmates said earlier students are creative and i believe after a semester or two they will find a way around it.
ReplyDeleteThis product, though interesting, will not last long in the online education market. With various measures already present in the industry to monitor a student online, ProjectU does not meet in industry standards to be used in the future. On another note, ProjectU will provide job opportunities for those looking to start a career in that field.
ReplyDeleteI myself feel that this tool will never work. like stated above it will always be a loop whole to cheat somewhere or somehow. Also why put so much money into catching students cheating, when they can just proctor the test to make sure no cheating is happening? A lot of time and money being wasted.
ReplyDeleteThis tool will really undermine the integrity of students. It's pretty much saying, "we don't trust you." I believe that cheating needs to be prevented, but not this way.
ReplyDeleteHowever, online tests do give other options to cheat, and this needs solving.
I think this is very innovative, but what happens if your internet crashes ? What is the student supposed to do ? Be charged of cheating and it was not his or her fault? This is also not having any trust in the students. Student could easily pull out a phone and do the same thing they have been doing. That is why I do not think this technology will flourish the way they want it too, but maybe reduce cheating by a little bit.
ReplyDeleteThis is an innovative idea, but there will still be ways to find loopholes within the system. It will still be very possible for students to cheat under this system. Students can easily use two computers in separate rooms, one not being a room being proctored and find answers to the test. Either way, it is a matter of integrity. Students who want to cheat will always find ways to beat the system. The true goal to online exams is to create comprehensive tests that can not be found through multiple choice answers online.
ReplyDelete