Millions of students
worldwide have signed up in the last year for online courses. But when those
students take the final exam in calculus or genetics, how will their professors
know that the test-takers on their distant laptops are doing their own work,
and not asking Mr. Google for help? The issue of online cheating concerns many
educators.
Technology plays a big role in solving this
problem. Squads of eagle-eyed humans at computers can monitor faraway students
via webcams, screen sharing and high-speed Internet connections. The developing
technology for remote proctoring may end up being as good — or even better —
than the live proctoring at bricks-and-mortar universities. Having a camera
watch you doesn’t seem any worse than an instructor at the front constantly
looking at you, and it may even be more efficient.
Other remote proctoring services offer different
solutions. At Software Secure in Newton, Mass., test-takers are recorded by
camera and then, later, three proctors independently watch a faster-speed video
of each student. Compared with services where proctors are monitoring students
in real time, this combination of recording first and viewing later gives
greater latitude for the institution to adjust the timing of exams to whenever
they want.
Employees say they are well versed in the sometimes-ingenious
tactics used to dodge testing rules. “We’ve seen it all,” said Matt Jaeh, vice
president for operations. “After you’ve sat there a while watching people, the
patterns of behavior for normal people versus the people trying to sneak in a
cellphone to look up information are very clear.”
Beyond the issue of proctoring, online courses
are also addressing the problem of making sure that credit-seeking test-takers
are the same students who enrolled in the course. Some companies now offer the
service that confirms students’ identity by matching webcam photographs as well
as pictures of acceptable photo IDs. Students also type a short phrase, which
is analyzed by a software program. It takes note of the typing rhythm and other
characteristics, like how long the keys are pressed down. Then, when a student
submits homework or takes a test, the algorithm compares a bit of new typing
with the original sample.
What do you
think about the services? Do you think schools should use those technologies
for monitoring their online courses’ students? Do you think that’s ethical?
