New Systems Keep a Close Eye on Online Students at Home

Recently, there was an article in the Chronicle of HIgher Education that talked about ways to make online testing more secure. The increased popularity of online courses along with a new bill by Congress may require distance learners to be monitored while in their homes. As part of the plan to renew the Higher Education Act, which will become a law in the Fall, Congress states that “any institution that offers an online program must prove that an enrolled student is the same person who does the work”(Foster). The process of proving that students are actually doing their own work, as opposed to someone else who isn’t enrolled, has fostered the use of technological devices such as fingerprint authentication and web camera monitoring.

Many colleges with online institutions have already started to use software such as Secureexam Remote Proctor (image courtesy of Software Secure, Inc.) which uses a paperweight-sized device that connects to any home computer. This apparatus scans the users fingerprint and also comes equipped with a camera and microphone that monitors 360 degrees around the student. Once the student begins taking a test, they aren’t able to access any online content while in process.

Another software that is similar to Secureexam is Webassessor, which is implemented within the Penn State University System. This software uses online proctors to monitor students’ typing styles along with speeds. The proctor is also able to view the students’ face, keyboard and surrounding work environment. Kryterion Inc.’s software is able to monitor 50 students at a time and has the ability to stop any student at anytime from preceding through the rest an exam if their behavior is deemed as suspicious.

While many see this as a way to decrease academic dishonesty, others feel that it is an invasion of privacy. These detractors point to the fact that there is no evidence that “cheating or fraud happens more often with its students than with students in face-to-face classes." Another factor that has institutions apprehensive is the cost factor. Institutions who used Secureexam Remote Proctor would force students to pay $150 for their device, while those who used Webassessor would have to pay up to $80 on a web-camera, along with Kryterion which charges universities approximately $20,000 to have their software customized as well as for software training.

http://chronicle.com/free/v54/i46/46a00103.htm