Digital Smarts - Digital Cheating on the Rise

During the shift to remote instruction, many educators are using online proctoring services to monitor students for signs of cheating while they take traditional closed-book exams. Some students are speaking out against these services, objecting to everything from the design of the software to remarking that the whole process is a huge distraction to test taking. The University of California Berkeley has already banned online exam proctoring, with some students saying they may not have the high-speed Internet connection or living situation to make remote exams happen effectively and equitably. Of course, other students are finding ways around these safeguards, using tips and tricks they find online, such as hiding notes underneath the view of the camera or setting up a secret laptop. But as two can play at that game, so remote proctoring services are constantly coming up with countermeasures. On its website, one online proctoring service even has a job listing for a “professional cheater” to test its system.