Abstract:

How can you be sure that someone taking an exam on the other side of the world is adhering to the guidelines put in place by your instructional staff? The presentation will demonstrate how instructors can prevent or catch cheating and ensure a secure environment, as well verify the identities of students taking online tests in their homes, offices and other locations.

As students navigate through an online world filled with a plethora of available resources, plagiarism and academic dishonesty continue to be major problems in academia. In an effort to curb or redefine academic dishonesty, some instructors tailor online exams to permit outside resources, weakening the integrity and lowering the educational standards of their exams. Most plagiarism comes from social networking sites, Wikipedia and other online resources where students can collaborate and share work from previous classes. Approaches such as strategic exam design and online proctoring can help minimize some of these factors and ensure academic integrity.

This session will explain how online monitoring works and demonstrate techniques for verifying a test-taker’s identity and observing activity during the test. It will also explore policies and strategies for reducing incidents of dishonesty online. Participants will be invited to discuss how to balance the convenience of taking tests online with the need for test security and integrity, and how to determine which situations are suitable for using online monitors.

Keywords:

Online proctoring, secure assessments, e-learning, distance education.