2008 Woodie Awards
Univ. officials consider expanding online testing
by Amy Prazniak
Issue date: 10/23/07 Section: News
Officials at The Pennsylvania State University are updating their online testing centers to reduce the risk of cheating among students who take exams facing a computer screen as opposed to a sheet of paper. This change has led to debate over the security of in-class paper-based exams and whether all exams should be computerized.
At the University of Delaware, the UD Online Resource Center is available to students taking online courses for test taking in a secure, private environment. While the Online Resource Center does not offer its services to professors teaching traditional classroom courses, some faculty members question whether or not virtual testing would reduce the risk of cheating in the future.
Dayle Thorpe, director of UD Online, said the Resource Center offers a high level of security.
"It's a very secure, monitored environment," Thorpe said. "We have video surveillance cameras in the ceiling and there are live proctors, one or two depending on how busy we are, monitoring the work stations and video cameras."
Philosophy professor Jeff Jordan teaches courses both online and in the classroom. He stated in an e-mail message that he thought using the Online Resource Center for his tests reduced the risk of cheating.
"I suppose cheating is less likely with the online exam than with on-campus exams," Jordan stated. "When students sit in proximity, the temptation and the opportunity to cheat would be greater - I would think - than sitting alone at a controlled terminal."
Art history professor Chandra Reedy stated in an e-mail message that she feels confident the tests results at the center are reliable and her students are not cheating. Reedy said it is hard for her to monitor tests because she usually does not have a teacher's assistant for her class.
"The site is very well-proctored, certainly better than I can do myself in a large class," Reedy stated. "When tests are on the computer, it randomly shuffles the questions around, so each student is actually getting a unique test."
At the University of Delaware, the UD Online Resource Center is available to students taking online courses for test taking in a secure, private environment. While the Online Resource Center does not offer its services to professors teaching traditional classroom courses, some faculty members question whether or not virtual testing would reduce the risk of cheating in the future.
Dayle Thorpe, director of UD Online, said the Resource Center offers a high level of security.
"It's a very secure, monitored environment," Thorpe said. "We have video surveillance cameras in the ceiling and there are live proctors, one or two depending on how busy we are, monitoring the work stations and video cameras."
Philosophy professor Jeff Jordan teaches courses both online and in the classroom. He stated in an e-mail message that he thought using the Online Resource Center for his tests reduced the risk of cheating.
"I suppose cheating is less likely with the online exam than with on-campus exams," Jordan stated. "When students sit in proximity, the temptation and the opportunity to cheat would be greater - I would think - than sitting alone at a controlled terminal."
Art history professor Chandra Reedy stated in an e-mail message that she feels confident the tests results at the center are reliable and her students are not cheating. Reedy said it is hard for her to monitor tests because she usually does not have a teacher's assistant for her class.
"The site is very well-proctored, certainly better than I can do myself in a large class," Reedy stated. "When tests are on the computer, it randomly shuffles the questions around, so each student is actually getting a unique test."
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