​Students Protest Anti-Cheating Trackers During Online Course Testing

​Students Protest Anti-Cheating Trackers During Online Course Testing

Apr 6, 2015

DON’T LOOK UP: Sitting up straight isn’t good just for your posture. It’s also a sign that you’re not cheating. Over at The New York Times, Natasha Singer documents student protests against anti-cheating tools like Proctortrack that record students’ eye and face movements. The tool provides instructors with video footage of suspicious behavior, like stretching or looking away from the computer screen, and labels students as having high or low “integrity.” (It was inspired by a Transportation Security Administration tool that tracks “unusual” expressions like looking down and yawning too much.)

According to Singer, these tools offer a perilous solution to the challenge of proving the authenticity of online degrees or credentials. In an age where everyone is hypersensitive around issues of privacy, it’s no wonder why students see the tools as excessive—and perhaps a violation of civil liberties.

Learn more about EdSurge operations, ethics and policies here. Learn more about EdSurge supporters here.

More from EdSurge

Get our email newsletterSign me up
Keep up to date with our email newsletterSign me up