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Cheating with Technology:
Has your Exam been Camera Phoned? |
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For those among us who do not purchase all the latest technology, the recent advent of the camera cell phone may seem irrelevant. However, this relatively new device is expected to become a widely used convenience. Already, in Australia and Japan, camera phones have been used both in positive and negative ways (the former includes a citizen using a camera phone to document discrimination; the latter includes their use to photograph unknowing individuals in public restrooms).
Based on experiences of colleagues here at GCC, it appears that we must know about the potential use of these new camera phones—to massively undermine the integrity of our curriculum. All of us give exams, and some of us use the same exam more than once. Did you know that a student who pulls out a camera phone during the test can photograph the entire test in seconds? And use those images to share the exam not only with other GCC students but throughout the online world? Teachers who monitor tests closely and who ban cell phones from the classroom may be relatively safe from this form of cheating, but what about those who teach in large lecture halls? Can you see every student during every moment of the exam? Do you know which phone is actually a camera? As technology evolves, we must react appropriately. The college has no broad policy regarding cell phones in classrooms, and perhaps, rather than an individual syllabus policy, we need a larger discussion of the issue and some larger college-wide solution. My syllabus says "This classroom is a pager-free, cell phone free zone. Please do not allow these devices to disrupt our class. I should not hear or see them at any time. Thank you." This works pretty well, but should it be based on something more than my personal teaching preference? Do we need a governance process to figure out a recommendation to the Board for a policy? In the corporate world, which generally cares less about individual rights than academia, the camera phones have been banned on the grounds that they pose threats to workers' privacy and/or company secrets. General Motors, Texas Instruments, and Daimler Chrysler, among others, now have rules governing the use of camera phones on their premises. In Hong Kong, some gyms have banned cell phones from locker rooms since people began snapping photos instead of making phone calls. It is predicted that by the end of 2005, more than 25 percent of international mobile phone sales will be camera phones. Are we ready? I hope our campus leadership will agendize this issue so we can develop the policies we need to protect the integrity of our curriculum. & Sources: usatoday.com/tech/news/2004-01-12-phones, July 9, 2003; wired.com/news/culture, Feb 17, 2003. |
