Cheating in online education

Cheating in online education is a concern for most instructors and institutions. Defeating the ingenuity of computer-savvy students is a huge challenge that has attracted much investment and attention in the last year (Gordon, 2013). What is being done to combat cheating?

• Online-proctoring companies like Kryterion, Inc. can be hired to monitor students through webcams. The remote proctors watch for body language, eye movement, additional people in the room, or anything else that might indicate suspicious activity.
• High-tech programs are being used that check students' identities using obscure biographical information.
• Computer browsers can be locked down to prevent Internet searches.
• Typing patterns such as how a person enters their password can be analyzed to make sure a person is who they say they are.
• Proctors who are on-sight with students should make sure that a student has actually submitted their test and logged out before they are allowed to leave the room.
• Instructors can generate unique exams by pulling random questions from a large inventory of questions in the question bank and randomize the order of the questions and answers so that no two students ever get the same test.

Gordon (2013) wrote that despite the suspicion that there are more occasions of cheating taking place in online courses, studies seem to show that there is not much difference in the amount of cheating that occurs in online and face-to-face classrooms. A study conducted in 2010 by the Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration discovered that 32.7% of online students self-reported cheating at least once on tests, compared to 32.1% of those in face-to-face classes.

For more on cheating in online courses, visit the following links:

MOOC Teaches How to Cheat in Online Courses, with Eye to Prevention. Wired Campus

Gordon, L. (2013, May 1). Using Technology to Fight Cheating in Online Education. Los Angeles Times.

Keeping an Eye on Cheaters. Campus Technology