

Norway Tests Laptop Exam, to Prevent Cheating - edw519
http://www.technology.am/norway-tests-laptop-exam-to-prevent-cheating-023829.html

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iamcalledrob
I fail to see how this will stop cheating.

Any traditional method of cheating will still work (like writing notes on your
arm...), but it opens a whole new avenue of cheating for those students who
are a little more technically apt than the others. So in essence, this entire
effort is useless.

Software is software. You can patch it to do whatever you like. If the files
are protected, you can edit the files from another OS/computer. This is the
same reason why copy protection software always fails, because you can simply
rewrite the section of code that checks for a valid license (I'm aware it gets
much more complicated than this). I'm sure at some point, someone will make a
patch for this software.

I'm all for using technology in schools, but I think this isn't an appropriate
use.

I believe exams should be taken on paper, unless there is a very good reason
not to (e.g. it's a programming excercise), for the sake of the students.

My reasoning is that computers can and do fail. Kernel panics, freezes, user
error etc... What happens if someone is writing the most important science
essay of their life, and their computer suffers from disk failure? Or a
display glitch? Or they have a battery failure?

What can go wrong with a few pens and some sheets of paper?

~~~
zandorg
I have terrible handwriting, so that has to be noted when choosing paper &
pen, so people don't get penalized for poor handwriting.

~~~
iamcalledrob
Good point, I didn't think about that.

If you can't write well because you are just sloppy and don't care, then I
think it's your own fault... but, of course, that might not be the case if you
have a learning problem (no, that doesn't make you stupid, just a different
skillset).

I know what was done here is that students with recognised learning
difficulties (dyslexia, for example) get extra time if they take a long time
to get their answers on paper.. or, on request, someone to read or write for
them, which gives them a fair shot in comparison to everyone else.

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devicenull
I'd imagine the more technically inclined students already know ways around
this.. My first thought would be to install vmware or similar.. run the
schools OS with monitoring software in one VM, run your OS with internet
access in the other. Problem solved, and no need to hack at the software they
use.

Assuming it was anything like my school, the walls are solid enough that you
would end up needing an access point in each room.. don't want students to
have internet access? Just shut the AP off.

~~~
Herring
wireless signals go around walls

