Ways to Prevent Online Cheating
- Set a time limit to your exam. Blackboard allows you to set a start time and an end time to exams. Think about what a responsible amount of time needed to answer each question and then compute for a start and end exam time.
- Avoid straight objective tests. Incorporate questions that require a long or short answer response. Pose questions that refer back to material covered through online conversations or discussions. Ask application based questions instead of asking questions that just recite facts from the text.
- Put on a print screen blocker. Click here and following the instructors. Students will not be able to print screen.
- Google if you are in question. The District is also looking into purchasing Turn it In.
- Design an online exam protocol. It can read something like, “This is not an open-book or open-note exam. This exam is to be taken during the allotted time period without the aid of books, notes, or other students. You have approximately ___ seconds per question to complete this exam. The exam must be taken online from start to finish. Do not download the test to take it or distribute it to anyone. The statistics feature in eCampus will monitor and report how you take this exam.” (from Indiana State University) Define what is cheating and what is not cheating.
- Use a password to protect your exams.
- Blackboard will track the exact time the exam was started and finished. I believe it can also log IP addresses that can be used to trace the location from which the exam was completed. (If you find students are using the same location at the same time – you can pursue the possibility of cheating).
- Set an exam protocol that does not allow students to be in the same place to take an exam.
- Develop a large bank of pool questions to scramble. This allows each student to get a different set of questions or test.
- Think about your course design. Are tests the only option for grades? Think about other options for grades: pretest(s), assignments, discussion boards, chats, journals, group projects, etc.
- Require a copy of a student's ID with a picture at the start of the class. He/She can scan the ID and send it to the instructor. Have students use a web-cam while they take the test/quiz.
- Deliver test/quizzes "orally" through chat. Meet with students individually online and test/quiz them on course content. You can explore depth as well of breadth of your students' knowledge and understanding of the concepts.
- Debrief/interview a student concerning their test/quiz. Ask specific questions concerning their answers.
- Have different versions of the test/quiz. Send students their own version of the test/quiz instead of just posting one test/quiz. Sending the test/quiz also allows you to check if the student has received their test/quiz.
- WebCT and BlackBoard have capabilities which make it possible to administer a proctored examination online. Tests can be structured to require the input of a proctor’s ID as well as the student’s ID, so that the exam can’t be started until the proctor, who knows the secret password, is present. It is also possible to limit access to a test to a specific computer at a specific internet address, where a proctor can be present. I have to ask Emilio if our system is set up to do this.
- Display one question at a time instead of displaying the entire test. Also, set your test to not allow multiple attempts. Set your test to prohibit backtracking and force completion.
Finally, remember that testing should never be the only means by which you assess the abilities of your students in an online environment. If they are evaluated with various different methods, you have the best way of ensuing that there is real learning taking place. Not to sound defensive, but I think everyone needs to keep in mind that cheating is prevalent in ALL modalities (online and on campus).