Dive Summary:
- Online learning has been booming lately, and as providers seek to solve the problem of supervision, online proctoring companies such as Kryterion and ProctorU are coming to the fore, claiming their methods can catch cheating better than any in-person monitoring.
- The problem dates back to when lawmakers placed minimal restrictions on online learning in the Higher Education Opportunity Act in 2008, saying only a secure login and password was necessary for compliance.
- Online test-monitoring companies employ various methods to achieve the same result; some record students taking the test, some watch live via webcam, some require screen-sharing and some require students to install browser or chat-lockdown software.
- Recently, the American Council on Education (ACE) examined ProctorU's monitoring solution as part of its assessment of five Coursera massive open online courses (MOOCs); all five courses received a seal of approval, indicating ProctorU "was at least as good or better than what you see in a large lecture class," according to Cathy A. Sandeen, ACE's VP for education attainment and innovation.
From the article:
"... At the same time, Kryterion is sensitive to the possibility that a proctor might try to collude with a test-taker to cheat, or jot down the content of a particular exam with the intention of selling it to future students taking the same course.
And so, as they review video recordings of students taking exams, Kryterion's online proctors are sometimes under surveillance by their supervisors, who are, as Mr. Dorman put it, 'proctoring the proctors.'"