Cheating on Online Exam
Cheating on online exams is both unethical and potentially costly, leading to financial penalties, suspension or expulsion, along with irreparable damage to both academic and professional reputations.
Students often resort to deceptive tactics like using bathroom emergency or connection issues as excuses to cheat in exams, however this behavior can easily be identified using proctoring software and other technology solutions.
External Devices
Online exams have quickly become a widely used form of assessment, yet they can also be vulnerable to cheating by students. Online exams allow for cheaters to use tools and gadgets such as hidden cameras and earpieces which capture images or audio during an exam; making it harder for teachers and proctors to monitor these exams and possibly leading to unfair results and unethical behaviors.
One of the easiest and least detectable ways of cheating in an online exam is using external devices like USBs or hard drives as storage solutions during examinations. Students often utilize keyboard shortcuts during exams in order to copy and paste answers; proctoring software can detect suspicious activity as an attempt at cheating and flag it accordingly.
An effective way of cheating on an online exam is using a smartphone to search for answers. Students may use apps or use them quickly in order to solve questions quickly and get automated recommended answers. Auto-proctoring technology can detect such behavior by recognizing smartphones that access online resources without authorisation.
Students may use electronic devices like earpieces and smartwatches during an exam to communicate with other students or instructors, which constitutes a serious breach of academic integrity and could lead to failing the test or even expulsion from school.
Students can cheat online exams by using special gadgets that capture images or audio and transmit it outside the exam room, often small enough to fit discreetly into personal items like pens or watches. Furthermore, they may use remote software that connects them with someone outside the examination hall and connect with them during exams via remote software – these methods can be detected with proctoring software that detects screen sharing and suspicious behaviors.
Friends or Family
Cheating during an online exam is all too often done through trusted friends or family, making it hard for a proctor to detect. Students have used external devices such as hard drives, USBs and microSDs that can be hidden under desks or pockets to copy and store test answers; smartwatches with microphones allow students to communicate during exams while smartwatches also let students share answers on social media sites such as Facebook. Modern proctoring solutions often come equipped with features to record eye movements, monitor student activity and prevent cheating through remote surveillance;
One of the primary drivers behind cheating among students is their lack of intrinsic interest in course materials and subjects (Dobrovska, 2017). Other motivating factors may include parental pressure, stress levels or simply wanting to perform well on exams. Cheating can become even more widespread as schools and universities increasingly encourage the use of online assessments for courses and programs which results in increasing numbers of students taking these tests (Dobrovska 2017).
Cheating during an online exam can have lasting repercussions for their future academic career, restricting job options and making meeting financial goals or receiving scholarships difficult. Cheating can also have devastating repercussions for their self-esteem and reputation as reliable individuals.
If you suspect your friend or classmate of cheating on an online exam, speak to their teacher before it starts so that they can report him/her without disrupting the session. They can report them without interrupting it directly.
Your test-takers deserve the best possible test-taking experience from your program, and an academic dishonesty policy should be in place and clear for all to read. For more information on how to protect the integrity of their exams, click here for our secure and flexible proctoring solution or watch this webinar about this topic!
Copy-Pasting
Students often employ remote software to communicate with exam assistants who can type or write answers for them, providing another means of cheating during online proctored exams. Students may even use projectors to show the assistant what their screen looks like during an exam; it can be difficult for proctoring services to detect this form of cheating.
Students can even prerecord themselves taking exams and upload it directly to their webcams before the exam itself begins. This trick works because some proctoring software only records screen grabs of empty frames – if a student opens an external window containing their prerecorded footage during test taking time, their proctoring software will detect it as normal and allow them to cheat during their exam.
An alternative way of cheating during an online proctored exam is using special screen mirroring software. This enables students to access their primary monitor while sharing it with a friend; then copy and paste answers from that monitor onto their own monitor, giving them a huge edge against their classmates.
Schools should implement quality assurance tools and preventative measures to detect cheating. This may involve conducting regular audits, mock tests and other verification methods which help detect patterns which indicate possible instances of cheating while ensuring exams are being administered fairly.
Stopping cheating during an online exam may seem impossible, but proctoring companies can employ various measures to combat it effectively. They include monitoring the exam space, requiring face-to-face ID verification and recording audio/video of exams as well as adding features like eye tracking or facial recognition that make cheating harder for students. They may also limit breaks during tests (other than bathroom emergencies) so students remain on camera for all time except emergencies; flag the exam for review post-exam; should any signs of cheating be detected, they may take appropriate action such as invalidating exam results if necessary.
Taking Photos or Screenshots
Though traditional cheating techniques like hidden notes and writing on the palm have become less widespread, students still find clever ways to circumvent online proctoring technology. Therefore, schools and companies offering remote education should provide their students with all of the resources needed to maintain academic integrity while learning remotely.
Many students take screenshots on their smartphones during exams to look up answers later and share this information with their peers and friends. While most online proctoring solutions struggle to detect this type of cheating, certain companies do offer options that can reduce it; such as lockdown browsers that prevent screenshot taking or psychometric forensics to identify suspicious patterns that indicate attempts at cheating.
Other students search the Internet for answers to exams through group chats or messaging apps; this form of cheating is one of the most prevalent when taking an online course, though professors can often fail to spot it. Some even search social media platforms like TikTok to obtain their results and share them with classmates through virtual group chats.
Some students use their phones to record exams on video, which they later watch back and use to help recall correct answers. It can be hard to detect this form of cheating since students can edit footage post-exam. Luckily, online proctoring companies have developed solutions that can combat such attempts at cheating.
Some online learning institutions have adopted new tech to combat cheating during an exam; other universities rely on existing policies and student motivation alone to uphold high standards. Students are driven to gain an education no matter where it leads them; it is up to them to make sure that when taking an online exam they adhere to all applicable rules.