From social networking with Facebook and Twitter for class, to collaborative student publishing through wikis, to biotechnology for student assessment verification, the face of education is not just evolving but, in many instances, going through revolution. There is a clear need for educators and educational administrators to continually and purposefully seek learning for themselves in online education (Lyons, 2004) -- online education both on a standard computer or laptop as well as online education through mobile devices such as smart phones – to truly be effective in the online educational environment as educators and as course designers (Davison, 2005). One major area of consideration for online effectiveness is assessment.
Online course assessment has been commonly accomplished through means such as discussion boards, multiple-choice questions, and essays. But how do educators know who is really completing such assignments? Cheating in the classroom has always been a problem over the centuries of education. Now, with online education, an increasing number of students never even see their teachers making it a potential breeding ground for academic corruption. The most common authentication for students has been usernames and passwords (Tsiantis, Stergiou, & Margariti, 2007), but new security protocols could become a normal part of online assessment. Biometrics is a technology that could allow for the users to be measured by the computer for authentication (Tsiantis, Stergiou, & Margariti, 2007). This could be an added step to help ensure individual students are doing their own work and provide added protection to students from predators who seek to hijack account information. What does this mean for administrators and educators? Technology can provide added protection for them too. This is also a reminder that administrators and educators need to stay informed of trends in the online environment in development and delivery and in security (EI-Khatib, Korba, Xu, and Yee, 2003). New technologies such as biometrics, though they may seem unrealistic or even a bit crazy, are often the innovations that make the greatest impact. Biometric technology could even be considered a competitive advantage for universities in the future in terms of security and degree authentication for potential employers.
Biometrics is still relatively in its infancy, so research is somewhat limited in this area. Regardless, this is definitely a potential growth area in authentication, security, and online and mobile education assessment.
What do you think about the use of biometrics in education? Does this take authentication too far? Would you agree to these measures as a student or do you think this is a possible violation of privacy?
Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.
References
Davison, M. M. (2005). Distance education in high schools: Benefits, challenges, and suggestions. The Clearing House, 78, 105-108.
EI-Khatib, K., Korba, L., Xu, Y., & Yee, G. (2003). Privacy and security in e-learning. Journal of Distance Education Technologies. 1(4), 1-19.
Lyons, J. F. (2004). Teaching U.S. history online: Problems and prospects. The History Teacher, 37, 447-456.
Tsiantis, L. E., Stergiou, E. & Margariti, S. V. (2007). Security issues in e-learning systems. AIP Conference Proceedings, 963(2), 959-964. doi:10.1063/1.2836251
Michael,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your post. Very interesting! This is the first that I have heard about using biometrics to verify student's identity in e-learning. My colleague and I were talking about this today. It is possible that a student could earn an online degree and have someone else do all the work for them. Biometrics sounds like an exciting solution. What would stop someone from verifying their identity and then turning the computer over to another person to take the test or complete the assignment?
Christy
Biometrics is certainly harder to trick than other methods of identity verification. It could prove expensive, though, as institutions have to send biometric readers to students (though that cost will certainly be offset by student fees or tuition increases).
ReplyDeleteI recently took the VCLA exam at a Pearson testing center, and biometrics were used to make sure I didn't switch to my (hypothetical) identical twin during the exam, but beyond my driver's license there really wasn't any way to verify that I was who I said I was. They finger-scanned and palm-scanned me as I entered the testing room, and any time I needed to leave the room I was scanned again.
I think that what biometrics really do, at least right now, is show students how serious the institution is about cheating. It makes it that much more difficult for people to cheat, even though it won't deter the most committed cheater.
Christy, I appreciate your question. I actually asked the same question when I was reading the literature. The bottom line is that there is really no way to stop someone from scanning themselves in and handing off their computer to a friend. Warren’s comment about students getting scanned in when entering a testing room seems to be one solution to ensuring there is no “scan and switch.” Of course, this brings us back to face-to-face course work, which we are trying to avoid through the use of technology for the elearning environment.
ReplyDeleteMy imagination has me envisioning possible solutions, however, that would take biometrics to another level. If keyboards are used, perhaps advanced keyboard technology could read your fingerprints at each keystroke giving real-time verification when typing. For tests, perhaps an eye scanner can track when the user is actually the one looking at the screen or not. If students take tests on a mobile device, perhaps they must be the one holding and/or typing on the device to authenticate.
If close supervision is preferred like in Warren’s case, I suppose an educator could schedule tests at a specific time for elearning students and require that everyone has a webcam streaming so she can watch them during the test.
These scenarios, as extreme (and somewhat scary) as they may sound, will likely still not be able to, as Warren put it, “…deter the most committed cheater,” but it would certainly make students think a little longer and a little harder before cheating.
Do you think extreme technology would keep more people honest?
Do you think cheating will only get worse as distance learning continues to grow if universities do not begin putting more authentication measures in place?
Beyond the consideration of cost and security, we need to understand that teachers must instill some degree of character in their students. Without character, we are simply transmitting information.
ReplyDeleteFor some, biometrics is the final surrender in the struggle to build character in our students.
Let's face it, if a student wants to defeat a security measure, they will. As much as we want to be ahead of the curve in protecting our courses, biometrics may turn out to be a very expensive security blanket.