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Preventing Networked Gizmo Use During Exams?
bcrowell writes "I'm a college physics professor. My students all want to use calculators during exams, and some of them whose native language isn't English also want to use electronic dictionaries. I had a Korean student who was upset and dropped the course when I told her she couldn't use her iPod during an exam — she said she used it as a dictionary. It gets tough for me to distinguish networked devices (iPhone? iTouch?) from non-networked ones (calculator? electronic dictionary? iPod?). I give open-notes exams, so it's not memory that's an issue, it's networking. Currently our classrooms have poor wireless receptivity (no Wi-Fi, possible cell, depending on your carrier), but as of spring 2011 we will have Wi-Fi everywhere. What's the best way to handle this? I'd prefer not to make them all buy the same overpriced graphing calculator. I'm thinking of buying 30 el-cheapo four-function calculators out of my pocket, but I'm afraid that less-adaptable students will be unable to handle the switch from the calculator they know to an unfamiliar (but simpler) one."
First off -- I applaud your use of open-note exams. That is the ONLY real-world way to learn and demonstrate knowledge. There is almost never a situation in the professional world where one must solve a problem with absolutely no references (and it would be stupid to do so on a production system -- when solving a critical problem, why risk everything based on what you *think* is right, when you can verify against documentation; at least if something breaks, you can point to the incorrect docs...)
Some people can simply memorize anything they look at, while others struggle at this. A proper exam should be designed to test one's ability to demonstrate processes: exams should give you all the information you need, but the questions should be designed such that only someone who has invested prior effort in practice and learning will be able to solve the questions in the allotted time.
For less-concrete subjects such as the arts, I'm not so sure how this can be accomplished. However this is a trivial design decision for exams in maths, sciences, programming, and engineering.
Furthermore, I think any physics or math exam that requires a complex calculator really has a wrong approach. Assuming everyone at this level has already demonstrated their ability to perform arithmetic several times over, the calculator should only be there to free them from making mistakes on the menial number crunching (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, squares, squareroots, proper value of e,Pi, etc...). The exam should test for core concepts: ideas where you simply must understand the knowledge through prior practice and learning.
Sadly, I think many professors fall back on rote-memorization exams just because they can't be bothered to design proper exams each semester. These types often teach straight from the textbook-provided lesson plans, and then wonder why students cheat...
But honestly -- an exam is but one facet of demonstrating proficiency in a subject. Personally, I think projects & labs the best way: sure one can cheat, but it's easy to determine who has spent time polishing a proper unique lab report. In this respect, open-ended projects are the best, as the room for creativity limits the possibility for undetectable cheating, and lets the students show their enthusiasm for the subject. If you're really worried about cheating, a lab-practical may even be a legitimate tool: it's pretty damn hard to make stuff up as you go while you've got a one-person audience of the professor.
Short answer: let them use basic scientific calculators, the textbook, their notes, and a dictionary; design your tests so that students have all the resources they need, but don't have enough time to learn-as-they-go during the exam.
"Never memorize something that you can look up." --Albert Einstein
> Well, I am not sure that this is the right approach
Der... ya think?
Jamming cellular signals is a federal crime.
What a jackass.
s/iTouch/iPod Touch
Make each test distinct, choose a throwaway question that you know there are online resources to utilize that would answer it.
Have the network operations guys gather proxy info during the exam period. Track anybody who connects to that site (or one
of it's ilk) and match it to their distinct question. Give them an F no questions asked and refer to the ethics board for cheating.
You don't have to beat the technology, you just have to catch them when they do what they know is wrong.
The easy answer is go and get a microwave for the classroom. Make everybody their favorite microwave meal!
What the hell did these students do 10 years ago? AFAIK two semesters of English and perhaps 1 semester of literature are the norm at every reputable college in the U.S. If their English is too poor for your physics exam, they probably have no hope of graduating.
If an officer ever threatens to taze you, say you have a pacemaker.
I think he's worried that you could IM a friend during an exam to work the answers out for you, as if you're a thin client, with all that computing power over in the cloud.
I once had a signature.
You can make WiFi unusable, however. Or you could alter the classroom so RF cannot enter through the walls or ceiling. And turn off the wireless AP in the room during exam time.
I suppose convincing the university to alter the classroom in this manner could be difficult, but they could also see the value in having some exam rooms that are essentially faraday cages
Depending on what level of physics you teach, 99% of students should already have a TI-83 or TI-89. Just as common as a pencil. But I'm of the engineer variety in the USA. Besides, math is a universal language (and on that note, if they can't understand the common spoken language that they've elected for... too bad). If they are not capable of understanding constants and universally applicable equations... they will fail anyways. However, at least at my university, I've yet to take a class where cellular or anything non-calculator allowed at all. You take out a cell phone or anything that's not a calculator and your booted out of the class. In many of the test questions in physics that I've taken, it's not a big stretch to deduce what the question is just based on a few key words and defined variables.
If the student is capable of getting the answers right, what difference does it make how it's obtained.
If the issue is that you're worried that the students are pulling answers off the internet then I could agree that you do indeed have an issue.
However, I will provide a different perspective on the problem. As an employer the employee who succeeds is the one who knows how to obtain the information necessary to solve a problem, and use those methods to build their skill levels up. I have seen those who are unable to do this eventually be let go. So aside from the usual arse kissers who seem to proliferate most companies, those who function the best are those who are able to compile a solution from sources built up from years of work. I could care less if it came from Google as long as it's not infringing on anyone's legal rights that could come back to haunt the company.
I honestly think you might be hobbling these young professionals in a sense. Have them show their work at least. Most free solutions to math problems never show the work, you have to shell out hundreds of dollars for that.
[rant]And please for the love of God, let them write it down on paper and scan it, equation editors add hours to large equations. I had a teacher pull that crap on me once on a refresher course. I paid to learn, not learn an equation editor, my writing is legible. I can understand if others are not, but sheesh give someone a chance![/rant]
two words - SLIDE RULE
I was just on the other side of this situation a few years ago as a student. I worried that some other students were getting unfair advantages because of their devices. I would recommend getting some generic cheap calculators for the exam or doing away with the need for calculators at all. Consider the physics GRE doesn't allow calculators. As for translation devices it is only fair to let students use them, but you may want to work with some university accessibility office to find appropriate devices and restrict the rest. Of course you have to lay all of this out on the first day of class and remind students repeatedly before the exams.
When I took undergraduate physics, there were no calculators allowed... there were no numbers on the exams. Problems were like "If you throw a rock horizontally off a bridge at (v) m/s and it hits the ground after (t) seconds, how far away from the base of the bridge did the rock hit the ground, and how tall is the bridge?" And then the student has to understand that this problem requires the use of the projectile motion equations, and they to know what the question is actually asking and solve for it:
w = v t
h = g t^2
One particularly sadistic (but awesome) professor asked a question like this "Suppose you're stuck in the middle of a frozen pond with a perfectly smooth (frictionless) surface. Propose a way to escape the pond." My (correctly marked) proposal was throw away a shoe. Of course, I could show equations for conservation of momentum, but the point was to see if students understood what it meant to be a frictionless surface and to simply be aware of conservation of momentum.
Watch your big mouth son:
Contact the FCC for permit applications and waivers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_phone_jammer
Everything I write is lies, read between the lines.
First remember that foreign students pay FAR more than we do to go to US schools. Compound that with the fact that many come from poor countries. The pressure to succeed is EXTREME. Furthermore, not all cultures despise cheating as much as Western culture. The results are predictable.
Personal anecdote: I was invited to the Indian CS students' "study session" once while on a group project. I was AMAZED. They had a library of homework and test questions and answers. They passed them around casually. They also begged me for graded solutions from my previous courses to add to their collection. They were all cheating their way through and thought it was normal.
They also kept asking me how I could come up with working algorithms to programming assignments on my own (without copying from something). It was as if actually being able to program was wizardry to them. I wonder why.......
A slashdotter who didn't build his own computer is like a Jedi who didn't build his own lightsaber.
If your students are having a hard time adapting to cheap, "employer" provided calculators...how do you think they'll handle the real world?
The only flaw I can find with your plan is to pay for these out pocket, but I understand that's the norm for a lot of college supplies. Of course, given the cost of books, it's not too absurd to expect students to buy the model you specify either.
Mod me down with all of your hatred and your journey towards the dark side will be complete!
The way I handle this is putting a lot of problems on the exam. It makes the average score tend to be low (although there are always a few percent that get them all right). But, it spreads out the remainder. I curve the exam to compensate for that.
Students that try to cheat by digging up answers or asking friends will simply run out of time and score very poorly. It is inefficient to cheat.
Whatever you do, remember what happens when you try to jam electronic devices.
Look toward standardized testing practices for how to conduct tests in a rigorous and fair manner. Quite simply, the rules and expectations for the course should be clearly stated at the outset. Don't wait until the exams come around to drop the bomb. Tell them that you expect them to use a calculator that is on an approved list. No other electronic devices will be permitted. All other possessions not explicitly allowed must be placed at the front of the room, and any mobile devices must be turned OFF. No "vibrate." Watches are permitted but cannot have an alarm function. If they need translation, that's too bad; the ETS does not offer to administer mathematics tests in the language of the examinee's choosing. This is a college level course, with lectures in English. You don't provide lecture notes in twenty languages. It is the student's responsibility to become sufficiently proficient in the English language in order to continue their studies. That may put them at a disadvantage, but we don't try to equalize the playing field for someone who hasn't learned calculus.
Education necessarily requires that some students have to work harder--sometimes, much harder--than others to achieve the same proficiency level as others. That is not being unfair, that is just the way life is.
Community-college math instructor here (CUNY). The first thing I'd ask is: What's the policy (if any) at the college level? Here I'm supported by an official, clear-cut policy at the college level: all electronic communication/media devices have to be shut off and put away while in a classroom (a policy I enforce strictly during tests).
So basically that means dedicated calculators and nothing else -- square root function required minimum in my stats class. I think that's an inexpensive requirement, they're like $1 at Staples or something? Graphing calculators okay for the rare student who has one. The few students with electronic dictionaries I see are small dedicated devices for that, and that's allowed. But phones as calculators, totally prohibited; iPod media player as calculator (or anything), totally prohibited. Not absolutely foolproof, but pretty clear to me.
We know where leadership by an anti-intellectual "strongman" who scapegoats minorities and likes boisterous rallies goes
You can make WiFi unusable, however.
Technically possible but not practical for economic reasons.
Or you could alter the classroom so RF cannot enter through the walls or ceiling.
VERY expensive. Colleges don't really have the funds to justify that, especially when just banning the offending devices is free.
I suppose convincing the university to alter the classroom in this manner could be difficult, but they could also see the value in having some exam rooms that are essentially faraday cages
Why not just take the figurative bullets out of the gun (no networked devices allowed) instead of building an expensive figurative bullet proof vest. If they don't need the networked device for the test, there is no reason to allow it in the room in the first place.
I hold a PHD in physics.
-A pen is enough. In physics exams students should prove they can transform formulas symbolically. Typing in number can be done by people at the cashier desk. Graphing calculators are a disease.
-Everybody who wants, can take in a standalone mp3-player - these are cheap.
-Regarding the dictionary - these exist in paper and are cheap - and faster than an ipod.
Most important: who uses sophistication to cheat and i caught should be removed from the studies immediately.
If you can't hack using a standard 4 function calculator, than you can't hack physics either.
I also hate to be rude, but most universities require that students speak and read english. While I can appreciate the fact that a Korean may not have the best grasp of written English, I also think it that individual's responsibility to learn the language or work outside of class to create notes in his or her native language. I sat through a number of situations in school where I was struggling with difficult material while foreign students were either talking during exams in their language, "sharing calculators" or similar, blatant examples of cheating that went unchallenged due to the political situation at the university.
After being written up in the campus newspaper, one professor "took a stand" by curving everyone's grade up one letter grade, essentially bribing the class into submission.
Conformity is the jailer of freedom and enemy of growth. -JFK
Basically, just make the test in a way that looking something up on the internet won't do any good. No need to jam/disable the wireless signal or restrict use of electronic devices to specific models.
I had an instructor who gave tests online and made it very difficult to cheat. For vocabulary, she either gave the definition or a contextual example, which wasn't something someone can just look up in Google. For extended response questions, I hear it is pretty easy to catch students who cheated after the fact; their work is inconsistent with what they submitted in the past and sometimes there are clues you can use to your advantage. For example, I had a Spanish teacher in high school who would call out students who used grammar structures not yet covered (such as past-subjunctive tense) in their take-home papers, a sign that someone else wrote the paper for them. He would politely ask the student a few questions about the grammar used in their paper. If they were able to explain "normally when referring to multiple subjects, you combine the last two with the conjunction 'y', but if the first letter of the word immediately following it is 'i' or 'y', you change 'y' to 'e'," but if they clearly didn't understand why it was used in their paper, it was a sign they cheated, and those students couldn't usually explain anything in their paper (in English).
Needless to say, don't make multiple choice tests identical, and if you proctor an exam at multiple times don't give the same version. If you think they're getting answers from an unethical "tutor", then I'm not really sure what you could do but I'd would be willing to bet there isn't a lot of "reasonable expectation to privacy" if you look over their shoulder for instant messages as long as you don't get the IT department to route their traffic through a squid proxy or something.
EMP. That'll show 'em.
I'm late to this party, but: http://honorcode.stanford.edu/
On Apple Input Peripherals: They're okay, I guess, but I was really hoping for a one-key keyboard and a 109-button mouse
>but I'm afraid that less-adaptable students will be unable to handle the switch from
>the calculator they know to an unfamiliar (but simpler) one.
isn't being a student all about being adaptable?
migawd! coddle them much or what?
Fly the entire class to Austin and hold the tests in my house, where wireless signals mysteriously die at the front door. Bonus: I have cake.
"Once in Hawaii I had sex with a 102 year old male turtle. It is difficult to argue that it was consensual." - Steve Ma
Raspberry...there is only one man who would DARE give me raspberry!
You don't know about wolfram alpha, do you? Let me educate you...
Question 4) Integrate x*sin(x), graph this curve. If you were to express this as a Taylor expansion, what would the first three terms be?
See the problem now? If you can't pass calculus with a tool like that, you're not ever going to pass any math class. Between the ability to do each part of the integral separately, and the ability to google "integration by parts", if you are connected to the internet, you pass everything.
Velociraptor = Distiraptor / Timeraptor
Ahhh Slashdot, the only place where nerds can post smug smart ass responses to a suggestion and neatly avoid the real life consequences of being punched in the face for being such a dick.
In the US, you can apply to the FCC for a permit to operate a jammer. It may be worth a go although I have no idea how likely it is they'll grant you one.
Avantslash - View Slashdot cleanly on your mobile phone.
perhaps you haven't heard of ad hoc networks.... even inside a faraday cage, as long as one student is willing to help others cheat, all students are capable of cheating.
The main problem here is foreign students. I recently graduated from the math department, and many students had basically no understanding of English.
I really disagree that non-English-speaking students should be allowed in American universities. I just didn't get the feeling that they participated in the classroom at all. However, that's not how things work, so I'll be more pragmatic.
Since there are many students with little understanding of English, there are ESL departments that can be good resources. They might have a recommendation on acceptable translators. And, while it might not help you right now, you might be able to convey recommendations (ex. no network capabilities) that the university can provide to incoming ESL students. Then, you won't have as much of a problem in the future.
If it really turns out to be a problem, then in addition to spare calculators, you might need to provide a few spare translators that students can use if they forget theirs or bring an illegal one.
Let em use whatever device they want and lay out the rules for no communication or internet access.
Be vigilant, Make it a goal to catch the cheaters.
At the end of the day the college degree you get is just your ticket in the door at a company, If you really know your stuff your performance will take you far.
If you know how to find the answer to a problem by tapping your network of contacts you will likely go farther. (the cheating your worried about)
If you can't figure out how to cheat on a physics test in college your probably going nowhere so weed these people out.
In all seriousness i would rather hire the person who found some elaborate way to cheat while avoiding detection than the person who worked for 3 weeks to get a B on the test. The enterprising cheater is probably far more inventive but was just bored by the material, thats a skill set that I can work with. Working for 3 weeks to pass a basic physics test isn't.
"unterminated 's' command"
G'day. School Teacher and occasional University part-timer (in social sciences and education) here.
TLDR: Use a preapproved list of calculators and printed dictionaries and materials that they can use.
I advocate a blanket ban on electronic devices, besides a list of pre-approved calculators, during exams. Students should be allowed to bring with them writing implements, watch and printed dictionaries and that's it. Most obviously to prevent cheating, and for the reason you pointed out: that it's getting difficult to tell whether a device is connected to the outside world or not.
But secondly, because most of the handheld dictionaries in use by non-English speaking background students at university are rubbish and cause more problems for them (whether they know it or not) than they realise. I have had students at university level turn in essays with grammar and vocabulary use that looked like it had been fed through Google Translate multiple times in different languages before being put onto the page. They're certain that it's right and can sometimes, in fact, give me the original language version (which has happened a few times, but I know very little Chinese or Korean, so it was rather pointless), but the English version is barely readable.
Printed dictionaries are much more reputable and generally produced by people who have actually done some research in the area. There are some online dictionaries which are also quite good, but internet access isn't something I'd like for my students to have in the exam room. I'm sure you can ask around your staff about decent translation dictionaries and put them on an approved list.
As an aside, I think it's important that you teach your students not to rely on dictionaries (particularly the bullshit handheld dictionaries). If they're studying in a foreign language, then it's not unreasonable to expect them to gain some mastery in that language, particularly for the technical language (after all, you've been spouting it to them for weeks before the exams come around). Now, if they need support while they do that, then you can point them to the learning centre (or what have you) of your university.
You're all looking at the problem the wrong way around. It should be simple enough to design a test that doesn't need a calculator. The devices are great if you need numeric "answers" to a given problem, but in any kind of assessment there's no need for this. The students can leave their result as an expression, which is actually more meaningful in that it makes it clearer to the examiner as to how the student arrived at it.
The student shouldn't need to show that he can substitute values in an expression to arrive at a numeric answer. Any idiot can push a few buttons to do that, so it's just wasting time.
> Well, I am not sure that this is the right approach
Der... ya think?
Jamming cellular signals is a federal crime.
What a jackass.
Before you spout off obscenities, first you should understand this depends on what country you're in. Also that in the US, the legalities are not clear as the applicable law was written in 1934 and no real precedent or clarification has been set in the courts yet. In fact, the FCC has not prosecuted a single instance of localized cell-phone jamming. One interpretation is that its perfectly legal if the jamming doesn't extend beyond your private property.
Back in the day we could use our graphing calculators on exams, but they weren't open book. So I'd store all my formulas in some mock program on there. But then the teachers got wise and started coming around and wiping the memory of everybody's calculator before each exam. So I wrote a program on the TI-82 that mimicked the series of screen prompts and displays required to wipe the calculator memory. Fun times...
We don't have a state-run media we have a media-run state.
You'll get a bunch of geeky hi-tech answers from people who've never left the basement.
I say get paper dictionaries and basic calculators then ban *all* electronic devices. Warn them beforehand.
If they can't figure out a paper dictionary and four function calculator it's a safe bet they were going to fail the exam anyway.
No sig today...