Academic Integrityin Online Courses

Judy Baker, Ph.D.Dean

Foothill Global AccessFoothill College

Cheating in Online Classes Plagiarism Detection Proctored Testing Alternatives

Agree or Disagree?

Cheating is more likely in online courses.

List at least two reasons.

Group Debate

Assumptions Cheating is the student’s fault

Online courses compared to F2F courses Easier to cheat Cheating more likely

Proctored testing decreases cheating

Student Assessment

In the good old days…

Student Assessment

In the information age…

Hi-Tech Cheating in Classroom

What’s Changed? Changed

Ease of cheating

Ease of monitoring cheating

Ease of preventing cheating

Not Changed

Definitions

Honor code policiesand procedures

Student assessment quality, validity, reliability

Academic Integrity? Hypocrisy of focusing on student cheating behaviors when…

Student Code of Honor policies are antiquatedand inconsistently enforced

Student assessment is fundamentally flawed

Behavior called “cheating” in school considered desirable in working world:

“NETWORKING”

Research on Academic Honesty

Merged data from a student randomized response survey on cheating behavior with class-specific information provided by faculty (2002)

Sample of students in a large public university

Evidence that academic dishonesty in a single online class is no more pervasive than in traditional classrooms

Easier to Cheat in a Face-to-Face or Online Class?

Traditional Online

Easier to Cheat in a Face-to-Face or Online Class?

Physical separation Creation of psycho-social

“distance” resulting in less influence by social norms

Excuses and alibis Intentionally sending a corrupted file or an attachment

that cannot be opened Faking technical difficulties during online tests

Easier to Cheat in a Face-to-Face or Online Class?

Hacking

Looking at source code or a Java script might show the answers to online quizzes

Changing the clock on your computer to send email late but to have an earlier date and time

Advantages of Online for Monitoring Academic Integrity Electronic record of all

correspondence maintained for online courses

Entire courses are archived for future reference and for quality control purposes

Instructor has a readily accessible record of everything done by each student from the first day of class to the last

Easy to compare a student’s writing style on different class assignments

Plagiarism Detection Software

Agree or Disagree?

Test proctoring is necessary to ensure academic integrity and quality in distance learning courses.

List at least two reasons

Pros of Proctored Testing Opportunity for F2F

with distance students

Identity security

Availability of student assistance during testing

May address accreditation concerns

Conformity with on-campus model of testing

Control over student’s unauthorized use of resources in completing an assessment

Cons of Proctored Testing Costs and staffing

Logistics

Inconvenience

Long feedback loop

Negates anytime/anyplace of distance learning

Need for Proctored Testing Differs by Course?

Courses that prepare students for state boards or other certification exams

Prerequisite courses

Pass-fall courses

Less stringent, more affordable testing processes may be developed for courses with low risk for cheating

Remote students vs. local students

Course Management SystemQuiz & Proctoring Use password protection for test proctoring

arrangements

May be possible to limit access to a test to a specific computer at a specific internet address, where a proctor can be present

Alternatives to Proctored Testing

High tech ID methods

Online assessment

Pedagogical solutions

High-Tech ID Methods

Retinal scans Ear shape Facial identification

through thermographs Voice, palm, or fingerprints Hand geometry Ongoing handwriting analysis throughout the exam Require students to use a camera on their computer desktop for

discussions and exams

High-tech security = high cost May not be warranted in many cases

Advantage of Online Testing Low cost

Convenient

Rapid feedback to student

Allows exams To be password protected To have a different test form

every time a different student logs in

To give immediate feedback to the student To be given to the instructor immediately

Reduces the need for transporting exams from one location to

another

Online Assessment Integrity Strategies

Utilize Blackboard and WebCT testing security features

Set availability dates and times for all assessments

Set time limits and the number of permissible accesses

Track the time, duration, and number of attempts that a student accesses an assessment

Create large question pools for randomized assessments

Add a password to proctored exams, and an IP restriction if feasible

Course Management System Quiz Settings Randomly generate test questions from Quiz Question Pool or

Database Set Quizzes to have only one question per screen to make printing

of quizzes more difficult Set Quizzes to not allow return to previous questions Limit accessibility to tests to specific time periods Use timed online testing

Pedagogical Solutions

Pedagogical Solutions Assign work and tests that

are due frequently throughout the semester

Assign work that builds sequentially on prior submitted work, such as revisions of drafts

Call students at random during the semester to administer an unannounced oral exam

Make all tests/quizzes open-book style

Pedagogical Solutions Debrief/interview a student concerning their test/quiz

Ask specific questions about their answers

Use alternative modes of student assessment such as portfolios, rubrics, self-assessment, peer assessment, and contracts

Use multiple methods of measuring performance, mastery, and skill

Pedagogical Solutions Require assignment and test responses to relate the subject

matter to students' lived experiences or test questions tied to current news events

Deliver test/quizzes "orally" through live chat

Meet with students individually online and test/quiz them on course content

Require students to participate in discussion groups Keep the log and

review writing styles of students

Alternatives to Tests Use multiple methods of

measuring performance, mastery, and skill

Group projects Creating a web site Developing a database Solve a problem and explain the process Case studies Research projects Simulations, games and puzzles Portfolios: samples of a variety of materials Tests taken by teams instead of individuals Peer collaboration; peer assessment Have the students provide a presentation as either a web site or

powerpoint presentation and post them to the web

Cheaters Serve as Catalysts

Cheating challenges educators to design distance course content and assessment

more carefully.