i just encountered this article describing how some students in Sweden are allowed to access the Internet while taking exams. Cindy has been doing this for several semesters. I have done it as well. I refuse to do it anymore. My concern is not that students will cheat, by concern is that they will not prepare. I have data.
I run courses from my own sever and using content I have written. Among other capabilities, I can create a situation in which students must login to view content and this offers the opportunity to track when and what they study. Here is the reality I observed. When students become experienced with a system that allows them to explore online while answering questions a change in their preparation occurs. Many simply stop preparing. They come to class, but access information they need to answer examination questions (not rote retention by any stretch of the imagination) while taking exams. My major exams take several hours and focus on applications that require extensive writing to communicate. The “down side” as it turns out is that in offering an assessment process that takes some time (a couple of hours) there is time for some who choose to take this approach to also read content for the first time. Offering open access and focusing on tasks that require time to develop also offers flexibility allowing students to play the system. Some might call this “just in time learning”. Not exactly cheating, but hardly a commitment to meaningful learning. A 50 item multiple choice exam in 50 minutes would have suffered less as a measure of actual understanding. Too much in such a case to look up for the first time.
Assessment is complex. I offer this example because many have simplistic knee-jerk reactions – memorization bad, multiple choice testing bad. Perhaps – failure to prepare also bad.
