In this new world that we are living in, we are evolving and finding new ways for us to do things. WIth this wave of online instruction in classrooms at all levels, we are seeing an emergence in all new types of technology. Some of it is very useful and important to the classroom setting. Other forms of technology leave some room for questions. Specifically, I question the need and importance of proctoring technology in the context of online schooling. Taking a look at the pandemic and how we have all had to adjust to this new or temporary normal, online schooling has, in many ways, been thrown together on the fly. The schools and their administrators had to come up with plans and fail safes to ensure that academic integrity was upheld while the students were not trespassed too much when it came to their privacy and comfort in their own home. I think when we discuss something like proctoring technology, it is hard for us to miss how invasive it truly can be. Before we dive into the data collecting element, let’s first briefly go over how it is invasive on the surface. While the pandemic has had its own set of challenges for everyone, students have more of a cross to bear due to the fact that they have to let people into their homes. That can be challenging as we all have personal lives, and sometimes there are things hidden behind the curtain that we are not in any hurry to share with anyone. Couple that with the fact that some of this proctoring software could potentially monitor for noises and other happenings in the background and use them as a justification to say that a student is cheating or engaging in some kind of academic dishonesty. How dare they? In a vacuum, I understand why they would want to monitor these kinds of things. However, I do think it does not allow for the fact that students more than likely live with others that may be continuing to live their lives while they are taking their test or whatever it is. It borders on inconsiderate. Especially at a time where a lot of people have been working from home, so they are living and working themselves in the same environment, I simply do not find it to be pragmatic to be monitoring the background of a students life and hold it against them in an already pressure filled environment and task. It goes against what school should be, a supportive nurturing setting that is created to help students. As far as the data collection goes, it is the same concern we have with any tech that does anything of the sort. We have to be mindful that they are worming their way into our lives via the schools viewing them as a necessity, and forcing students to use these softwares that we are allowing them to make a home on our computer and have the potential to harvest our information. I am not sure what they would be interested in or the manner in which they would want to use it, but any use of our information is too far in and of itself.
Good luck to our pathfinders this week, see you all in class!
One reply on “Proctor Software”
A larger looming question too is, what is it we are measuring in this form of testing? Is an exam, a quiz a measure of knowledge or some proxy for it? If this were not the measure, would we need proctoring?
This is where putting on the speculative fiction hat might come into play. What might a future university experience look like where understanding, skill achievement, were able to be known through some other means? What would a learning experience look like without the kinds of exams needing proctoring? Or without grades? Can it even work?