Automated test-taking monitor records your every move
Taking a college course online usually means you're attending class in your underwear while eating a third bowl of cereal. But some Rutgers students were surprised to find out they'd have to put on some pants to take their midterms, since their every move would be recorded via webcam. Plus, the system monitoring them would flag seemingly arbitrary infractions for review.
The service in question, Proctortrack records video of students taking exams and uses algorithms to determine their identities and flags portions of a video if it detects suspicious behavior. According to the company's best practices, that behavior includes: looking away from the webcam, changing the lighting, dropping a pencil, and talking to someone out of frame. The flagged segments are then shared with university instructors for evaluation. Proctortrack states that its monitoring is completely automated and only shares the videos with school officials. It even posted a pledge stating that it doesn't share personal information with third-parties and purges data after between 30 to 60 days.
Rutgers' student Betsy Chao found the experience of being monitored during her midterm so unsettling she created a Change.org petition asking the university to rescind the program. The university responded by stating that Proctortrack wasn't mandatory and that students could use human proctors for their tests.
Of course, if you're a college student taking a test, you should expect some sort of supervision. Most institutions use human proctors and testing centers for satellite students. The rise of computer-based services means students can take exams in their home. But there is something unsettling about being recorded on your webcam instead of having a person looking over your shoulder for cheat sheets.
[Image credit: Proctortrack]
