According to the Wired Campus blog, a new test taking device is being advertised as a way to prevent online student cheating. Here's how they explain it:

"A company called Software Secure announced a new product today that combines several security features to help ensure that students in online courses don't cheat on tests. It's a device that plugs into the test taker's computer and requires the student to provide fingerprint verification before the test can begin. During the exam, the device also uses 360-degree video and audio recording to make sure nobody is helping the student. A professor can monitor the exam process from afar to make sure the test taker isn't taking too many bathroom breaks as well."

Since the athlete / BYU online scandal earlier this year, the need to ensure student honesty has become all too obvious. But, maybe we're looking at this the wrong way. Perhaps the new medium of online learning deserves a new medium of proving content mastery. As one blog commenter put it: "How about finding an alternative to traditional tests? There are real ways to measure someone's skills without using traditional testing that merely gauges a person's ability to memorize."

Read the Wired Campus post: Your Cheatin' Heart