Cheating may always be an issue at universities, but a new type of software used for online testing at ASU will prevent some forms of online cheating.
The Respondus LockDown Browser, developed by Respondus, Inc., is software used to prevent cheating on Blackboard and other systems for online tests.
“It basically is a browser and once it’s launched, you can’t use any other software,” said Larry Price, who works in Applications Support for the University Technology Office.
Price said students couldn’t exit the quiz or test they are taking until it is completed, and they “[couldn’t] go to another browser and look up answers.”
The browser also prevents copy and paste options, as well as printing.
The software has been available since Jan. 16 and “it’s available to everyone — it’s a program in Blackboard,” Price said.
He said there is a help page on the ASU Web site for teachers who would like to use the software.
“It is recommended that instructors give students a low or no-point exam using Respondus LockDown Browser at the beginning of the semester in order to address any technology issues in a low-stress situation,” Price said.
However, there are still many teachers who don’t know about the software, and the ones do know about it were probably notified by Jill Schiefelbein, who Price said was the first professor to request the software.
Schiefelbein was not available for comment because she is on furlough or vacation, according to her away e-mail.
The anti-cheating browser would essentially be “a pilot [program] to a few instructors,” Price said.
A pilot program means the program is in its first semester of use, so a limited number of professors will be using it, although Price said he cannot determine how may instructors are using the program.
The program is free for teachers and students to use because ASU bought it for $2,372 for use during the rest of the fiscal year, he said.
For teachers who don’t have the software, there are still tools that can be used against online cheating, like timed tests, randomized questions, forced completion and test passwords, Price said.
Mary Jane C. Parmentier, a professor in the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the Polytechnic campus, said she is not aware of the new software but would possibly use it to prevent online cheating.
“I don’t have any way of measuring how much cheating is going on,” she said.
Parmentier said she uses other methods instead of the browser to prevent online cheating, such as utilizing the anti-plagiarism SafeAssign application, timed tests, essay questions and disabling instant answers.
“I use SafeAssign to detect if they’ve copied half a paper. … It’ll show me exactly the Web sites they’ve cut and pasted from,” Parmentier said.
Aaron Gould, a graphic information technology junior on the Polytechnic campus, said he has heard of the new software but hasn’t been “exposed to it yet.”
He said his professors have used other methods to prevent the possibility or temptation of cheating.
“One thing I’ve noticed is that a lot of my professors make the tests timed,” Gould said.
He said timed tests force students to get everything done immediately, instead of cheatig by opening another Web browser to find the answers.
Gould said if students are more prepared for tests, then they wouldn’t have to cheat in the first place, and that the software might enforce this, because students wouldn’t be able to cheat as easily.
“When students learn more about [the software], they’re going to be forced to learn the material a lot harder,” he said.
Gould said this could “instill integrity” in students.
“If the students prepare harder … they’ll be more confident when taking the test instead of reverting to cheating,” he said.
Reach the reporter at reweaver@asu.edu.
