{"id":110198,"date":"2020-06-11T09:59:59","date_gmt":"2020-06-11T13:59:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=110198"},"modified":"2026-05-26T09:22:32","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T13:22:32","slug":"cheating-online-can-be-a-problem-but-there-are-ways-to-stifle-that","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/cheating-online-can-be-a-problem-but-there-are-ways-to-stifle-that\/","title":{"rendered":"Cheating Online Can Be a Problem, but There Are Ways to Stifle That"},"content":{"rendered":"
Cheating on tests can be a problem in online classes, and several educational technology companies have devised ways to monitor students remotely. To me, however, cheating is not a surveillance problem \u2013\u00a0 it\u2019s a teaching problem.<\/p>\n
The solution is not intrusive technology; it\u2019s better pedagogy. And the critical players are not online proctors working for a tech company, but faculty members taking charge of their virtual classrooms<\/a>.<\/p>\n Without anyone to watch students take a test, though, how can anyone ensure students don’t succumb to temptation?<\/p>\n The battle against cheating has many fronts, but faculty can push back in how they design assignments, how they plan courses, and how they formulate program curriculum.<\/p>\n The most vulnerable point in an online class is a multiple-choice test. One option might be to avoid multiple choice tests and offer written assignments only. However, papers are susceptible to their own honesty problems and the time commitment to grading written work can be overwhelming in a class of 50, let alone 500.<\/p>\n Fortunately, tests can be constructed in any number of ways to combat cheating.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Fortunately, tests can be constructed in any number of ways to combat cheating.<\/p>\n Running a test for only a short period, allowing a short amount of time to complete a test, randomizing questions and answer choices, and drawing questions from a larger pool of potential questions are all easily done in most learning-management systems. These techniques make it harder for students to collaborate.<\/p>\n Students looking online for answers takes more effort to frustrate, but it can be done. A question that asks for simple recall begs to be Googled. Questions that ask for analysis are tougher for a cheater to crack, especially if operating under a time crunch.<\/p>\n