In this article, the author discusses about a million and one ways to catch cheaters on college campuses. Although they thought of some really cunning and effective methods of catching cheaters, I don't think it will matter much because people who want to cheat, will.
I have two issues with this article:
1. Although I agree that cheating is completely, 100% wrong, there is never going to be a fool proof way to put an end to it. Let's face it, college kids are younger, and therefore more adept in computer technology. This means that no matter what a college professor does to deter cheating, it is going to happen.
2. Although you only see one side of the argument from this article, it seems to me that the teachers that the author interviewed were more concerned about cheating than anything else that occurred in their classrooms. While I do believe that the prevention of cheating should be high on the priority list, it shouldn't be the number one concern in the classroom. Because, believe it or not, there many students who don't cheat and deserve just as much attention in the classroom. If a teacher spends all of their time trying to reprimand cheaters, where does that leave the non-cheaters? They are there to actually learn, and the constant war with cheaters will take away from their learning experience.
So paying too much attention to cheaters is no good because it brings down the integrity of the learning process. And paying no attention to cheaters is also a negative option. So while I agree with that these professors are doing, I think that they should be sure to do it moderately, and balance these ploys with the actual classroom activities that should be taking place.
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