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The UK may ban all watches during exams to prevent cheating
The UK will consider banning all watches from school exams in an attempt to prevent cheating. An independent commission hired to investigate exam malpractice says it's too difficult to distinguish between regular and smartwatches, and it's impractical to ask proctors (or invigilators) to check every student's watch. A sweeping ban, the commission says, would be more appropriate.
Teaching apps could do away with music instructors
The most terrifying thing about learning an instrument is the moment when you have to play in front of an examiner. It's also a moment that future generations might be spared if the new Scalebook app is any indication. The software is designed to help trainee violinists improve their scales in preparation for the big day. What's interesting, however, is that the app can listen to your playing via the iPad's microphone and provide feedback. There's even a mock exam setting where you'll play under test conditions and receive a written report on your performance. Crucially, this information is set out in the same style and format as you'd receive from a flesh-and-blood official from the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music.
Drone catches cheating students in 'world's toughest exam'
If students want to cheat their way through one of China's most difficult exams, they'll now need to thwart a patrolling drone. The National Higher Education Entrance Exam, known as "gaokao," is held each year and determines whether youngsters will get into the top universities. It's been described as the "world's toughest exam" and can be stressful, even traumatic for students trying to achieve higher grades. Some entrants, ingeniously, try to cheat by capturing their test questions and sending them to someone on the outside, before receiving the answers via an earpiece. Unsurprisingly, China wants to crack down on the practise, so one province is now using a drone to monitor radio activity. When a disturbance is detected, it can alert the invigilators and help determine the culprit's location. The penalties for cheating are fierce, so authorities are hoping the threat alone will be enough to encourage would-be cheaters to spend their free time cramming instead.
UK exam rooms could be equipped with CCTV cameras
Quite honestly, we can't imagine anyone finding this the least bit surprising -- after all, aren't CCTV cameras and the UK an inseparable pair by now? Nevertheless, the Examination Officers' Association across the pond is currently mulling the idea of installing surveillance equipment in exam halls in order to keep an eye on test-taking cheaters. Apparently students are turning to their mobiles more and more (no way!) to plug any holes in their memory, and while the project hasn't been set in stone just yet, it seems to be headed in that direction. Ah, whatever happened to those old fashioned cram sessions?[Thanks, Tomek]
Omniscient webcam to deter distance education cheating
We're fairly sure that none of you angels out there enrolled in distance education courses have ever considered sneaking a peek in the textbook or seeing what Google had to say about a perplexing mid-term question, but for Troy University students, a new device is being deployed to make absolutely certain. The webcam-based unit was crafted by Software Secure, and simultaneously freezes the test taker's computer so he / she can only access the test module and records both audio and video whilst flagging "questionable" movements that the instructor can review for unpropitious behavior. Thankfully for those of us not enrolled at Troy, it doesn't look like any other institutions have hopped on board just yet, but if you've grown reliant on computer assistance to get you those As Cs, we wouldn't put off graduating for much longer.
Stupidly simple games degree exam paper is very real
On first glance, this exam paper looks like a hoax intended to poke fun at the recent trend for video game degrees. However, if you dig a little deeper, you'll find that it's actually a genuine exam paper that students studying Computer Games Art or Computer Games Design at The University of Teesside have to take. We're sure many of you could answer these questions in your sleep, for example, question number 14 is "What was the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) videogame console, released in America and Europe, known as in Japan?"We could leave you to giggle at the absurdity of students taking out massive loans just to learn about the history of video games, but here's the reality check. It's important to note that the History of Games module (of which this exam paper is from) is only a single module out of six that a typical student has to study throughout the year. As the University's course page says, "Studying the History of Games provides context to the course." The rest of the modules students have to take involve learning how to code and design games, which is not something you can do in your sleep, although I'm sure many students will attempt it with a hangover.[Thanks Chris!]
