Cell phone policy:
Our university established a university-wide policy we can hand out with
the syllabus telling students to turn off cell phones and I have not had
any problems the first four weeks of this semester. A copy of that
policy is stated below.
Carol Miller
SMSU
Southwest Missouri State University
Office of Academic Affairs
Policy on Use of Cell Phones in Classes
As a member of the learning community, each student has a responsibility
to other students who are members of the community. When cell phones or
pagers ring and students respond in class or leave class to respond, it
disrupts the class. Therefore, the Office of Academic Affairs prohibits
the use by students of cell phones, pagers, or similar communication
devices during scheduled classes. All such devices must be turned off or
put in a silent mode and cannot be taken out during class. At the
discretion of the instructor, exception to this policy is possible in
special circumstances.
Sanctions for violation of this policy are determined by the instructor
and may include dismissal from the class - see Class Disruption
(http://www.smsu.edu/recreg/classdis.html). In testing situations, use
of cell phones or similar communication devices may lead also to a
charge of academic dishonesty and additional sanctions under the Student
Academic Integrity Policies and Procedures
(http://www.smsu.edu/acadaff/AcademicIntegrity.html).
There are two appeal processes available to students. A sanction for
class disruption may be appealed using the appeal process stated in the
Class Disruption policy; however, a violation that involves a charge of
academic dishonesty must be appealed using the process described in the
Student Academic Integrity Policies and Procedures. Students have the
right to continue attending class while an appeal is in progress.
-----Original Message-----
From: Academy of Legal Studies in Business (ALSB) Talk
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Nader Abadir
Sent: Saturday, September 18, 2004 11:23 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Students find it annoying, too
As a recent law school graduate, I will add that the obnoxious ring
going
off while one is trying to focus is beyond irritating. A professor
might
want to use peer pressure, rather than make it seem like you're saying,
"Hey! This is my show! How dare you interrupt me?"
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ingulli, Elaine" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, September 18, 2004 8:31 AM
Subject: Re: High Tech Cheating
> I've been making students leave their cell phones, electronic toys ON
MY
> DESK during an exam, to be picked up on the way out. I also have on my
> syllabus that they must be turned off daily for class--although so far
> this semester, that seems to have had little impact on actual
behavior,
> despite my hving said, "remember the rules--turn it off" several
times.
> Hard to tell where the bleep comes from, so I don't actually know how
to
> enforce it. Our computer services has a link to "tips" through
> homepage--www2.stockton.edu.
> Elaine
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Academy of Legal Studies in Business (ALSB) Talk on
behalf of
> Hauserman, Nancy R
> Sent: Fri 9/17/2004 11:03 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Cc:
> Subject: Re: High Tech Cheating
>
>
>
> Yes, we are routinely telling our students that they may not
have
> cell
> phones, pagers, palms, etc. in the exam. If I even see one come
out
> I
> will give the student a "0". Sigh.
> Nancy Hauserman (soon NOT to be Dean Queen!)
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Academy of Legal Studies in Business (ALSB) Talk
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Ginger,
Laura
> Sent: Friday, September 17, 2004 5:35 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: High Tech Cheating
>
> I had already started banning electronic dictionaries and now
> permit
> international students to use only paper ones that I have
> inspected.
> Now it seems that I need to start banning all electronic
devices
> from
> the exams. Has anyone out there done this? Is it as simple as
> telling
> students to stow them until they leave the exam room? Any
insights
> or
> advice would be appreciated!
> Laura
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Academy of Legal Studies in Business (ALSB) Talk
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
Christiansen,
> Linda A
> Sent: Monday, September 13, 2004 6:45 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: High Tech Cheating
>
>
> Hello everyone,
> If you have not seen the recent articles on high tech cheating
in
> the
> Wall Street Journal, I have included the two articles for your
> reading
> pleasure. Apparently students have found all kinds of uses for
new
> electronic gadgets.
>
> My students who read the WSJ thought these were great ideas.
Now
> if I
> could just get them to read the serious business articles...
>
> Linda Christiansen
>
>
> GADGETS
>
> High-Tech Cribbing:
> Camera Phones
> Boost Cheating
>
> By MARLON A. WALKER
> Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
> September 10, 2004; Page B1
>
> Diann Baecker thought it was odd that a student in one of her
> language
> classes had left his cellphone flipped open during a test --
until
> she
> started grading the exams.
>
> The assistant professor at Virginia State University in
Petersburg
> noticed that the student, and his neighbor, had used identical
> language
> to answer an essay question. She deduced that one student must
have
> taken a picture of his neighbor's essay with his
camera-equipped
> phone
> and then copied the answer onto his own test using the image on
the
> phone's screen.
>
> These days, Prof. Baecker tells students to put their phones
under
> their
> desks, along with their books and backpacks. "The picture phone
is
> the
> new thing" for cheating, she says. "Technology just makes it a
lot
> easier. They're not leaning over their neighbor's shoulders
> anymore."
>
> A small but growing number of students are using camera phones
to
> cheat,
> according to students and educators across the country. The
> techniques
> vary: Camera phones can be used to create high-tech cheat
sheets,
> letting students call up photos of key notes they took back in
the
> dorm.
> A student also could surreptitiously send a photo of his
answers to
> a
> friend sitting in the same classroom during an exam.
>
> As millions of students head back to school, camera phones
have
> become
> almost as commonplace as cellphones in colleges, high schools
and
> even
> some middle schools. Camera-phone sales are skyrocketing, from
just
> 4,000 in the U.S. and Canada at the end of 2002 to an estimated
> 21.4
> million by the end of this year, according to consulting firm
> Yankee
> Group in Boston. Camera phones are expected to rise to about
half
> of all
> cellphone sales in the two countries by the end of 2006, Yankee
> says.
>
> Yet professors and teachers often don't realize the phones can
be
> used
> as a cheating device. And even among instructors who are aware
of
> the
> problem, enforcement is challenging because many students
resist
> parting
> with their phones.
>
> "The average faculty member doesn't understand what their
students
> are
> doing," says Donald McCabe, a Rutgers University professor who
> helped
> found the Center for Academic Integrity at Duke University in
> Durham,
> N.C. The center focuses on reducing cheating among students.
>
> Cameras are just the latest way cellphones are being used for
> cheating.
> Students have become increasingly sophisticated in using their
> phone
> dial pads to send text messages containing test answers to
fellow
> test-takers. In 2003, the University of Maryland failed a group
of
> undergraduate business-school students after they were caught
> engaged in
> the practice.
>
> Yet cameras make cheating even easier. One senior at Elon
> University in
> Elon, N.C., had worked the night shift at his job and wasn't
> looking
> forward to several hours of studying for a final exam the next
day.
> Instead, he says, he studied for about 30 minutes and then used
his
> phone to do the rest -- taking pictures of study-guide problems
and
> saving them in his phone.
>
> The student got three extra hours of sleep. And the camera
phone
> helped
> him pass the final, he says.
>
> High schools also are concerned about nefarious uses of
cellphones,
> let
> alone their potential for disrupting classes with constant
rings
> and
> whispered conversations. New York City has a strict
no-cellphone
> policy
> at all public schools. But such a move could be opposed in
other
> communities. Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks,
cellphone
> use
> among high-school and younger students has soared as parents
want
> to be
> able to reach their children. About 45% of U.S. teenagers now
have
> cellphones, Yankee Group says.
>
> Banning phones in school "was not a battle that I was going to
> win,"
> says Jeannette Stern, principal of Wantagh Middle School on New
> York's
> Long Island. "Parents want to be in touch with their children
in
> this
> day and age." At her school and many others, students can bring
> phones
> but they must be stored during class hours.
>
> Certainly, most students don't cheat, and some aren't aware
that
> phones
> could abet the practice even if they were so inclined. Tiffany
> Young, a
> 21-year-old senior at Virginia State University, says she
thought
> Ms.
> Baecker's worries were overblown when the instructor launched
into
> a
> nearly 15-minute tirade warning students not to use camera
phones
> to
> cheat.
>
> Yet as schools embrace technology, they may be creating new
> openings for
> mischief. As more mobile devices like hand-held organizers come
> with Web
> browsers, and schools equip more classrooms with wireless
Internet
> access, students may find themselves able to do Google searches
on
> the
> sly during an exam.
>
> The University of Maryland's graduate business school even
plans to
> give
> BlackBerries to all incoming students. "We know we have just
given
> them
> all the tools to cheat," says Cherie Scricca, associate dean of
> master
> programs and career management at the school. "We are trying to
> ascertain how the community establishes rules and guidelines
for
> itself."
>
> But most schools are trying to fight back. At Case Western
> University in
> Cleveland, a number of professors are asking students to leave
> their
> phones in a basket and warning them about the dangers of
cheating.
> The
> punishment for being caught at most schools is severe:
expulsion.
>
> "It's the updated version of 'leave your textbooks in the front
of
> the
> classroom.' We had to move and realize there are other items
that
> need
> to be in front of the classroom," says Timothy M. Dodd, Case
> Western's
> associate dean for undergraduate studies and president-elect of
the
> board of the Center for Academic Integrity.
>
> Yet even when caught, some cheaters are undeterred. Last
spring, a
> student at Houston Community College used a camera phone to
copy
> another
> student's work for a math class. After reprimanding the
student,
> Prof.
> Linda Rosenkranz went back to her lecture. Not 15 minutes
later,
> the
> student was back at work with her phone in the back of the
room.
> And as
> for that student? "She failed."
>
>
>
>
> September 13, 2004
>
>
> THE JOURNAL REPORT: TECHNOLOGY
>
>
>
> Putting Tech to the Test
>
> As students turn to high-tech gadgets to cheat, schools
consider
> turning
> to high-tech gadgets to stop them By LAUREN ETTER
> Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
> September 13, 2004; Page R17
>
> Cheating has entered the digital age. Around the world,
students
> have
> stopped hiding crib sheets and whispering to their neighbors --
and
> started swapping test answers by cellphone, camera phone and
PDA.
>
> In January 2003, the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith
> School of
> Business failed a group of accounting students for using
cellphones
> to
> receive text-message answers during a test. In England last
summer,
> proctors caught 254 secondary-school students illicitly using
> cellphones
> during tests, according to the Assessments and Qualifications
> Alliance,
> a testing administrator. In June, five students in China were
> caught
> text-messaging answers for a national college-entrance exam.
The
> students face criminal charges of stealing state secrets. Other
> e-cheaters have cropped in Ireland, South Korea, New Zealand
and
> Canada.
>
> Now a handful of tech firms and software developers have begun
> hawking
> high-tech countermeasures to put the cheaters out of business.
The
> most
> aggressive gadgets block cellphone signals. Others simply sound
an
> alarm
> when a signal is detected, and leave enforcement up to the
proctor.
>
> Test Case
>
> Many schools and testing centers are shunning the devices,
saying
> they
> don't want to turn their facilities into high-tech surveillance
> zones.
> But some high-profile names in education think electronic
solutions
> are
> rapidly becoming a necessity.
>
> Electronic cheating is "definitely a major problem. We deal
with it
> every day," says Bud Wood, president of the National College
> Testing
> Association, a trade group for testing professionals, and
manager
> for
> testing services at Brigham Young University, the largest
> college-testing center in the U.S. "We are trying to find ways
to
> detect
> it. I think we will definitely go ahead with" purchasing
cellphone
> detectors.
>
> He says his center is looking at a handheld cellphone-signal
> detector
> developed by Global Gadget Ltd. of England. The device's
> manufacturer,
> Zetron, also builds detectors for Cellbusters Mobile Security
> Products,
> of Phoenix. The devices can pick up radio waves emitted from
any
> cellphone or wireless PDA within 90 feet. When the waves are
> detected,
> the gadget flashes a red light, sounds an alarm or broadcasts a
> prerecorded message asking the cellphone user to turn off the
> phone.
>
> Safe Haven Technologies Ltd., based in England, has developed a
> software
> application that would disable the camera function on
cellphones.
> The
> blocking function kicks in whenever the phones pick up a signal
> from a
> wireless server, which would be installed in schools.
>
> The company says it hasn't found a phone maker to install the
> software
> in its products, although there are "progressed negotiations
with a
> growing number of handset manufacturers and network operators,"
> says
> Patrick Snow, chief executive of Safe Haven.
>
> CRIMINAL CLASS
>
>
>
> A look at some high-tech cheating methods students use-and the
> countermeasures some teachers have adopted, or are considering
>
> STUDENTS USE...
>
> Text messaging on cellphones to send each others answers during
a
> test
>
> Camera phones to photograph exam questions and send them to a
> friend
> outside the room. The friend fills in the answers, photographs
them
> and
> sends the picture back.
>
> Internet chat rooms to post exam answers online
>
> TEACHERS CAN USE...
>
> Cellphone detectors, which sound an alarm when they detect
wireless
> activity
>
> Cellphone jammer, which blocks all incoming and outgoing
signals
> (illegal in the U.S. and Europe)
>
> Quiet Cell, a device that reroutes incoming calls to voice mail
and
> prevents outgoing calls (illegal in the U.S. and Europe)
>
> Safe Haven, a software program built into phones that allows
their
> camera function to be disabled
>
>
>
>
>
> Cell Block Technologies Inc., based in Fairfax, Va., is
currently
> developing Quiet Cell, a device that would automatically
reroute
> incoming calls to voice mail and block outgoing calls. "There
is a
> tremendous amount of concern in schools -- everything from the
bar
> exam
> to you name it," says J. David Derosier, president and CEO of
Cell
> Block. "We have even talked with some schools that have offered
to
> be
> test sites." Mr. Derosier says that from February to May, his
> company's
> Web site saw a 50% increase in hits from U.S. schools over last
> year.
>
> But his product faces a big hurdle: It would be illegal in the
U.S.
> under Federal Communications Commission regulations, which
prohibit
> interfering with licensed telecommunications. Mr. Derosier says
he
> plans
> to launch a grass-roots effort to change the rules, by taking
his
> company public and having shareholders work as a lobbying team.
For
> now,
> he says he will also focus on markets outside the U.S.
>
> For some of these tech companies, anti-cheating is a relatively
new
> sideline. Their original business was preventing cellphone use
in
> prisons, government and military facilities, hospitals and
movie
> theaters -- anyplace that had imposed phone-regulation
policies.
>
> Cellbusters CEO Derek Forde says he originally thought that the
> detector
> would be best used in schools to prevent cellphones ringing in
> class. He
> didn't realize that there was a market for anti-cheating
devices
> until
> he noticed that "converged" cellphones -- which can take
pictures,
> store
> lots of data, send e-mail and surf the Web -- were becoming
cheap
> enough
> for students to afford.
>
> "Students are able to text in their pocket without seeing their
> phone,"
> says Mr. Forde. "They are able to do it almost blindfolded."
>
> Currently, few schools or testing centers in the U.S. will
admit to
> officially using electronic devices to prevent cheating. Mr.
Forde
> says
> educational facilities currently account for about 5% of his
sales,
> but
> adds that many potential customers are testing the device,
> including a
> large U.S. testing center.
>
> Some schools outside of the U.S. have already put the
technology in
> place. At Heathland School in Hounslow, England, Senior Deputy
Head
> Nigel Roper uses a Taiwanese cellphone detector.
>
> "Mobile-phone technology is becoming more sophisticated," Mr.
Roper
> says, explaining that some children have been caught using
> cellphones to
> send text messages and photo images of the test answers.
>
> He has found that the detector is best used as a deterrent
rather
> than
> an active alarm. All in all, he considers the detector to be
"quite
> a
> good investment."
>
> Another British school found detectors useless. "We tried it
out as
> an
> experiment, but it wasn't much use to us," says Tony Hacking,
> deputy
> head of All Hallows High School in Preston, England.
>
> Mr. Hacking complains that the detector, from Global Gadget,
isn't
> sophisticated enough to identify the student who is using a
> device --
> just the general area from where the signal is coming from.
>
> Other potential users express concerns that the detector would
be
> prone
> to false alarms. Moreover, they argue, the process of hunting
down
> an
> offender would be disruptive to honest test takers, and would
take
> so
> long it would allow a student ample time to illicitly access a
> cellphone
> or PDA.
>
> Michael Menage, CEO of Global Gadget, says the device is used
best
> as a
> deterrent. "It is not designed to track somebody down and hone
in
> on the
> exact desk," he says, adding, "Even the best cellphone
detector"
> can't
> automatically pinpoint a cheater.
>
> Still, he suggests that cheaters are intimidated by the
presence of
> the
> gadget in the test room. If you received an illicit message and
a
> proctor was patrolling with a detector, "I think you'd look
pretty
> damned guilty," he says.
>
> As far as disruptiveness, he says that the device can be
switched
> to
> vibrate instead of sounding an alarm. But he concedes that it
could
> be
> distracting to have a teacher walking down aisles pointing the
> device at
> people.
>
> Ultimately, though, Mr. Hacking booted the device because he
didn't
> like
> the reputation it gave his school. It "made our school look as
if
> it was
> the cheat center of the universe."
>
> Many schools share the concern about image. Some parents say
> cellphone
> detectors, like metal detectors, would make schools come to
> resemble
> prisons.
>
> Diane Waryold, executive director of the Center for Academic
> Integrity
> at Duke University in Durham, N.C., thinks the prospect of
> electronic
> monitoring devices in the classroom is "a little bit
troubling."
> She
> says, "We are trying to create a trusting relationship between
> faculty
> and students. I don't want to see an arms race with our
students."
>
> For the time being, most schools dictate that cellphones must
be
> switched off during the day -- and some have banned them
outright.
> But
> bans carry their own image problem. With Columbine and Sept. 11
> still
> fresh in their memory, many parents want to keep constant lines
of
> communication to their children.
>
> Center of Attention
>
> Since schools have proved tough to crack, Cellbusters is
turning
> its
> attention to large testing centers, which have a hefty
financial
> stake
> in the integrity of examinations. According to Tom Ewing,
spokesman
> for
> Educational Testing Services, a single SAT test takes almost a
year
> to
> create, and costs anywhere between $250,000 and $350,000.
>
> The Law School Admission Council, the official administrator of
the
> Law
> School Admission Test, or LSAT, became intimately aware of the
> threat in
> 1997, when a University of Southern California test taker ran
out
> of the
> exam room with his test book. A proctor chased him, but
couldn't
> stop
> him from hopping into a getaway car.
>
> Hours later, the thief sent the LSAT answers to two test takers
at
> the
> University of Hawaii at Manoa -- where the test was just
> commencing --
> via electronic pager. The proctor became suspicious when she
> noticed the
> test takers frequently looking at their pagers. She let them
finish
> their exams, then contacted the LSAC, which turned the case
over to
> the
> Los Angeles Police Department.
>
> All three students were prosecuted in California Superior Court
on
> charges of conspiracy to commit robbery. They were sentenced to
a
> year
> in jail each and forced to pay $97,000 in restitution to the
LSAC.
>
> The LSAC retains experts in electronic surveillance equipment
from
> Securitas Security Services USA Inc. to provide staff to
administer
> tests, carry out security investigations and alert testing
> companies of
> the latest cheating gadgetry and trends.
>
> But, for now, it doesn't use electronic detection devices. Jim
> Vaseleck,
> executive assistant to the president of the LSAC, notes that
astute
> proctors, not gadgets, foiled the USC plot -- leading him to
> believe
> that the detectors are gratuitous.
>
> "We instruct test takers and train proctors that folks are not
> allowed
> to bring electronic devices into testing centers," he says.
>
> Plus, he believes that low-tech cheating schemes, which can be
> combated
> only with astute proctors, remain a bigger problem. He notes
> incidents
> where test takers carved exam answers into No. 2 pencils,
selling
> them
> on the black market for close to $1,000, or lined up
> different-colored
> M&Ms on a desk to correspond to answers of multiple-choice
> questions.
> "Electronic devices present more of a nuisance than a security
> problem,"
> Mr. Vaseleck says.
>
>
>
|
