Hacker News Reader

Comment by wgerard | Hacker News Reader

There's something about software like this that really creeps me out, even though I realize it's not ridiculously advanced (i.e. it's way more common than I think) anymore. That might just be a personal aversion, though. I can imagine useful scenarios for this even if I get a bit of an icky feeling from it.

My co-founder and I have talked about things like this as an "anti-cheating" measure (we developed a take-home assessment platform), but it always feels way too overboard and invasive for an exaggerated problem (and I'm just against it in pretty much every way imaginable).

Interestingly this somehow feels better than overt measures like ProctorU, but that's an emotional reaction and not a logical one. In some ways it's probably much worse.

View on HN

Some more info about ProctorU (for others who haven't heard about it):

https://www.chronicle.com/article/Behind-the-Webcams-Watchfu...

> Rather than one proctor sitting at the head of a physical classroom and roaming the aisles every once in a while, remote proctors peer into a student's home, seize control of her computer, and stare at her face for the duration of a test, reading her body language for signs of impropriety.

That article is from 2013, I wonder how much of this is now partially automated (i.e. relying on human remote proctors)?

In my experience ProctorU is not automated. They use a branded version of logmeinrescue that allows ProctorU to take full control of your PC and record from your webcam. You can also see the proctor. However, the proctor's camera is usually paused while taking the exam and they proctor more than one exam at a time. ProctorU also executes custom scripts on your PC to check for suspicious software and virtualization.

Source: As a remote student, I have used ProctorU several times. Most recently within the last few months. I use a dedicated PC for this proctoring.

Edit: Clarified text and fixed some typos

Online proctoring is actually a really busy space in edtech. There are numerous companies with products deployed that are fully automated. They record videos of students taking the tests through a webcam, then send the analysis back to the instructors highlighting which videos are worth watching.

I never got the point of that. You can use a hdmi/dvi splitter to allow your accomplice to see your screen, and you can use your monitor's PIP function to allow your accomplice to send messages to you. both of which are totally undetectable to the student's computer.

It’s security theater.

This system seems designed to encourage abuse by all parties involved.

had no idea about this, thanks for the link. Its kind of difficult to put into words how crazy this is to me without hyperbole or cliche. Very much feeling of through the looking glass.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com