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My kid just got a school-issued iPad in 5th grade. Awesome! But he's also required to buy a lame-o TI calculator as well?! Why?! Oh, because the standardize

by egb 13y ago

My kid just got a school-issued iPad in 5th grade. Awesome! But he's also required to buy a lame-o TI calculator as well?! Why?! Oh, because the standardized testing companies are freaked out by iPads. TI has a stranglehold because of a lack of wifi??? How can we get iPads accepted as legit devices to use while taking tests? I'm getting flashbacks to all the open vs closed book debates about testing that I went through in high school and college...

fnordfnordfnord 13y ago
How can we get iPads accepted as legit devices to use while taking tests? Remove the ability to communicate, boot it to a standard image that doesn't allow cheats.
- yareally 13y ago
  Someone will find a way if given the will and the time. Finding a way around imposed restrictions is much more for fun and the challenge than the actual cheating (mainly because the amount of effort involved in doing it means you know or end up learning the material in the process). 5th graders may not be as much of a worry, but students approaching and in high school would be. It might detour some, but not those with a more "hacker mentality." Just for comparison, all of my Computer Science Exams were given on paper and this was all within the last 5-6 years. Why? Because given the ability to use a computer, someone would have found a way to get an advantage, probably more for the challenge than the actual cheating. This was at one of the top 5 largest universities in the United States as well, so there was no shortage of money or brainpower.
- egb 13y ago
  It sucks that googling for something counts as cheating, when really it's a skill that applies to about 90% of real life :-)
  - fnordfnordfnord 13y ago
    Last year I caught two students IM'ing during a final. Most of my exams are open book, open note; so I am not unsympathetic to the realities of how a real job is[1]. [1] source: I used to have a real job.
    - egb 13y ago
      I agree that "asking a friend" is not legit and would be cheating, but using google to find something is more like open book testing. The closest thing I could think of would be to set the iPad into Guided Access mode where you can't exit an app at all, but having teachers do that to every kid's iPad would take a while...

by egb 13y ago

fnordfnordfnord 13y ago

How can we get iPads accepted as legit devices to use while taking tests? Remove the ability to communicate, boot it to a standard image that doesn't allow cheats.

yareally 13y ago
Someone will find a way if given the will and the time. Finding a way around imposed restrictions is much more for fun and the challenge than the actual cheating (mainly because the amount of effort involved in doing it means you know or end up learning the material in the process). 5th graders may not be as much of a worry, but students approaching and in high school would be. It might detour some, but not those with a more "hacker mentality." Just for comparison, all of my Computer Science Exams were given on paper and this was all within the last 5-6 years. Why? Because given the ability to use a computer, someone would have found a way to get an advantage, probably more for the challenge than the actual cheating. This was at one of the top 5 largest universities in the United States as well, so there was no shortage of money or brainpower.
egb 13y ago
It sucks that googling for something counts as cheating, when really it's a skill that applies to about 90% of real life :-)
- fnordfnordfnord 13y ago
  Last year I caught two students IM'ing during a final. Most of my exams are open book, open note; so I am not unsympathetic to the realities of how a real job is[1]. [1] source: I used to have a real job.
  - egb 13y ago
    I agree that "asking a friend" is not legit and would be cheating, but using google to find something is more like open book testing. The closest thing I could think of would be to set the iPad into Guided Access mode where you can't exit an app at all, but having teachers do that to every kid's iPad would take a while...