To Proctor or not to Proctor? A collection of resources

photo: Alex Spiers

This is a collection of books, articles, blog posts, and social media searches on the topic of online invigilation of high stakes assessment or examinations, also known as online proctoring. I intend this to be a living document which I will add to over time. I am adding it to my blog (which has been starved of love & attention!) in the hope it may be useful to others. These resources are very loosely organised so please accept my apologies in advance. 

In the spirit of openness, I must declare that I am not a huge fan of learning technologies that surveil students at any time, especially during stressful examinations, let alone during a global pandemic. Hence, much of the information below contains a critical commentary of this new technological phenomenon in Higher Education. Throwing light on important issues affecting students such as race, equality, and inclusivity. As well as asking us to consider some fundamental questions about what we believe education to be, and what it is for.

Fundamentally, we must ask more critical questions about the technologies we allow into our lives and institutions.  I’m not claiming to have all, or even any, of the answers here, but it seems clear that more research and wider discussion about this area is required, in order to understand the potential impact these systems have on our students education, mental health and wellbeing.  

Please feel free to contact me or leave a comment with links to articles, blogs or podcasts on this topic.

Books & Articles

• Seraphin, S. B. et al. (2019) ‘A Conceptual Framework for Non-Disposable Assignments: Inspiring Implementation, Innovation, and Research’, Psychology Learning & Teaching, 18(1), pp. 84–97. doi: 10.1177/1475725718811711.
• Camara, W. (2020), Never Let a Crisis Go to Waste: Large‐Scale Assessment and the Response to COVID‐19. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice, 39: 10-18. https://doi-org.gate3.library.lse.ac.uk/10.1111/emip.12358
• SURF White Paper Online Proctoring https://www.surf.nl/files/2020-06/surf-whitepaper-online-proctoring_en_mei-2020.pdf
• Dawson, P. (2020). Defending Assessment Security in a Digital World: Preventing E-Cheating and Supporting Academic Integrity in Higher Education (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429324178

 

Blog Post & Commentary

• Bonnie Stewart overview of the current proctoring state of play. (Added 8/12/20) https://theconversation.com/online-exam-monitoring-can-invade-privacy-and-erode-trust-at-universities-149335 
• Audrey Watters has written widely on invasive educational technologies. http://hackeducation.com/2020/12/01/behaviorism-is-surveillance and http://hackeducation.com/2020/10/06/surveillance & racist algorithms (Updated 8/12/20) 
• VICE Magazine https://www.vice.com/amp/en_us/article/n7wxvd/students-are-rebelling-against-eye-tracking-exam-surveillance-tools and https://www.vice.com/en/article/88anxg/students-have-to-jump-through-absurd-hoops-to-use-exam-monitoring-software 
• The Verge https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/29/21232777/examity-remote-test-proctoring-online-class-education 
• Technology Review  https://www.technologyreview.com/2019/12/20/79/ai-face-recognition-racist-us-government-nist-study/ 
• MIT Review https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/08/07/1006132/software-algorithms-proctoring-online-tests-ai-ethics/?utm_medium=tr_social&utm_campaign=site_visitor.unpaid.engagement&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1597247475 
• Anne Marie Scott Blog post  https://ammienoot.com/brain-fluff/mind-the-ethics-gap/ 
• NY Times article https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/29/style/testing-schools-proctorio.html 
• Facial recognition and race https://venturebeat.com/2020/09/29/examsofts-remote-bar-exam-sparks-privacy-and-facial-recognition-concerns/ 
• AI, Proctoring and the Privacy of students https://www.legalbites.in/data-privacy-of-students-artificial-intelligence/ 
• 21s t Century Assessment: Online Proctoring, Test Anxiety, and Student Performance http://www.ijede.ca/index.php/jde/article/view/1106/1727 
• Washing Post article https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/11/12/test-monitoring-student-revolt/ 
• Students Are Pushing Back Against Proctoring Surveillance Apps https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/09/students-are-pushing-back-against-proctoring-surveillance-apps 
• EDSURGE Article “Pushback Is Growing Against Automated Proctoring Services. But So Is Their Use” https://www.edsurge.com/news/2020-11-13-pushback-is-growing-against-automated-proctoring-services-but-so-is-their-use

Student Petitions & Responses

• Distressed US student https://twitter.com/devon_cantwell/status/1311166671315447808?s=20 (viewed over 1m times) 4.3k retweets, (Updated 8/12/20) 
• Responses to distressed student video https://twitter.com/devon_cantwell/status/1311166671315447808/retweets/with_comments (1.7k comments) (Updated 8/12/20) 
• City University of New York (CUNY) petition https://www.change.org/p/chancellor-f%C3%A9lix-v-matos-rodr%C3%ADguez-do-not-let-cuny-violate-student-privacy?utm_content=cl_sharecopy_24374980_en-US%3A3&recruiter=1031418004&recruited_by_id=fe420080-28ed-11ea-a6db-73771fcdb334&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_initial (28k signatures – CUNY did not implement Proctorio) (Updated 8/12/20) 
• University of British Columbia petition https://docs.google.com/document/d/1117835S2RQkQN_-Ij8nZ2qEzCKgNWqle-O70nKdzpaA/edit (accessed 8/12/20) 
• Twitter Search for “Respondus”  useful to read students (mainly) and staff comments 
• Twitter Search for “Proctorio” 

Podcasts

 TBC

Events

• Jan 7th 2021: LERG (London ELearning Reading Group) Robo Invigilation: Does it work? Is it ethical? https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/robo-invigilation-does-it-work-is-it-ethical-tickets-133229548165?utm_source=eventbrite&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=event_reminder&utm_term=eventname

• Dec 1st 2020: Against Surveillance in Education – a fundraiser in support of Ian Linkletter. A Learning Technologist who is being sued by Proctorio  Presentations and panel discussions can be viewed on YouTube  See also #AgainstSurveillance hashtag 

 Donate

• Please consider supporting Ian Linkletter in his legal case. He is defending this lawsuit raised by software company Proctorio. He is fighting against the use of surveillance technology in education.