Articles on ZDnet and The Guardian discuss the concerns raised by Australian university students over plans by a number of universities in Australia to use exam monitoring software from Proctorio and ProctorU for examinations at the end of this semester. The universities intend to use the software to keep an eye on students taking exams remotely online as a result of the pandemic. The students have been joined by various privacy advocates.
The complaint appears to center on at least three issues. First, there are concerns that the monitoring software will be placed on the personal computers of students in their homes. This pushes beyond just the use of monitoring software on computers owned by the university and housed on campus. Second, some have raised objections to the use of third party firms for this software as opposed to software run by the university. The use of third parties raises questions of data security and privacy. Third, greater transparency regarding the AI employed by the two companies has been requested so that students know they will be treated fairly.
Opinions on this issue range widely with some university leaders calling on students to focus on their studies as the university tries to maintain operations and keep them on track and others suggesting that the university utilize alternative methods of assessment.
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