Is the Apple Watch the perfect tool for cheating on tests?
Well, yes and no...
I've seen a few stories in recent weeks about how schools and colleges are beginning to ban students from wearing Apple Watches and other wearable devices when taking exams. For example, Watches ban for exams inThe West Australian, and The best Apple Watch apps for cheating at math and science in Cult of Mac.
These types of devices will undoubtedly raise concerns about student cheating, in the same way that smartphones did, and before those, calculators with alphanumeric keypads and persistent memory. More recently, Google Glass has been a focus of attention.
Although the Apple Watch will not start shipping for another week, there are already apps for solving math and science problems that include an array of tools designed to help students “solve all the different problems that can be met at school or at the university”, and which may “be consulted during homework or class exercises, when we don’t remember exactly 'that formula' that will allow us to solve the problem.”
Mobixee's iMathematics, iChemistry and iPhysics apps include subject matter references, formulas, definitions, theorems, calculators and unit conversion capabilities. Information can be looked up using either the touch interface or voice search. Students can even access notes they created in the iPhone or iPad versions of these apps. This brings to mind an adventure book I read as a child, Danny Dunn and the Homework Machine. Unfortunately for Danny, he didn't live in the 21st century and the machine took up an entire room, so it would not have been an entirely practical matter to bring one to school.
How much of a threat might wrist computers pose to exam security and integrity? A lot, perhaps, for those types of examinations that currently allow students to bring watches, phones and other devices into the testing room. But for tests that already enforce prohibitions on personal items, the risk should be minimal for the time being. A smartwatch or other clearly visible electronic device should immediately draw the attention of a competent invigilator. Requiring a student to demonstrate he or she is not wearing a watch (or Google Glass) before being seated should provide adequate protection, for the time being at least.
Today's smartwatches are clunky and probably not yet the tool of choice for cheating on an exam. But cheaters often find ways to take advantage of new technologies before the rest of the world catches up with them. Perhaps now is the time for educators and test administrators to give close consideration to how wearable devices will likely evolve into a threat in the not too distant future, and begin reviewing policies and procedures with an eye to mitigating the risks.