Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/57872
Technology E-Learning Tools Deter Cheaters Cheating scandals and studies that show levels of cheating among business students have put business schools on the ethical defensive. It doesn't have to be that way, say Anthony Catanach and Noah Barsky, associate professors of accounting at Villanova School of Business in Pennsylvania. If business schools want to stop cheating, they have the perfect tools at their disposal: course management systems and e-testing. Catanach and Barsky have found that today's course management systems offer a number of techno- logically based tools for test admin- istration that work to deter cheating and improve learning. One of the best features, they say, is the cre- ation of randomized tests for each individual student, which students complete on computers. Using the Blackboard system, Barsky and Catanach have created a large database of questions for their accounting tests. Each question is categorized by type, including mul- tiple choice, true-and-false, and cal- culation; thought process required, including memorization and criti- cal thinking; level of difficulty; and learning objective. "If I want to test my students on a certain type of question, I can simply design a test that pulls ques- tions at random from the appro- priate question pools," Catanach says. "Each student takes a test that includes different questions and con- tent, but that covers the same mate- rial." Course management systems also allow professors to scramble the order of choices on multiple-choice questions or change the numbers in a calculation question for each test 62 BizEd NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007 taker. Even if students are sitting side by side as they take the test, CMS technology offers professors "a huge element of control," says Catanach. Catanach and Barsky also set up tests so that students cannot view more than one question at a time, nor can they go back to questions E-testing systems tabulate grades and provide student progress reports instantaneously. Other features of course management systems, such as video and podcasts on course con- tent, not only save professors time in the long run, but also enhance their students' learning experience overall. The professors recently conduct- ed a study to show how the advan- tages of e-learning tools significantly outweigh the initial time faculty must invest to learn the systems and upload content. "When we surveyed accounting students in classes that used e-learn- ing tools liberally, 87 percent noted that e-learning improved their overall learning experience," says Catanach. Although e-learning and course they've already completed. As a result, students working at different speeds will be at different points of the test at any given time, thwarting attempts to read the answer to a par- ticular question off another student's computer screen. Some may argue that such a for- mat puts students at a disadvantage because they can't go back and check their work. Catanach and Barsky address this criticism by allowing students to take any test twice before locking in a final grade. This policy gives students the chance to know the types of questions on the test and work on any weaknesses before a second try. "The second test isn't the same quiz, but it includes the same type of material," Catanach says. "That alleviates a lot of problems." Catanach and Barsky cite other advantages to using CMS tools: management systems must be used consistently and in conjunction with a robust university technology pro- gram, say the professors, such tools not only streamline test administra- tion and grading, but also reduce— or even eliminate—opportunities for students to cheat. New Networking Portal Keeps Students Connected Bentley College in Waltham, Massachusetts, is tapping the growing popularity of online social and professional networks to add a new tool to its career services offerings. The college recently launched FalconNet, one of the first student-to-student, student- to-alumni, and alumni-to-alumni career networking portals. FalconNet was created through a collaborative effort between Bentley's management information systems and marketing teams, as well as Harris Connect, an alumni and membership services company based in Norfolk, Virginia. In addition to ROMAN MARZINGER/GETTY IMAGES