What's to prevent a student taking online courses from cheating? Nothing much, apparently, until this gizmo hits the market:
This fall, Troy University in Alabama will begin rolling out the new camera technology for many of its approximately 11,000 online students, about a third of whom are at U.S. military installations around the world.
The device, made by Cambridge, Mass.-based Software Secure, is similar in many respects to other test-taking software. It locks down a computer while the test is being taken, preventing students from searching files or the Internet. The latest version also includes fingerprint authentication, to help ensure the person taking the test isn't a ringer.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/O/ONLINE_TESTING_CAMERA?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2007-06-19-15-08-40 - via Gizmodo
In addition to blocking other computers, it also blocks friends, siblings, and more importantly books and printout.