LDB Redux

It seems that my posts on the Lock Down Browser are very popular these days (mid terms must be coming), but it is interesting what has come out of some of the comments – a number of ways to defeat the system.

Most obviously, the easiest way is to have another machine or internet device handy. The middle of the road seems to be some manner of virtualization, even though that seems to be hit and miss (and would require significant permissions for students to install on campus machines) and on the most obscure end, there are assistive applications.

I know that students will often try to find the path of least effort to the highest grade for a given effort, hence the various ideas that have been posted about how to defeat the security of exams all over the ‘net. But as we move toward putting more assessments online, especially for that content that can be machine graded, what are we going to do about security? If it were up to me, I’d say nothing.

Looking at the flap around Rancourt, and spotting D’Arcy’s posting on the use of portfolios or other assessments (which I completely agree with), it seems that the more the Academy clings to the idea of grades, the more time we’ll all waste on the arms race surrounding how to get the grade.

To quote Rancourt:

“Grades poison the educational environment,” he insists. “We’re training students to be obedient, and to try to read our minds, rather than being a catalyst for learning.”

LDB seems to be a way that the Academy is using to try to maintain grades…