Ban the use of honorlock at FIT
Ban the use of honorlock at FIT
The Issue
Due to the spread of COVID-19, Florida Institute of Technology and many other educational institutions around the world have given students the option for virtual courses in addition to face-to-face learning. While this decision greatly benefits the well-being of the population and protects individuals from potential exposure to the virus, it gives students at FIT a difficult choice to make between going on campus or study remotely. Honorlock makes that decision even more difficult.
First, online classes are no substitute for traditional learning. With these virtual interactions, Professors and students are now required to alter their methods of learning, making it difficult for those impacted by the virus and/or external factors. During this time, we acknowledge that the administration is dealing with personal anxieties and institutional emergencies regarding COVID-19. We also acknowledge the need to further higher education learning yet the added pressure on students to meet honorlock requirements poses a challenge for many and invades their privacy. Below we outline the reasons why Honorlock should not be an acceptable program for FIT to force upon its students:
1. Honorlock requires students to show 360 degrees of the room in which their exam will take place. This is problematic for students who have sensitive items/material in view.
2. Honorlock takes a picture of both your face and photo ID. It also collects your IP address, email address, and cookie data. This raises a multitude of privacy concerns. With hacking becoming more commonplace as time passes, this information is at risk of being leaked.
4. Honorlock will record the student throughout the entire exam, both their screen and their background. This has raised concerns for those with small children in the household who may come into view without clothes on. In addition, when flagged as cheating due to noise or other individuals coming into view, a live person will watch the students for the remainder of usage.
5. Honorlock is allowed to keep this information for up to a year, and in some cases up to 2 years.
6. You are required to use google chrome, a web browser that has been accused of taking and selling people’s personal information.
7. Honorlock requires a webcam and microphone. This places students with limited access to technology or a quiet testing location at a disadvantage. Additionally, there is a delay in delivering packages depending on its necessity, a category that webcams do not fall under. Without one, students automatically fail their exams.
8. Students must have a reliable internet connection, which again is not a reality for many.
9. Honorlock claims that during the exam, they can detect usage from a student’s devices such as cell phones and Ipads. They will also screen record your device if suspected of cheating. You are required to be in the room alone for the duration of the exam. This does not account for students with difficult living situations.
10. Honorlock requires access to the student's network and can scan all devices connected to the same. This includes anyone working from home in the household, which breaches privacy agreements for most at-home based companies, as well as the privacy of all individuals who have not agreed to being spied on.
11. By forcing Honorlock on its students, it sends the message that FIT does not trust them. Cheating has been a concern since the beginning of school testing. Using programs like Honorlock, and those similar, is simply putting a blanket of distrust over all who attend.
With all of these in mind, students are being forced between using this program, risking their health by going on campus, dropping the class, or receiving a zero. Those of us who are in the at-risk category for covid, who are struggling to make ends meet, who do not live on campus, or who have had their lives turned upside down shouldn't feel like we are being put between a rock and a hard place.
The current pandemic has been a stressful time for many around the nation. As students at Florida Institute of Technology, we come from diverse backgrounds and during a time like this, we must come together as a community. Recognizing the altered lives of many is extremely important, but even more so, it is necessary for the administration to take steps in alleviating some of the pressure and stress placed on its student body. We do not demand for final exams to be cancelled, but for the extraneous requirements of Honorlock to be removed.
President McCay and faculty, we implore you to reconsider the use of Honorlock by our college.
Links to support our claims:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/10/us/online-testing-cheating-universities-coronavirus.html
1,154
The Issue
Due to the spread of COVID-19, Florida Institute of Technology and many other educational institutions around the world have given students the option for virtual courses in addition to face-to-face learning. While this decision greatly benefits the well-being of the population and protects individuals from potential exposure to the virus, it gives students at FIT a difficult choice to make between going on campus or study remotely. Honorlock makes that decision even more difficult.
First, online classes are no substitute for traditional learning. With these virtual interactions, Professors and students are now required to alter their methods of learning, making it difficult for those impacted by the virus and/or external factors. During this time, we acknowledge that the administration is dealing with personal anxieties and institutional emergencies regarding COVID-19. We also acknowledge the need to further higher education learning yet the added pressure on students to meet honorlock requirements poses a challenge for many and invades their privacy. Below we outline the reasons why Honorlock should not be an acceptable program for FIT to force upon its students:
1. Honorlock requires students to show 360 degrees of the room in which their exam will take place. This is problematic for students who have sensitive items/material in view.
2. Honorlock takes a picture of both your face and photo ID. It also collects your IP address, email address, and cookie data. This raises a multitude of privacy concerns. With hacking becoming more commonplace as time passes, this information is at risk of being leaked.
4. Honorlock will record the student throughout the entire exam, both their screen and their background. This has raised concerns for those with small children in the household who may come into view without clothes on. In addition, when flagged as cheating due to noise or other individuals coming into view, a live person will watch the students for the remainder of usage.
5. Honorlock is allowed to keep this information for up to a year, and in some cases up to 2 years.
6. You are required to use google chrome, a web browser that has been accused of taking and selling people’s personal information.
7. Honorlock requires a webcam and microphone. This places students with limited access to technology or a quiet testing location at a disadvantage. Additionally, there is a delay in delivering packages depending on its necessity, a category that webcams do not fall under. Without one, students automatically fail their exams.
8. Students must have a reliable internet connection, which again is not a reality for many.
9. Honorlock claims that during the exam, they can detect usage from a student’s devices such as cell phones and Ipads. They will also screen record your device if suspected of cheating. You are required to be in the room alone for the duration of the exam. This does not account for students with difficult living situations.
10. Honorlock requires access to the student's network and can scan all devices connected to the same. This includes anyone working from home in the household, which breaches privacy agreements for most at-home based companies, as well as the privacy of all individuals who have not agreed to being spied on.
11. By forcing Honorlock on its students, it sends the message that FIT does not trust them. Cheating has been a concern since the beginning of school testing. Using programs like Honorlock, and those similar, is simply putting a blanket of distrust over all who attend.
With all of these in mind, students are being forced between using this program, risking their health by going on campus, dropping the class, or receiving a zero. Those of us who are in the at-risk category for covid, who are struggling to make ends meet, who do not live on campus, or who have had their lives turned upside down shouldn't feel like we are being put between a rock and a hard place.
The current pandemic has been a stressful time for many around the nation. As students at Florida Institute of Technology, we come from diverse backgrounds and during a time like this, we must come together as a community. Recognizing the altered lives of many is extremely important, but even more so, it is necessary for the administration to take steps in alleviating some of the pressure and stress placed on its student body. We do not demand for final exams to be cancelled, but for the extraneous requirements of Honorlock to be removed.
President McCay and faculty, we implore you to reconsider the use of Honorlock by our college.
Links to support our claims:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/10/us/online-testing-cheating-universities-coronavirus.html
1,154
Petition created on January 22, 2021