SMC Now Using Proctorio, an Online Monitoring Tool
Screenshot by Marco Pallotti, via the Proctorio official website
On March 19, Santa Monica College (SMC) faculty received an email with the subject line “Proctorio -- test proctoring software now available” from Interim Dean of Instructional Services, Jason Beardsley. The email explained that an online software known as Proctorio had become available to all SMC faculty that use Canvas, in an effort to “enhance academic integrity by monitoring each student’s behavior during an exam.”
Proctorio is a monitoring tool that allows instructors to proctor exams remotely. The program pairs with Google Chrome, and acts as an extension to the web browser. According to the program’s website, instructors “can create global settings, place overriding controls, and acquire data analytics that compare and contrast test-taker behavior to quickly and easily identify abnormalities and trends.”
Now that all SMC faculty can integrate this program with their courses, it is up to each individual instructor to decide if Proctorio would be a constructive addition to their online class.
“SMC is not and will not be ‘requiring’ instructors to use Proctorio, but rather is now able to offer Proctorio to instructors for their optional use,” said Interim Dean Beardsley.
Instructors that opt to use Proctorio are able to customize the controls and set parameters based on how strict they would like surveillance to be. The website provides detailed explanations of various features, including “Lockdown,” “Recording,” and “Verification.” Lockdown ensures that test takers do not switch between tabs on their browser, Recording tapes the test taker’s environment during exam time, and Verification verifies the test taker’s identity through comparing ID documentation with the test-taker’s image in real time.
In light of the recent influx of hacking incidents across the globe -- including the popular video chat application, “Zoom” -- Proctorio ensures that their program is completely secure. The website briefly describes security measures, but does not go in-depth in terms of their technology.
According to the site, “the exam data is recorded and made available exclusively to your course instructor -- and no one else.” Additionally, the company claims to use “military-grade, zero-knowledge encryption” and goes so far as to say that their “privacy design means [they] can’t even see your data. There is nothing for [them] to sell to third parties.”
Despite these reassurances, many SMC students are still wary of the software. The discomfort of being recorded, of having their browser controlled, and of having to potentially display ID prior to taking a test are just a few concerns that have been vocalized. Some students have already participated in trial runs of Proctorio over the past several months, including SMC student Briana JaNae’.
“I actually ended up dropping a Political Science class last semester because the instructor was using this. I didn’t like the idea of it,” said JaNae’. “Having to scan the room to make sure no one else was there with you and being locked into the test screen on your computer, just seems like a bit much.”
In addition to privacy concerns, some feel that the program is not inclusive of an individual’s experience when taking exams, especially for those who have test anxiety or who do coursework in public settings.
“As someone who has test anxiety, having to stop your exam every few minutes to stand up and show your camera around the room was not ideal. Also, creepy having my professor see my room,” said SMC Political Science major Samantha Lopez Cueva. “There can’t be any movement when you take it and the system told me I had to make my dog leave the room due to cheating issues… I was also traveling while taking a class and missed a quiz because I was at the airport and it refused to let me take the quiz due to the movement around me.”
Despite these worries, Proctorio CEO Mike Olsen ensures users that his program is entirely secure and protected. He claims they have not suffered a data breach, and believe it is unlikely to ever occur due to their zero-knowledge encryption -- meaning that only the school can decrypt or watch any videos recorded through Proctorio.
Olsen also confirms that professors can only access their students’ webcams and browsers when they are taking an exam. In other words, professors are not able to turn on a student’s webcam or look at their browser unless an exam is in session.
“Proctorio was designed as a safe download by leveraging the security of a browser extension. As just a browser extension, it has no access to personal files due to a concept called ‘sandboxing,’” said Olsen. “Furthermore, a browser extension can safely be disabled at the end of an exam and re-enabled when ready for the next one. Lastly, we safeguard access to the webcam specifically by only obtaining permission to capture its feed while on the institution's learning management system website.”
With any technological update to SMC’s curriculum comes the question of accessibility. Not all students have access to cameras, and this is a key feature of Proctorio’s monitoring services. However, Interim Dean Beardsley explained that the system’s surveillance methods can be effective without the use of a camera.
“Many instructors using Proctorio will opt for the simpler version that does not require students to use a webcam; that simpler version does require the Chrome browser and uses a browser window lockdown to support the integrity of the exam being proctored… That simpler version of Proctorio might be considered similar to Turnitin.com, a service that SMC instructors have been widely using for years,” said Interim Dean Beardsley.
If a professor chooses to use the version of Proctorio that requires use of a webcam, their courses will be updated on SMC’s online searchable schedule planner, “Corsair Connect.” Interim Dean Beardsley confirmed that “any section requiring the full-featured, webcam-version of Proctorio is noted as such, under the “I” for information in the searchable schedule.”
However, if an instructor plans to use Proctorio without the webcam feature, the searchable schedule will not advertise the use of the program. The simplified version of the program only requires students to have access to Google Chrome, which is free to download on whatever device they are using to take the class.
“It was suggested by the school that we do not use webcams this semester because this was an unexpected event and not all students have access or can afford a webcam right now,” said SMC Life Sciences Assistant Professor Dr. Poliana Raymer. “But even if everyone had one, I would still be uncomfortable asking for a 360-degree scan of one's room. I do feel, however, that if this is something that is clarified from the beginning of the semester on a syllabus, the student can choose to take that class with all foreseen expectations and requirements.”
As of April 28, nine sections will require the web-cam enabled version of Proctorio for 2020’s Summer Session, according to Interim Dean Beardsley.
