Indiana University Southeast faculty held a virtual workshop on Nov. 2 to discuss the implementation of Honorlock, an online exam proctoring service, in select IUS courses and its role in promoting academic integrity.
Honorlock allows instructors to monitor students during online exams and flags suspicious activity that occurs during their tests. This activity can include excessive movements, speech, or prompting AI to generate answers to the exam’s questions. Any suspicious movement or sounds are flagged for review and brought to the instructor to verify whether the student has cheated.
The presenters discussed the benefits of the program, including more reliable assessments, improved oversight of online examinations, and access to technical support. However, they also acknowledged several challenges, such as configuring proctoring parameters to mitigate false activity flags and the time required to review exam recordings.
Catie Eichhorn, a lecturer in management information systems at IUS and one of the workshop’s presenters, described an incident in which Honorlock had detected a student making an Apple Handoff to another device after their video feed had disconnected. When the feed returned, the student had completed and submitted the exam. This activity was flagged by Honorlock and reviewed by Eichhorn, who promptly reported the incident as academic misconduct.
“I think the software builds confidence that our assessments are actually gauging student knowledge,” Eichhorn said in an email following the workshop. Eichhorn also said that she has submitted more academic misconduct reports since adopting Honorlock, but cautioned that this does not necessarily indicate an increase in cheating among students.
“For me, it’s not about ‘catching cheaters’ but encouraging students to perform their assessments with integrity,” Eichhorn said.
A question was raised during the workshop regarding student privacy. Eichhorn and fellow lecturer Ranida Harris explained that the university had vetted the program and that exam recordings cannot be downloaded. Students who are still concerned about privacy may have the option of taking examinations at a testing center with a human proctor.
Robert Banasiewicz, an IUS student who has used Honorlock, expressed concerns about the personal information that students must provide before exams proctored by Honorlock.
“Given the fact that I have to submit a face scan, photo ID, and a room scan each time I want to take an assessment, I am a little concerned about what happens to my data afterward,” Banasiewicz said.
Banasiewicz said he has not encountered technical difficulties with Honorlock, but prefers in-person exams.
The lecturers cited the book “The Opposite of Cheating: Teaching for Integrity in the Age of AI” as one of their inspirations for hosting the workshop. According to Eichhorn, the book emphasizes removing opportunities for cheating as a way of teaching integrity. Eichhorn cited this principle as one of her primary reasons for adopting Honorlock.
A recording of the virtual workshop will be available for viewing in the coming weeks.
Zachary Beasley is a student in JOUR-J200 Reporting, Writing, and Editing and is a contributing writer for The Horizon.
