Students Techno-Cheating

Well, most would say students have always cheated in school in some way or another, but smartphones pose new challenges for today's educators. Students can 'lift' directly off the internet for homework assignments, photograph the tests, texted answers, and google anything, anytime.  I routinely have to explain to my students that putting in a paragraph in English and hitting a Spanish translator button is cheating. It also doesn't work.  Translators aren't there yet.  I've had to explain to students that their paragraphs have grammar in it that they won't learn for another few years!  I try to convince them it's obvious when they use a translator.  I don't think most don't really believe me.

Temptation is very high right now.  How can teachers combat this?  I have heard about cell phone jammers that block cell phone use by sending out radio waves along the frequencies that cellular phones use. Some teachers collect cell phones before assessments.  Maybe it's time to create different types of assessments.Academic Cheating in the Age of Google