Strategies for Fortifying Academic Integrity

As educational institutions adapt to diverse assessment environments, Honorlock equips faculty with a new suite of practical, technology-driven tips designed to bolster academic integrity. These strategies, adaptable across various assessment formats from essays to open-book exams, address modern challenges like unauthorized software use, leaked test material, and the persistent issue of mobile device cheating.

The following methods offer targeted ways to utilize Honorlock to maintain a secure and fair environment during online assessments:

For Essays and Digital Submissions:

• Restrict Access: Utilize Honorlock’s BrowserGuard™ technology to limit students to only use specific, authorized software and sites (e.g., Google Docs or Microsoft Word) during typing.
• Disable Copy/Paste: Instructors can opt to use Honorlock to prevent students from copying exam content and pasting it outside the assessment (e.g. Generative AI tools).
• Define Use of Materials: Clearly state rules regarding the use of personal paper for handwritten components to preemptively manage unauthorized notes.

For Math Problems and Pen-and-Paper Work:

• Visible Work Process: Mandate that students hold up a blank piece of paper to the camera before starting. Students must then show their work after the completion of each question, ensuring the entire problem-solving process is visible for verification.
• Comprehensive Verification: Continue to use established practices like ID verification and room scans to confirm the student’s identity and testing environment.

For Software-Based Assessments:

• Screen and Audio Recording: Record students’ screens throughout the assessment to monitor application use. Additionally, record audio and require students to vocalize and explain their actions as they work, adding a layer of accountability and insight into their thought process.
• Strict Software Control: Enable controls (browser guard) to allow only specific, permitted software to run, blocking new windows, tabs, and unapproved applications.

For Quizzes and Exams:

• Resource Pre-Approval: Conduct a room scan to confirm that only allowed physical resources are present.
• Digital Resource Whitelisting: For digital resources, pre-approve and whitelist the exact URLs of permitted digital materials, such as eBooks, to prevent broader web searching.
• Detect Mobile Devices: Honorlock’s online proctoring software can detect when test takers attempt to use cell phones and alerts a test proctor to enter the test session and address the situation. 
• Multiple Monitor Detection: If Honorlock detects that multiple monitors are being used during an assessment, users may receive an error message stating “multiple monitors detected”. Students are then walked through the steps for disabling the second monitor during the assessment.
• Protect Exam Integrity: You invest a lot of time creating quality exam content. It’s frustrating to find out how easy it is for test takers to find and share exam content on the internet. Honorlock’s unique Search & Destroy™ technology searches the internet to identify exam questions that have been shared online and provides simple steps to take control of compromised content.
• Prevent AI Use: Honorlock’s BrowserGuard™ secures the browser in order to block unauthorized AI extensions during online exams while still allowing approved accessibility tools.

These combined strategies represent a proactive approach, integrating both procedural and technological safeguards to uphold the value of academic assessment. For more information see, Using Honorlock with Canvas.

For assistance, contact the Instructional Technology Resource Center at AnswersITRC@isu.edu.