Artifact #7 "Professors Use Technology to Fight Student Cheating"

The article "Professors Use Technology to Fight Student Cheating" was kind of alarming in the extent some students will go just to cheat.  The article discussed how some students would scan a coke bottle wrapper into the computer and replace the nutrition facts and other words with things that are going to be on their test.  Someone else said that they would put a high tech calculater into the body of an allowed one, so the teacher wouldn't be able to see the one they were using was actually high tech and able to store information.  To prevent cheating, some teachers will download software that has a collection of papers and assignments that have already been turned in or published, so that they can just enter the paper they have recieved and the database will see if any of it matches up to any previous documents.  Other teachers have tried collecting all electronics and don't allow food or drinks in while taking a test, to ensure there is no way for a student to cheat.  However, some students have tried using a bluetooth device and chewed gum so that the teacher wouldn't notice they were actually whispering into it to get answers from someone not present.

This is alarming to think about because it shows how much effort some students will put into cheating.  I don't understand why they can't use that same effort and just study to get the grade they want.  I think there is value in studying for a test or writing a paper yourself, and getting the desired result.  If it doesn't work and you get a bad grade on the test or a paper, you devise a new plan and come up with different strategies that will help you succeed.  I think a lot of people of today are always looking for what they think is the easy way out.  Many students have said that they don't know why they should learn things that they are never going to use again, but I think most importantly what school is teaching us is to work hard and to think outside of the box to get to the desired product.  That is deffinately something that can be taken and used in the real world, for the rest of your life.