A professor used white font to hide instructions to throw off students using an AI chatbot to cheat on their midterm.

  • onnekas@sopuli.xyz
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    6 days ago

    Or at least give students computers that have restricted or no access to the internet? Even before LLMs having access to the internet would have been a huge opportunity to cheat. At least in most subjects.

    Also, what happened to teachers/supervisors walking around and checking if the students cheat? Back when I went to school we also cheated with cheat sheets or exchanging answers but it was always risky because getting busted meant failing the test (or worse).

    Letting students use the internet unrestrictedly would be like the teacher leaving the room and leaving us unsupervised for the duration of the test back in my days.

    • ChickenLadyLovesLife@lemmy.world
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      5 days ago

      I went to high school in the '80s. I cheated in my German class by inventing my own runic-sort-of script and declining conjugating all the verbs on the cover of my notebook, hiding it in a drawing of a big obelisk or spaceship or the like. I would have this notebook on the floor during the test and I could easily read whatever I needed right off of it. Teacher never suspected a thing.

      And now … I can’t fucking speak German. The teacher did throw a board eraser at my head one time, but that was only because I kept speaking German with a thick Texas accent.

    • A_Chilean_Cyborg@feddit.cl
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      6 days ago

      could be… they made me programa python on paper.

      for introduction to programming, basically you had to try to run the program on your head lmao.

      • grrgyle@slrpnk.net
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        6 days ago

        Yeah I did this with C and it was stressful, but the marks are usually graded more leniently if its clear you just got a function name mixed up for example.

        “Open book” or internet tests or tests you wrote at home were much harder because they know you have all the resources

      • mnemonicmonkeys@sh.itjust.works
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        6 days ago

        I’ve had multiple classes that required writing code by hand. Not that big of a deal imo.

        And before you ask, the first was Intro to C (in which the teacher ironically always wrote the problems in C++) and the second was Applied Numerical Methods

      • ChickenLadyLovesLife@lemmy.world
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        5 days ago

        I visited India in the early '90s and I was surprised to find there a small software shop that had five programmers and one PC. They would write their code (in TurboBasic lol) on paper and then take turns typing it into the computer and running it.

        I did the same thing at the start of my own programming career … only with punchcards instead of pencil and paper.

      • onnekas@sopuli.xyz
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        6 days ago

        It sounds silly but “running the program from your head” is a super important skill as a programmer. It’s what you do when you read and try to understand other people’s code.

        • A_Chilean_Cyborg@feddit.cl
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          6 days ago

          idunno man I’m studying mech eng… still a lot of fun that class ngl, I once was taking an engineering nap at the library, and while I was in the stupor just before asleep, it came to me the answer to a extra point question the teacher had given, one that was supposed to be in the exam but they took it out because they tought it was too hard.

          Damn I felt smart for a brief second there, never in my life had I felt smarter lol.

          yeah i enjoyed that class, but i can’t imagine myself workig as a CompSci/eng/programmer, I found that is just too much brute force for my taste, is just not that elegant.

    • Tollana1234567@lemmy.today
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      6 days ago

      this, they can do this in a computer lab, where a lab moniter employee can watch all the students computers from her computers. they do this at our CC computer labs, 1 moniter hired to watch whatever the students are doing on thier computers, from her computer which moniters all the students comps at once.

    • Honytawk@discuss.tchncs.de
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      5 days ago

      If having access to basic technology like the internet is considered cheating, then your test need to upgrade to the 21st century.

      • onnekas@sopuli.xyz
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        5 days ago

        I’m all for teaching tech literacy. It’s one of the most important skills. However, if a task is about writing your own thoughts in your own words then maybe you should prevent cheating by limiting access to tools like llms or have better supervision.

        If the task involves using technology then the task should be adapted so you still need your own mind to solve it (obviously).