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EFF sues Proctorio on behalf of student falsely DMCA'd

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Re: EFF sues Proctorio on behalf of student falsely DMCA'd

#21

Post by fxtentacle »

mkl wrote: post #18
fxtentacle wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"She then reviewed the flagged sections of the video with her university's dean, who she says agreed that her conduct throughout the test had been honest. This, however, did not resolve the situation. The dean, she explained, said she might still need to re-take the exam." https://www.insider.com/viral-tiktok-student-fails-exam-afte...

That's the dean's mistake. This kind of software categorically does not detect cheating, and cannot be relied solely upon; only a staff member can make that decision. For example, I had one student using proctoring software whose father came into the room during the test, and I as the supervising staff member recognised the event for what it was and ignored it. I don't much like such software, but I accept the curren…

The software will automatically block your screen, meaning you cannot finish the exam if it accidentally activates.

"I was on the second question of an exam composed of 45 questions and I got a black screen. I'm still waiting to see what's going to happen as this is my final......... I tried to access the exam but was locked out and when i went to the exam the chat option wasn't available either. I emailed my professor and unfortunately, he wasn't watching the exam at the time and couldn't do much to help me out."

https://www.reddit.com/r/UBC/comments/g2ub05/god_kicked_out_...

Re: EFF sues Proctorio on behalf of student falsely DMCA'd

#22

Post by anovikov »

mkl wrote: post #13
anovikov wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But i think it's OK to install the software just on a laptop you'd use to take tests, some old laptop, and keep yourself free of surveillance otherwise right? If so, i can't see how is it a problem: someone absolutely has to be watched while taking a test. But if it's during whole education process, then yeah, it's ridiculous and worth fighting against.

The software is only running during the test. Most students install it on their main laptop, and they don't seem to have much problem with that. It runs with elevated privileges (so it can make sure it's the only program running), and it's proprietary, both of which I have objections to, but unless I'm missing something and Proctorio is quite different from the software I've used, I don't see much problem with it. In…

OK then at all, i can't see the problem. Unless there is a reasonable suspicion that it's malware and infects your machine with something that still keeps tabs on you when it's as if not running.

Re: EFF sues Proctorio on behalf of student falsely DMCA'd

#23

Post by Guthur »

fxtentacle wrote: post #5

In case you don't know who Proctorio is: (like me) Apparently it's a supervision software that students are forced to install on their private computer and (as expected) it'll do its worst to invade your privacy and flag "suspicious" things, based on which the university might punish you. "Suspicious" here means wearing glasses [3] or looking around in the room or blinking too much [4] or having eye and/or skin color…

It's actually very disappointing that this whole monitoring system was deemed necessary to begin with. How screwed is the system that anyone one would believe this level of intrusion should be part of the education process.

Re: EFF sues Proctorio on behalf of student falsely DMCA'd

#24

Post by jcelerier »

northrup wrote: post #17

It’s as if nobody has ever read George Orwell’s 1984: “It was terribly dangerous to let your thoughts wander when you were in any public place or within range of a telescreen. The smallest thing could give you away. A nervous tic, an unconscious look of anxiety, a habit of muttering to yourself – anything that carried with it the suggestion of abnormality, of having something to hide. In any case, to wear an improper…

> It’s as if nobody has ever read George Orwell’s 1984

no, they read it and think "how can we do even better"

Re: EFF sues Proctorio on behalf of student falsely DMCA'd

#26

Post by toyg »

jcelerier wrote: post #24
northrup wrote: post #17

It’s as if nobody has ever read George Orwell’s 1984: “It was terribly dangerous to let your thoughts wander when you were in any public place or within range of a telescreen. The smallest thing could give you away. A nervous tic, an unconscious look of anxiety, a habit of muttering to yourself – anything that carried with it the suggestion of abnormality, of having something to hide. In any case, to wear an improper…

> It’s as if nobody has ever read George Orwell’s 1984 no, they read it and think "how can we do even better"

Orwell is the modern Machiavelli. In about 100 years, people will be wondering if 1984 was satire/criticism or an actual blueprint for effective government in the digital age, in the same way the real aim of Il Principe has been endlessly debated for centuries.

Re: EFF sues Proctorio on behalf of student falsely DMCA'd

#27

Post by mkl »

fxtentacle wrote: post #21
mkl wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's the dean's mistake. This kind of software categorically does not detect cheating, and cannot be relied solely upon; only a staff member can make that decision. For example, I had one student using proctoring software whose father came into the room during the test, and I as the supervising staff member recognised the event for what it was and ignored it. I don't much like such software, but I accept the curren…

The software will automatically block your screen, meaning you cannot finish the exam if it accidentally activates. "I was on the second question of an exam composed of 45 questions and I got a black screen. I'm still waiting to see what's going to happen as this is my final......... I tried to access the exam but was locked out and when i went to the exam the chat option wasn't available either. I emailed my profess…

The software sounds faulty. The black screen is terrible UX; it should just silently set a bookmark and let the student continue.

The overall outcome (and the student's experience and stress) is ultimately a staff issue.

The professor should have been on call, and should have been able to get the student back into the questions, or, failing that, to offer another sitting. I have done both of these, among other remedies, and setting student expectations ahead of time is crucial for avoiding massively stressful problems (stuff like "If something goes wrong, stop and email me. I can add lost your time back and get you into the test again, no matter how long it takes to sort out. You won't lose marks from this." and actually follow through). Software inevitably fails sometimes, and it is just a tool. Staff need to make their own decisions.

Re: EFF sues Proctorio on behalf of student falsely DMCA'd

#28

Post by cycomanic »

So lots of people commenting that they don't have an issue with such software. Fine, but that's an entirely different debate.

This is about the company sueing someone for criticising the software, by detailing how it is supposed to work. So even if we accept that we need such software, do we really want to go down the path that software companies can sue people for talking about how it works and criticising them?

Re: EFF sues Proctorio on behalf of student falsely DMCA'd

#30

Post by SEMW »

everyone wrote: post #25

They actually called their software Proctorio !??!?! From the Greek "anus" https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/procto-#English I am dying lol

...Or, just maybe, from the English word "proctor", meaning someone who invigilates an exam.

Which is from the Latin "procurator" meaning overseer, unrelated to the Greek procto-

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