One of the fatal flaws of Covid putting classes online is the proctoring systems. There’s been a spike in academic dishonesty accusations on friends who I know would never cheat. The camera quality is horrible, the systems cut the videos down and put the blame on the students, and it’s unreliable. It ignores the fact that students are human and can’t stay 100% still. Profs are claiming the system will flag you if you even stop eye contact for one second. They’re risking the future academic career of hardworking students while ignoring the people who have blatantly been cheating since the beginning.
I just had to buy a security camera to put near my desk because I’m autistic and need to stim while I do tests or I’ll meltdown. I’m going to have to keep myself on camera at two different angles to avoid being punished for simply looking at my keyboard or fidgeting a little. This is so dehumanizing and I know it’s important to uphold academic integrity but it’s also important to remember students are human and can’t be expected to sit absolutely still and stare directly at a camera for 75 minutes while we’re supposed to be answering questions, especially those of us who are neurodivergent.