The online versus offline education debate rages on with a new infographic. It offers an overview of the current state of cheating in online schools. Before you scroll down, ask yourself if you think more or less students would cheat on tests if they were taking that test online.
What was your answer? If you’re like me, you immediately thought of students quickly opening another tab on their browser, Googling the answer, and cheating without a second thought.
But is that actually what happens? Check out the new infographic from Online College to get the low-down.
I have taken quite a few online classes such as Political Science, Sociology, Environmental Science and English Composition. While all started with 50 students, most of them had only about half that many left by the end of the semester. While many people clearly signed on thinking online classes would be easier than live classes, this turned out not to be the case. Good teachers know how to structure their online courses to minimize plagiarism and cheating. Every thought had to be communicated in writing – and lots of it. The material had to be processed and properly applied. The multiple choice tests were worth only a fraction of the final grade, so if you didn’t get the material, the chances of passing any of the classes with a decent grade were slim to none.