This is a scary and unacceptable invasion of students' privacy, especially the personal background and biometric data. I'm a university professor and I sometimes teach online courses. The tests I design are such that someone who has not taken the course can't answer the questions just based on a textbook or study materials. I'd rather live with cheating than with such invasive systems, but I whole-heartedly agree with comment #1, that if we redesign education, we have to do so from the ground up. - Mihaela Vorvoreanu from FriendFeed MT Plugin

as an online student, i have to agree that it is entirely possible to have a course in which not only is the book open in front of you, but you have the entire internet at your searchtips, yet the course can be designed for actual learning rather than just standardized test results. that is the problem with American education, we are concentrating too much on multiple choice tests that everyone can pass by rout memorization rather than learning problem solving skills that enhance absorption and utilization - Nathan Eckenrode

Nathan: When you say that this is the problem with American education, do you mean in contrast to some other form of education? I understand it's far worse in other countries, especially ones that churn out "smarter" graduates (like Japan). Honestly curious if there's a better way out there. - Brent Newhall

@Nathan - Just an observation. I'm from India. Just finished High School. Atleast you had to just rote-learn multiple choice questions. We had to rote learn questions with answers several pages long. - Yuvi

@Bjorn - the privacy issue comes in when the online school forces you to install a camera on your computer that monitors your environment while you take an exam. Not sure how much of a problem that would be for most people, but it is definitely a concern. As for learning styles, I have spoken with teachers in online school since I wrote this and they all stressed what I wrote in the article. Online courses (at least for colleges) shouldn't focus on exams too much and more on projects and group work. - Frederic

Students in traditional classes cheat: they cheat themselves by looking at other people's exams, they cheat themselves by text messaging, and they cheat themselves by writing answers on their hands. Instead, what is the purpose of the class? If I am taking a class to gain a higher wage (simply by taking the class) then I am not as motivated. Instead, if I am learning something valuable then I am all over the topic. - LPH™ and his dog P™