Dumbing down SA

[Azg]

You know that Masters degrees and PHD's are based on opening and reading books and yes even researching on the WWW?

Even bachelor's degrees as well. We are talking about the exam not the learning process.

 

[AthenianOwl]

Very tabloid style.
Seems articles on myBB are getting worse.

It's all about getting as many clicks as possible now.

 

[noxibox]

A properly structured [-]closed book[/-] exam will test your skills, application and understanding

So in essence what you're saying is that it shouldn't matter if it is an open book exam.

 

[noxibox]

Now the real test would be giving someone a book on a subject they haven't studied yet, along with an exam and seeing how they do.

 

[skimread]

In SA fraud about lying about qualifications has reached epic proportions. If someone can write an exam at home there is no way of controlling cheating. You will create a whole industry. The first people obtaining qualifications will be gov ministers or parastatal executives.

 

[bruce_the_loon]

In SA fraud about lying about qualifications has reached epic proportions. If someone can write an exam at home there is no way of controlling cheating. You will create a whole industry. The first people obtaining qualifications will be gov ministers or parastatal executives.

There is a simple way to manage and control cheating in a home environment and SA universities are already using it. Anti-plagiarism technology quickly and automatically compares all papers with each other, the database of past scripts and with Internet sources. If students are helping each other, then the duplicate scripts will be flagged as such, and if the student was dumb enough to use an internet source, then that will be show up as well.

It's always amusing to see the students' faces when a lecturer walks in for the first time and shows them exactly who copied from who and the sites on the internet they all copy-and-pasted from.

 

[skimread]

There is a simple way to manage and control cheating in a home environment and SA universities are already using it. Anti-plagiarism technology quickly and automatically compares all papers with each other, the database of past scripts and with Internet sources. If students are helping each other, then the duplicate scripts will be flagged as such, and if the student was dumb enough to use an internet source, then that will be show up as well.

It's always amusing to see the students' faces when a lecturer walks in for the first time and shows them exactly who copied from who and the sites on the internet they all copy-and-pasted from.

We are not talking about a thesis here. You basically copy the answer from text book. The ones too lazy or stupid to even due that will hire someone to do that for them.

 

[Stefanmuller]

Mmm, I see a possible Mike Ross-like work from home business opportunity.

 

[Necuno]

Very tabloid style.
Seems articles on myBB are getting worse.

You must have been dumbing down :erm:

 

[rynovz]

Even bachelor's degrees as well. We are talking about the exam not the learning process.

That's what I said. Ai you really don't grasp it, don't you? So what you say is that Harvard, Stanford, UCT etc is also dumbing their students down. Like I said, read the posts before and listen to the interview done by 702. And take the 'oogklappe' from your eyes and start having a broader view in life.

 

[BigAl-sa]

What is the advantage of the open book exam at home over the conventional exam? I would have thought the emphasis should be on teaching the students better so that they understand the subject matter properly in in which case they should pass a normal exam, without this additional assistance.

You really don't understand the concept of open book examination. An examiner can learn far more about the student's level of subject mastery with a properly structured open book question than from a rote learning answer.

Of course, the converse is also true - the examiner must know how to structure the question to test the required reasoning behind the answer.

 

[Swartblits]

Look, in Europe you can pay for your groceries all by yourself with your CC and walk out.
In the amricas you throw in fuel yourself and go pay.
Those 2 things will not work in South Africa for obvious reasons.

Taking an unsupervised exam at home might work in other places. In South Africa, an exam unsupervised at home will lead to students helping one another get results, end of story.