[mvanaltvorst]

Me and my roommate are first year undergraduate students. We do different bachelors; I have taken all my tests this year with online proctoring, my roommate has had all his tests without online proctoring.

The proctoring process is actually pretty simple: I have a Google Chrome extension installed that I enable when I have to take an exam. It takes 5 extra minutes before the exam: I have to show my identification, the materials I'm using on my desk, my ears to check whether I'm using wireless earphones, and do a quick sweep around the room. It records my screen, my webcam, and my microphone. Of course, the system is not fool proof (I've heard some students use post-its on their display), but communicating with other students becomes nearly impossible.

My roommate is actually jealous of my proctoring. He does not cheat, but knows most others in his year do. There are groups of students who meet up and take exams with each other. As a result, some of his peers consistently get higher grades, while my roommate clearly put in more effort and is more capable of achieving a high grade on his own. Because the barrier to cheating is so low, it almost becomes a requirement to cheat if you want to achieve grades that are high relative to your peers.

I do not believe proctoring is a breach of my privacy. Google Chrome's sandbox is good at explaining what information the extension is requesting, and when it is turned on. Chrome's battle-tested sandboxing makes me confident that the extension is not snooping through my files, for example. It only sees my screen. I can hide things I do not want the online proctor to see before the exam starts. Similarly with my room, you can hide everything that would breach your privacy before the exam starts. Of course, online proctoring is invasive, but I believe students should think more carefully about the dilemma our teachers are facing. Lack of online proctoring discourages smart students, discourages learning, and hurts the reputation of the university in the long term with unreasonable diploma's. This pandemic requires flexibility from everyone, and simply crying "privacy" without considering both sides is short-sighted. The data recorded for online proctoring is reasonable, and does not bring us closer to any kind of "big brother" scenario.

[MereInterest]

> Similarly with my room, you can hide everything that would breach your privacy before the exam starts.

The need to hide things is itself an effect of privacy having been breached. Privacy isn't just to keep information secret, but also to provide a space in which you can be comfortable because it is your own space. Needing to hide things away is a reaction to privacy being breached, not a way to preserve privacy.

[mvanaltvorst]

I do not understand how hiding private items from the camera breaches your privacy. That is like saying you have already died of thirst because you have to drink water; the preventive measure does not cause the thing it tries to prevent.

Furthermore, you do not have to take the exam in your own room. Any quiet room where there are no other people is theoretically fine. Having access to such a room is your own responsibility, just like having access to a laptop to do your study is your own responsibility. In practice, hiding private items in your study room is usually the most practical way to get access to a comfortable room, but I do not believe requiring students to have access to a private room for 2 hours breaches their privacy.

[MereInterest]

> I do not understand how hiding private items from the camera breaches your privacy. That is like saying you have already died of thirst because you have to drink water; the preventive measure does not cause the thing it tries to prevent.

I think I see the difference here. You're seeing "privacy" in terms of information being leaked. So long as no information is revealed, then no privacy has been lost. The information security is key. Is that an accurate way of describing your views?

For me, "privacy" is a state in which effort does not need to be expended to maintain information security. The cost is not the personal information being leaked, but rather the effort needed in order to prevent information from being leaked. Of knowing that your sanctuary has been violated, that your comfortable place has been exposed to others. And sure, you may try to minimize other effects of that breach of privacy by hiding away aspects of yourself, but that is a response to an invasion that has already occurred.

To use your analogy, suppose I'm going on a trip through the desert. I know that water may not be readily available, so I take several gallons of water with me. On the other hand, if I'm going to a restaurant, I can assume that water will be available and do not pack my own. In neither case have I died of thirst, but in one case I have needed to spend additional effort to ensure that was the case. If I hide things away from the camera, I haven't had information leaks (died of thirst), but I have needed to take extra precautions (carrying several gallons of water) due to the breach of privacy (travel through the desert) that has already occurred.

> Furthermore, you do not have to take the exam in your own room. Any quiet room where there are no other people is theoretically fine. Having access to such a room is your own responsibility, just like having access to a laptop to do your study is your own responsibility.

During normal times, when there may be publicly available study rooms at a university, those options exist. When those same study rooms are closed to stop the spread of a pandemic, or when those study rooms cannot be booked due to lack of availability, a person's private room may be the only room available. In that case, the requirement of exposing one's exam space implicitly requires exposing one's personal space.

> I do not believe requiring students to have access to a private room for 2 hours breaches their privacy.

Requiring students to have access to a private room isn't the issue. Requiring proctors to have access to the student's private room is.

[joppy]

“Having access to such a room is your own responsibility”…

It might be a little much to ask for during a pandemic where people are stuck in places they didn’t expect to be for a long while though, with a whole bunch of other people also stuck inside.

[mkl]

What proctoring product is it you're using?

[isiahl]

It sounds like HonorLock

[MeinBlutIstBlau]

College is a game. If you arent cheating, you really dont care about your gpa and waste too much time in school. Those students that cheat and get away with it are actually much wiser than your friend seeing as they save way more time.