Good morning everyone,
An article forwarded to me from a law school tech forum has me thinking about exams…. This came from the Above the Law web site, about how one lawyer is using a smart watch to continue to access his cell phone while in court. Here’s an
exerpt:
Because Rick has made it a priority to take advantage of new technologies, it’s not surprising that he’s already incorporating a smartwatch
into his firm’s technology arsenal. He explains that it doesn’t replace his smartphone; instead, it’s an unobtrusive extension of some of his smartphone’s functions: “The one I’m wearing now, the Samsung
Gear 2 (affiliate
link), does everything I expect a smartwatch to do. I sit in a courtroom with my phone in my belt.
Meanwhile, everyone has their smartphone in their hand and if it goes off it’s confiscated,” he laughs. “Not me. My smartwatch sits on my wrist and is connected via bluetooth and allows my watch to pull off anything that happens on my phone. I don’t
need a ringer on my watch and I have it set to vibrate when I receive emails, calls, etc.”
http://abovethelaw.com/2014/07/todays-tech-a-florida-civil-litigation-attorney-and-his-smartwatch/
We have a policy restricting cell phone use during exams, and we use ExamSoft software to lock down laptop functionality during electronic administered exams. I have to consider whether it is necessary to expand the cell phone ban to include
any wearable digital devices, including smart watches, Google Glass, or whatever the next big thing is in wearable technology.
Does anyone have anything specific in their student exam policy to cover the next generation of digital tech beyond cell phones? I’d be curious to know if anyone is looking at policy changes because of these devices. Thanks for any comments,
and have a great weekend.
John Resotko
Assistant Director, Systems Administration and Support
Michigan State University College of Law
648 N. Shaw Lane, Room 208 Law Building
East Lansing, MI 48842-1300
phone: 517-432-6836
fax: 517-432-6861
Current Chairperson, MSU IT Leadership CAFE:
https://sites.google.com/a/msu.edu/it-leadership-cafe/