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

 

email: [log in to unmask]

phone: 517-432-6836

fax: 517-432-6861

web: http://www.law.msu.edu/

 

Current Chairperson, MSU IT Leadership CAFE: https://sites.google.com/a/msu.edu/it-leadership-cafe/