Due to the global pandemic, schools all over the world are going virtual, and some are giving their students an option between coming back and staying home. 

With this sudden change of setting, the question has to be asked: Does online school make students more likely to cheat?

According to a study from The University of Georgia “students felt they were almost four times more likely to be dishonest in on-line classes than live classes”

This is because students feel there is a less likelihood of being caught in online classes. No one is responsible for the students, except for themselves. One teacher points out that,

“With the rapid shift to online, we can’t watch students as they do their work in the same way that we might have in the past,” said Phillip Dawson. The Deakin University teacher even proposes students could pay one another to take their classes for them. There is just no way to know.

Zoom classes, however, make it a little harder for students to cheat. There is no looking at another student’s paper, and due to some district’s regulations, students have to have their cameras on at all times. However of course students will always find other ways to cheat. 

“Some suggest hiding notes underneath the view of the camera or setting up a secret laptop.” Rebecca Heilweil, a writer from Vox, said. This method is used often due to how simple it is. If your notes and/or device are out of view, the teacher cannot tell if you are cheating. The only way a teacher could tell is if you’re using a site like Canvas.

“Included in the site’s features are the quiz logs, which show teachers when students answer each question and when they stop viewing the test. The site notes that the test is no longer being viewed when a student opens a new tab or is inactive in Canvas for more than 30 seconds.” Abigail Presson, Lifestyles editor, says. 

So if you want to use your computer to look up answers while taking an assessment on a site like Canvas, good luck. 

While it may be easy to cheat with online school, cheating will only invalidate your diploma and cheapen the school you attend.