Students authentication in e-assessment sessions: a theoretical biometric model for smartphone devices

Abstract

The trend of accessing the internet by different types of devices increases the challenges for organisations who are embracing e-assessment sessions as part of the e-learning process. These organisations face the unethical behaviour of unauthorised students as well as the costly expenses to provide secure exam systems. Different user authentication methods are briefly discussed in this paper for the e-assessment environment. As we pursue the optimistic version of the full meaning of e-learning and e-assessment, a theoretical model for smartphone devices is proposed to authenticate the identity of students before and during the e-assessment session.

A proposed Iris Recognition Model for Authentication in Mobile Exams

“…One of the most reliable and accurate physical biometric features is the human eye's iris [12].Iris is located behind the cornea and in front of the lens. A small colored tissue that is unique for every person [29] [33]. It is different between identical twins, as well as the left and right eye for the same person are different also [35].…”

Investigating the Influence of Quality Factors on User Satisfaction with Summative Computer-based Assessment

“…On the other hand formative assessments provide corrective feedback to help students achieve their goals, mostly during their learning experience (Terzis and Economides, 2011). Furthermore, various assessment approaches are used to test student's different skills using computers, including multiple-choice questions (MCQ), multiple responses, hot spots, matching, ranking, drag and drop, multiple steps, and open-ended questions (Obeidallah et al, 2015). E-assessment can be carried out with different devices, like standard desktop computers or laptops, smartphones, iPads, or through the use of electronic gaming devices (Crisp, 2011).…”

Students Experiences on Using an Authentication and Authorship Checking System in E-Assessment

“…For instance, Crisp (2011) noted that "the increased flexibility afforded to students by their being able to complete an e-assessment from any computer can sometimes cause issues with individual student authentication for high stakes exams" (p. 9). The authentication of students is considered as a major challenge for educational organizations offering e-learning (JISC, 2016;Obeidallah, Al Ahmad, Farouq, & Awad, 2015;Okada, Whitelock, Holmes, & Edwards, 2018) since it plays an important role for preventing academic dishonesty which has increased a lot over the past years (McCabe, 2016;Mellar, Peytcheva-Forsyth, Kocdar, Karadeniz, & Yovkova, 2018;QAA, 2016). On the other hand, there are systems which can validate the identity of learners doing assessment (JISC, 2016) and the research interest in their effectiveness to deter academic dishonesty is increasing (Adkins, Kenkel, & Lim, 2005;Bailie & Jortberg, 2009, Pittam, Elander, Lusher, Fox, & Payne, 2009Levy & Ramim, 2007;Obeidallah et al, 2015).…”

“…The authentication of students is considered as a major challenge for educational organizations offering e-learning (JISC, 2016;Obeidallah, Al Ahmad, Farouq, & Awad, 2015;Okada, Whitelock, Holmes, & Edwards, 2018) since it plays an important role for preventing academic dishonesty which has increased a lot over the past years (McCabe, 2016;Mellar, Peytcheva-Forsyth, Kocdar, Karadeniz, & Yovkova, 2018;QAA, 2016). On the other hand, there are systems which can validate the identity of learners doing assessment (JISC, 2016) and the research interest in their effectiveness to deter academic dishonesty is increasing (Adkins, Kenkel, & Lim, 2005;Bailie & Jortberg, 2009, Pittam, Elander, Lusher, Fox, & Payne, 2009Levy & Ramim, 2007;Obeidallah et al, 2015). Two types of technologies which address academic dishonesty are recognized in the literature: 1) authentication technologies which seek to establish that the student taking the assessment is really who claim to be (Peytcheva-Forsyth, Mellar, & Aleksieva, 2019, McNabb, 2010; and 2) authorship checking technologies which seek to establish whether a document was actually written by the student who submits it .…”