Denmark is a country which has traditionally embraced modern technology. For over a decade pupils have been able to type up their exam answers on computers.
The country’s latest move see’s the Danish government preach that the Internet is so much a part of daily life, it should be included in the classroom and in examinations.
With that belief, the government have taken the bold step of allowing full Internet access to several high schools during their final year exams.
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They can access any site they like, including Facebook, but they cannot message each other or email anyone outside the classroom. How that is prevented I’m not quite sure, but government advisors say pupils are disciplined enough not to cheat and that they can rely on the integrity of the pupil and the threat of expulsion if they are caught.
Surprisingly, students themselves admit it’s not easy to cheat using the Internet during an exam. According to the JP news agency, students are given a very short period of time in an exam to sift through the mounds of data they can call up on the Internet to answer a single question.
Training students to master the art of sorting through heaps of information is one of the Education Ministry’s main goals in the project.
“The students have to learn to sort according to the quality of information found on the Internet,” said Keld Larsen, headmaster at Arhus State High School, one of the 13 participants in the trial. A final decision whether to implement the program nationwide is expected in 2011.
What are your thoughts? Ludicrous or Step in the right Direction?
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