How Students Use Technology to Cheat and What Faculty Can Do About It

Technology, like most things in life, can provide many benefits to society and improve both the business and academic environments. Technology can also be used in ways that circumvent the educational process and create situations where it is not being used in the appropriate way. College students that use technology to gain access to unauthorized information is a form of academic dishonesty referred to as e-cheating. This can happen both inside and outside of the classroom and takes on many forms. The Internet, in particular, fuels this behavior making it easier, faster, and more convenient then in the past. In addition, electronic devices like smartphones, tablets, and laptops are commonly used across all institutions and will continue to be used for the foreseeable future. Fortunately, faculty can use traditional pedagogical methods for educating, preventing, and reporting academic dishonesty. This paper discusses the common ways technology is being used by students for e-cheating and the actions faculty can take to hopefully reduce academic dishonesty in their courses.