Security, Biometrics, Identity Authentication

In a world where identity theft is a painful reality, we all have to become more educated on these and other related issues. Is is fair to require online students to "prove" who they are when if the same student were participating in a traditional brick-and-mortar class we would only take them on their word while calling attendance role? Technology continues to push us into uncomfortable areas. Are webcams an invasion of privacy? Is biometric enrollment really an different than your bank asking for some for of ID? I am not sure. But I am sure that we will see more and more discussion, requirements and even abuses of security, biometrics and identity authentication. This is particularly important in the high-stakes testing field. Are paper-based more secure? I do not think so, but we are just more comfortable with them and dare I say the ways of cheating (writing the answers on your arm, peeking a neighbors answer sheet etc.) Technology makes testing more convenient and hopefully more cost effective. But it presents new ways to try and beat the system. Our job is to stay one step ahead of them.