網絡考試防作弊里的商機

發布時間：2013-11-26 12:12 發布者：1770309616

關鍵詞：網絡 , 考試

網絡課程和網絡考試越來越多，靠人力來防范舞弊行為也越來越困難，甚至變得不可能。多虧智能感應軟件出手，網上測試作弊的人才無處遁形,而嗅覺靈敏的公司也從中嗅到了金錢的味道。

美國的教育界已經迎來大規模開放網絡課程（MOOC）風起云涌的時代，網上考試作弊現象也由此前所未有地猖獗起來。在電腦操控的世界，想呼喚萬能的谷歌（Google）搜索引擎，也不過就是輕輕幾下敲擊的距離。那么，網絡課堂的督導者們要怎樣管理遍布各地的學員大軍？要是管理眾多學員的有效方法還無法確定，就更別提怎樣撲滅作弊者在整個互聯網世界燃起的熊熊大火了。

當然，上述問題用科技手段就能解決。利用網絡攝像頭和檢測抄襲的軟件提供學監服務也不是新生事物，這個產業已有多年的根底。一家總部位于印度的業內初創公司Mettl已經殺入美國，入駐硅谷。雖說在搜捕作弊者方面只是“新人”，但Mettl擁有以計算機程式為依托的自動化技術，還自豪地聲稱，它捕獲作弊者方式比傳統做法更老到，甚至堪稱萬無一失。當然，有一條基本原則我們不該忘記：如果你想在參加網上考試時玩什么鬼把戲，你應試的電腦就會出賣你。

作為一家從事網上評估測試的公司，Mettl將多種技術融入了自家的測試平臺，至少在一場考試所需的時間內便能創造一種小型監控環境。

具體來說，監控環境是這樣形成的：一名應試者先要在Mettl網站注冊，然后就能在網站的考題庫里挑選預先上傳到網站的測試題。面部擊鍵識別技術可以確認注冊的應試者是否就是他們自稱的那個人。不論是在應試者注冊時網絡攝像頭拍下的應試者信息，還是整個考試期間透過電腦顯示屏留下的應試者信息，系統都會悉數記錄。

Mettl的技術可以利用應試者的攝像頭監測到其中有多少人在使用電腦，很快就會追蹤應試者的眼球移動。憑借這種有效的追蹤，這家公司的技術可以感知應試者是否在注視屏幕以外的地方。如當真應試者視線持續停留在顯示屏外，那可能意味著應試者在偷偷地用智能手機上網查詢，或者是在向朋友咨詢。Mettl還會監視應試者的顯示屏，如果應試者切換了頁面或者改變了瀏覽器，或是退出測試，Mettl也都能監測到。系統會迅速記錄應試者一方傳來的說話聲音，這樣就能監測到應試者是在與別人交談，還是有人在給應試者支招。

一旦監測到任何不正常的現象，系統會標示出現異常事件，并向主考官匯報。結果可大可小，全視測試方的要求而定：可能一有發現異常便終止所有人考試作答，可能只是對出現應試者異常表現的顯示屏發出警告，甚至通過網絡攝像頭人為干預。所有這些對策都由Mettl的控制中心指揮。

Mettl聯合創始人兼首席執行官克坦•卡普爾指出，即使僅僅是作弊被抓的威脅也產生了很大的震懾作用。2010年，卡普爾與曾任全球管理咨詢公司波士頓咨詢公司（BCG）顧問的老朋友塔莫伊•辛格哈爾成立了這家公司。當時兩人都認識到，印度受教育的年輕國民人數激增，接受網絡教育的國民也在增加，這正是一個商機。

在眾多領域之中，他們發現技術可能給予最大助力的是哪個領域？答案就是考試。在印度，與就業招聘和職業認證有關的國家考試不計其數。卡普爾和辛格哈爾也意識到，管理大量考試現在就已經是一項繁重的任務，而隨著應試者人數增加，這項任務只會變得越來越沉重。

如今，全球200家企業和大學都在使用這家新生代公司的平臺、監督及服務，他們大多來自印度。知名咨詢公司埃森哲（Accenture）、軟件公司Cognizant和國際四大會計師事務所之一的畢馬威（PricewaterhouseCoopers）都是Mettl的客戶。

Mettl希望，此次美國的處女秀將有助于公司闖入這個國家龐大的招聘與MOOC市場。Mettl公司現有員工50名，已募得資金450萬美元，迄今為止發展勢頭良好。它成立至今已經監督測評逾百萬次，預計今年營業收入將達到“幾百萬”美元。（財富中文網）

譯者：若離

Now that American education has entered the era of the MOOC -- the Massive Open Online Course -- the opportunity for cheating appears greater than ever. The omniscient Google search engine is never more than a few keystrokes away for the computer-bound. So how can a proctor possibly manage the far-flung multitudes, let alone smoke out cheaters taking tests across the Internet?

Using technology, of course. While proctoring services via webcam and plagiarism-detecting software have been around for several years now, an India-based startup has come to America -- Silicon Valley, obviously -- with automated, algorithm-based techniques for netting cheaters that the company claims are even more sophisticated and foolproof. Essentially, if you try to pull a fast one, your computer will rat you out.

The online assessment company Mettl has incorporated a handful of technologies into its test-taking platform, creating, for the duration of an exam at least, a mini-surveillance state.

Here's how it works: A test-taker signs on to Mettl and selects his/her exam from the site's library of pre-loaded tests. Facial and keystroke recognition technology verify the person that has signed in is the person they say they are, and the system records both the test-taker (through the webcam) and the test-taker's screen throughout the test.

Mettl's technology uses the test-taker's webcam to detect how many people are using the computer. Soon, it will track eye movement well enough to sense whether the test-taker is looking away from the screen, perhaps to consult a smartphone or a friend on the sly. Mettl also monitors the test-taker's screen and can detect when the test-taker has changed tabs or browsers or moved from the test. The system will soon be able to record sound, and thus detect whether the test-taker is talking or being talked to.

If any irregularities are detected, the system flags the incident and reports it back to the test's administrator. This can trigger any number of things, depending on the test-giver's wishes: a complete shutdown of the exam, a warning message that appears on the test-taker's screen, even human intervention -- via webcam -- from Mettl's control center.

Ketan Kapoor, co-founder and CEO of Mettl, notes that the mere threat of being caught serves as a great deterrent to cheating. Kapoor founded the company in 2010 with an old friend and former BCG consultant, Tonmoy Shingal, when the pair realized the opportunity presented by India's exploding population of educated youth and the growth of online education.

Among the many areas where they found that technology could offer improvement? Assessment. In India, there are huge national tests given for job recruitment and professional certification purposes. Kapoor and Shingal saw that the considerable task of managing these mass assessments would only become bigger as the number of participants increased.

The young company's platform and proctoring and assessment services are now used by 200 corporations and universities around the globe; most are in India, such as Accenture (ACN), Cognizant (CTSH), and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Mettl, which has 50 employees and has raised $4.5 million in funding, is hoping its new U.S. presence will help it break into the country's sizeable recruiting and MOOC markets. It is well on its way: The company has proctored more than 1 million assessments since its launch, and projects "a few million" in revenue this year.

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1770309616 發表于 2013-11-26 12:15:37

Apple Rumor Mill Again Heats Up With Reports Of Big-Screen iPhones傳蘋果正開發兩款大屏iPhon

Apple is working on developing a larger-screen iPhone. This time the source is Bloomberg, and the report is that not one, but two such phones are likely in development. Both are slated for release as soon with next year’s iPhone refresh, perhaps in September 2014. The models are believed to contain 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch screens, which would push Apple into the phablet category for the first time. It’s possible the screens will also incorporate some curvature to the glass, though it’s more likely that would involve the screens partly wrapping around the phone as opposed to anything more radical like the new curved models from Samsung and LG.

每隔幾個月，就會有報道說，蘋果正在開發一款屏幕尺寸更大的iPhone。這一次，消息來源是彭博社，消息內容是蘋果并不只是在開發一款，而是兩款大屏手機。這兩款手機都將于明年iPhone新品發布——可能是2014年9月——之時推出。據說一款是4.7英寸屏，另一款是5.5英寸屏，這兩款手機將首次帶領蘋果進入平板手機領域。另外，這兩款手機的玻璃屏幕將可能包含某種能夠彎曲的特性——盡管比較可能的是屏幕部分延伸并包裹手機側邊，而不是諸如三星或LG那種更為激進的整機彎折款式。

If the rumors at last prove true, it will fit with Apple’s continued catering to the high-end customer. While the company doesn’t provide a sales breakdown, there are numerous reports that the new top-end iPhone 5s is doing even better than expected relative to the slightly less expensive 5c model. What Apple would do to the lineup next year if it brought two larger models to market is unclear. Given its faith in the 4-inch screen, it seems certain at least one of those models would carry over and become the free-on-contract phone in the U.S. and the lowest-price phone in unsubsidized markets. Most likely, that would be the 5c.

如果這一傳言最終成為現實，那么將符合蘋果公司始終致力于迎合高端消費者的一貫努力。盡管該公司并不提供銷售明細情況，但有無數報道稱，相較于較為廉價的5C款式，最新發布的高端iPhone 5S的銷量要高于預期。而如果明年蘋果果真向市場推出兩款大屏手機的話，其對自己的產品線將會做何種改變目前尚且未知。

In addition to the larger screens, Apple is said to be working on new touch sensors that can detect differing amounts of pressure. The Bloomberg

有鑒于該公司對四英寸屏的信心，現在看來現有手機產品線中至少有一款將繼續存在，并成為美國市場上的無合約機，同時也是無補貼市場中的低價機——我認為最有可能的是5C。

Bloomberg report suggests those won’t be ready for next year and, in fact, it seems likely that Apple wouldn’t combine too many major rollouts at once. The reality is the 5s arguably brought too many changes with it to fit the Apple “it just works” mantra cleanly. Between iOS 7, the new 64-bit A7 processor and the TouchID fingerprint sensor, enough was changed that the 5s likely experiences more app crashes and reboots than any iPhone before it. (I say this with some first-hand experience). While the end result might still be acceptable, Apple is likely to be somewhat more cautious in changing out too many of the internals going forward in a single model year, especially if a major redesign of the screen and the externals finally comes to bear.

除更大的屏幕之外，據說蘋果還在開發全新的觸摸傳感器，能夠感知到各種不同的壓力。上文提到的彭博社報道稱，傳感器不會在明年就開發完畢，事實上，蘋果應該不會一次推出太多新元素。5S就被認為是一次性引入太多改變，甚至有點兒不符合蘋果的“能用就好”信條了。5S的iOS 7操作系統、新款64位A7處理器和TouchID指紋傳感器——這太多改變導致5S可能是有史以來應用程序崩潰和機器重啟次數最多的一款iPhone（我之所以這樣說，是有第一手經驗做基礎的）。盡管最終結果仍然是可以接受的，但在一年內推出太多機器內部升級時，蘋果可能還是會采取較為謹慎的態度，特別是在將要推出屏幕和外觀的重大改變時。

One unknown is whether Apple’s recent supply deal with GT Advanced Technology to make sapphire crystal would impact these designs. Apple currently uses sapphire to protect the fingerprint sensor and camera lens in the iPhone but there is speculation it might cover the entire screen with it going forward. It’s possible that these new designs will make use of the GT-supplied sapphire but not clear in what way.

有一點尚不清楚：蘋果最近和GT Advanced Technology公司達成的藍寶石生產協議會否影響到上述設計。目前，蘋果采用藍寶石來保護其iPhone手機上的指紋傳感器和攝像頭，但有人認為，將來藍寶石材質將覆蓋整個屏幕。新設計可能會使用由GT公司供應的藍寶石，但具體如何還不得而知。

Either way, should the larger iPhone finally materialize, it will be nothing but good news for Apple. The company has been ceding market share even at the high end as some number of customers has chosen Android-based phones due to Apple’s one-size-fits-all offering. With iPad, the company has been hugely successful offering two models and is rumored to be considering a third, larger model for 2014. Similarly, it offers notebook computers in multiple sizes. A three iPhone lineup would likely add billions in incremental revenue to Apple’s fiscal 2015. Further a radical redesign of the iconic iPhone would similarly be well received. While the design has been refined with each generation, iPhone 5s is very much a derivative of the 2010 iPhone 4. Apple, as always, had no comment. But this bears following.

無論如何，如果大屏iPhone最終成為現實，對蘋果來說不啻為一個好消息。該公司的市場份額正在節節敗退——即便是在高端市場——由于蘋果手機始終只有一種尺寸，有一些消費者轉而選擇了安卓手機。iPad方面，蘋果已經在兩款機型上取得了巨大成功，有傳言說其正考慮在2014年推出第三款更大尺寸的款式。同樣的，蘋果的筆記本電腦也有各種規格尺寸可供選擇。第三個iPhone產品線可能會為蘋果2015財年增加客觀的營收。此外，對標志性的iPhone進行更為激進的重新設計也將可能受到廣泛歡迎。盡管每一代iPhone的設計都有所變化，但iPhone 5S更像是2010年iPhone 4的衍生品。和往常一樣，蘋果并沒有進行置評。我們會進行跟蹤報道。