ELearning has opened up many opportunities for today’s youth and working professionals alike.

However, just like any formal learning program, there are unfortunately cases where some learners will try to cheat the system rather than learn the content.

In some cases, this can be seen as relatively innocent (depending on the course content and purpose of the course in general).

For example, if there is a small exercise in the course that is meant to enhance the objectives, but isn’t tied to anything else, then someone who is cheating isn’t really hurting anyone but themselves.

But what about when there is a course that is tied to something significant? For instance, it could be a graded exam for a college course, or perhaps a course that is tied to continuing education credits for a working professional. In these cases, preventing cheating is pretty important.

With this in mind, here are four ways to combat cheating in elearning, as originally shared by Online School Center.

4 Strategies for Preventing Cheating in ELearning

1. Regional Testing – Just because an online course is virtual doesn’t mean that the tests have to be. If you are implementing a formal learning program to a large number of users, it may be worth having regional testing facilities in place where learners come to take the test.

2. Webcam Proctors – Okay, this may seem a bit invasive, but it isn’t unheard of. Most computers have webcams these days. You can require learners to activate theirs on the day the exam must be completed so as to combat students from leveraging outside materials.

3. Keystroke Recognition – A bit more costly than the other options, but worth it depending on the stakes of your course. Programs like these register the keystrokes of students throughout a course and compares their patterns at various points.

4. Replace Quizzes – Where possible, replace final quizzes with coursework. It is often much easier to detect when someone has plagiarized, making it easy to spot the cheaters.