conjunction junction

Northside Independent School District plans to track students next year on two of its campuses using technology implanted in their student identification cards in a trial that could eventually include all 112 of its schools and all of its nearly 100,000 students.

Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/education/article/Students-will-be-tracked-via-chips-in-IDs-3584339.php#ixzz1vvjXfJye

Say what! How crazy is this? Or is it a great idea?

I’m personally uncomfortable with this. I thought about how I’d feel if as a teacher, my id badge had a tag in it. I am a pretty big rule-follower, and am always where I am supposed to be, when I am supposed to be, so on one hand, why should I care? However, think of how easily this could be abused—counting up how many minutes I spend in the bathroom, or whatever. I guess it doesn’t break any privacy laws, but how far will they go?

- Students will be tracked via links in ids

You’ve never heard of me, but there’s a good chance that you’ve read some of my work. I’m a hired gun, a doctor of everything, an academic mercenary. My customers are your students. I promise you that. Somebody in your classroom uses a service that you can’t detect, that you can’t defend against, that you may not even know exists.

I work at an online company that generates tens of thousands of dollars a month by creating original essays based on specific instructions provided by cheating students. I’ve worked there full time since 2004. On any day of the academic year, I am working on upward of 20 assignments.

In the midst of this great recession, business is booming. At busy times, during midterms and finals, my company’s staff of roughly 50 writers is not large enough to satisfy the demands of students who will pay for our work and claim it as their own.

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The Shadow Scholar—The Chronicle Review

A seriously fascinating read, especially for those in higher ed and high schools. I knew that cheating was rampant, but had no idea that customized work was a part of that. Tell me teachers, would you know if your student bought a paper? Have you ever caught a student who did this?