Tennessee colleges fight cell-phone cheating


As students head off to college with cell phones in hand, universities are wrestling with the issue of how to cope with high-tech temptations in the classroom, reports the Tennessean. Some teachers ban cell phones and laptops on sight. Others figure: If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. At Middle Tennessee State University, history professor Janice Leone usually starts the semester with a word about cell phones—and that word is usually “no.” “They’re used to looking at it constantly. I’ve seen students actually text without looking, with their hands in their pockets,” said Leone, who sees the devices as more of a distraction than a temptation to cheat. “I have colleagues who tell their students, ‘If I see a cell phone, I’ll dock you 10 points.’ Others will say, ‘If I see a cell phone during a test, I’m assuming you’re cheating.'” MTSU, which has the largest undergraduate student population in the state, sees about 150 or so cases of academic misconduct each year, said assistant dean of student life Laura Sosh-Lightsy. About 10 to 20 of them will involve cheating with the help of a cell phone…

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