Biometrics Authentication of E-Exams

A Theoretical Approach for  
Biometrics Authentication of e-Exams

In the past fifteen years the use of Internet technologies has been substantially growing for delivery of
educational content. E-learning environments have been incorporated in many universities for the delivery of
e-learning courses. However, opponents of e-learning claim that a central disadvantage of such teaching
medium is the growing unethical conduct in such environments. In particular, opponents of e-learning argue
that the inability to authenticate exam takers is a major challenge of e-learning environments. As a result,
some institutions proposed to take extreme measures including asking students to take exams in proctor
centers or even abandon completely the offering of e-learning courses in their institutions. This paper
attempts to address this important problem by proposing a theoretical approach that incorporates available
fingerprint biometrics authentication technologies in conjunction with e-learning environments to curb
unethical conduct during e-learning exam taking. The proposed approach suggests practical solution that can
incorporate a random fingerprint biometrics user authentication during exam taking in e-learning courses.
Doing so is hypothesized to curb exam cheating in e-learning environments.
This paper proposed a theoretical approach for fingerprint biometrics authentication of exam takers in e-learning environments. Teaching via the Internet has become a popular choice for academic institutions (Hiltz & Turoff, 2005). Advances in information systems have enabled educational institutions to implement e-learning systems as teaching environments (Alavi & Leidner, 2001). Furthermore, e-learning has become a powerful medium for academic institutions due to cutting edge technologies. Hiltz and Turoff (2005) noted that e-learning is “the latest of social technologies that ... has improved distance learning” (p. 59).
Gunasekaran et al. (2002)... [continues]

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