Straighterline Proctored and Closed Book

[Daithi]

Hi There,

My contact at Straighter line says, "quizzes are all open book except for the final exam. The final exam has very recently become close book." My question is this: If I get the hard copy of the book (which I have just ordered--mainly because I like highlighting text, and from what I understand reading a book is easier on the eyes than looking at a screen for hours on end) and I take the final exam online, how do they know if I'm using the book or not? Is a Webcam involved? ;-)

Also, since some folks on this thread have experience with the Business Ethics Straighterline course, do you have to read the entire text, or is it just bits and pieces? I'm not the fastest reader in the world and am wondering how I am going to get through 512 pages with any kind of speed. Thanks bunches.

When I first started at StraighterLine my process was to just read the entire textbook. This usually took me several days (I really don't read that fast either). Then I would do all the quizzes and then take the final. Usually, the quizzes and exams were really about how quickly you could look up the answer. Eventually, I tried doing a couple quizzes without even bothering to read the text. Once you get used to finding the answers, it is absolutely possible to pass these courses without knowing squat about the course. This isn't true of all StraighterLine courses (I wouldn't try it with calculus, chemistry, etc.), but many of the courses are really just testing how quickly you can find an answer. Business Ethics was one of these "find the answer quickly" courses for me, but I did read the whole textbook.

I actually think it is a good idea for them to go to a closed book exam. I believe it forces you to learn more. However, if they are going closed book, they need to revise the final exams as well. Most of the questions are not about testing your understanding of the material. Most of the questions ask obscure trivia instead. If they continue to ask trivia then most people will fail these exams. Here is an example question from Western Civilization II that I am taking this week end--

Which best describes the extent of the disaster that befell the Grand Army in Russia?
a. only 75,000 of 150,000 survived
b. only 250,000 of 500,000 survived
c. only 100,000 of 600,000 survived
d. only 300,000 of 600,000 survived

Good luck answering that question without being able to look it up. Even questions that supported educated guessing would be exceedingly difficult. Here is another example--

Once in power, Bismarck
a. opposed nationalism
b. dissolved the parliament
c. reinstated the parliament
d. alienated Russia

Heck, I enjoy history, but I have no idea, and this not the kind of thing I would try to remember when reading the text. The things I remember are the causes that led to major events. The above trivia doesn't apply.

(NOTE: I saved these two quiz questions for a personal project I'm working on, so they're actual questions.)