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TOP STORIES FOR FRIDAY, MAY 19, 2006 USPTO to Reexamine Online Testing Patent Colleges Grapple with New Ways to Cheat British Cities Going Wireless USPTO TO REEXAMINE ONLINE TESTING PATENT Based on concerns raised by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) about "prior art," the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has announced it will conduct a reevaluation of a patent granted in 2003 for online testing. The notion of prior art covers whether the subject of a patent is indeed original--and patentable--or whether another party had previously developed the item or technology in question. The patent at issue was granted to Test.com for technologies broadly related to offering tests online. If valid, the patent would allow the company to claim patent authority over a wide range of online testing tools deployed at colleges and universities, and the company has already approached some institutions about licensing the patent. According to the EFF, however, another company offered such tools for sale at least one year before the Test.com patent was issued. The review process is expected to take at least two months. James J. Posch, chief executive of Test.com, noted that their patent claim has passed muster once already. "I'll be surprised if it doesn't survive a second time," he said. Jason Schultz, staff lawyer at the EFF, had a different outlook, saying that he is confident the patent will be invalidated unless Test.com discloses some secret evidence. Chronicle of Higher Education, 19 May 2006 (sub. req'd) http://chronicle.com/daily/2006/05/2006051901t.htm COLLEGES GRAPPLE WITH NEW WAYS TO CHEAT As technology increasingly finds its way onto college campuses and into classrooms, faculty and administrators have found themselves battling new methods of cheating. Students have been caught using camera phones and instant messaging to cheat on tests; using a computer's spell checker on a test that evaluated, in part, spelling; and listening to iPods with lecture notes recorded on them. Responses to the new breed of cheating have ranged from the high-tech--shutting off Internet access in testing rooms, requiring students to install an application on laptops that disables Internet access and prevents students from reading files on their computers--to simply reverting to tests for which students must handwrite their answers on paper. At the University of Nevada, students upset by cheating set up a proctoring program, in which students monitor their classmates and report suspicious behavior. Some noted that the best deterrent to cheating is instilling in students a work ethic and a sense of honor that preempts any desire to cheat. New York Times, 18 May 2006 (registration req'd) http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/18/education/18cheating.html BRITISH CITIES GOING WIRELESS BT said it will install wireless networks in 12 cities in the United Kingdom, with the first of those coming online early next year. The company said deals have been reached with Birmingham, Edinburgh, Leeds, Liverpool, Cardiff, and Westminster and that deals with six other cities were "imminent." In each city, BT will install wireless antennae on light posts, bus stops, park benches, and other city-owned spots to create a network to blanket the city. Users can pay for the time they use the network or purchase subscriptions. BT said the networks could be put to other uses as well, including closed-circuit television and up-to-the-minute traffic information. Beyond the first 12 cities, BT will work with many other municipalities on similar deals, according to Steve Andrews, head of converged communications services for BT. Meanwhile, a separate effort by Wi-Fi company The Cloud is working to implement wireless networks in nine U.K. cities. BBC, 18 May 2006 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4993038.stm ***************************************************** EDUPAGE INFORMATION To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your settings, or access the Edupage archive, visit http://www.educause.edu/Edupage/639 Or, you can subscribe or unsubscribe by sending e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To SUBSCRIBE, in the body of the message type: SUBSCRIBE Edupage YourFirstName YourLastName To UNSUBSCRIBE, in the body of the message type: SIGNOFF Edupage If you have subscription problems, send e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] ***************************************************** OTHER EDUCAUSE RESOURCES The EDUCAUSE Resource Center is a repository for information concerning use and management of IT in higher education. To access resources including articles, books, conference sessions, contracts, effective practices, plans, policies, position descriptions, and blog content, go to http://www.educause.edu/resources ***************************************************** CONFERENCES For information on all EDUCAUSE learning and networking opportunities, see http://www.educause.edu/31 ***************************************************** COPYRIGHT Edupage copyright (c) 2006, EDUCAUSE
