????美國(guó)的教育界已經(jīng)迎來(lái)大規(guī)模開(kāi)放網(wǎng)絡(luò)課程（MOOC）風(fēng)起云涌的時(shí)代，網(wǎng)上考試作弊現(xiàn)象也由此前所未有地猖獗起來(lái)。在電腦操控的世界，想呼喚萬(wàn)能的谷歌（Google）搜索引擎，也不過(guò)就是輕輕幾下敲擊的距離。那么，網(wǎng)絡(luò)課堂的督導(dǎo)者們要怎樣管理遍布各地的學(xué)員大軍？要是管理眾多學(xué)員的有效方法還無(wú)法確定，就更別提怎樣撲滅作弊者在整個(gè)互聯(lián)網(wǎng)世界燃起的熊熊大火了。

????當(dāng)然，上述問(wèn)題用科技手段就能解決。利用網(wǎng)絡(luò)攝像頭和檢測(cè)抄襲的軟件提供學(xué)監(jiān)服務(wù)也不是新生事物，這個(gè)產(chǎn)業(yè)已有多年的根底。一家總部位于印度的業(yè)內(nèi)初創(chuàng)公司Mettl已經(jīng)殺入美國(guó)，入駐硅谷。雖說(shuō)在搜捕作弊者方面只是“新人”，但Mettl擁有以計(jì)算機(jī)程式為依托的自動(dòng)化技術(shù)，還自豪地聲稱(chēng)，它捕獲作弊者方式比傳統(tǒng)做法更老到，甚至堪稱(chēng)萬(wàn)無(wú)一失。當(dāng)然，有一條基本原則我們不該忘記：如果你想在參加網(wǎng)上考試時(shí)玩什么鬼把戲，你應(yīng)試的電腦就會(huì)出賣(mài)你。

????作為一家從事網(wǎng)上評(píng)估測(cè)試的公司，Mettl將多種技術(shù)融入了自家的測(cè)試平臺(tái)，至少在一場(chǎng)考試所需的時(shí)間內(nèi)便能創(chuàng)造一種小型監(jiān)控環(huán)境。

????具體來(lái)說(shuō)，監(jiān)控環(huán)境是這樣形成的：一名應(yīng)試者先要在Mettl網(wǎng)站注冊(cè)，然后就能在網(wǎng)站的考題庫(kù)里挑選預(yù)先上傳到網(wǎng)站的測(cè)試題。面部擊鍵識(shí)別技術(shù)可以確認(rèn)注冊(cè)的應(yīng)試者是否就是他們自稱(chēng)的那個(gè)人。不論是在應(yīng)試者注冊(cè)時(shí)網(wǎng)絡(luò)攝像頭拍下的應(yīng)試者信息，還是整個(gè)考試期間透過(guò)電腦顯示屏留下的應(yīng)試者信息，系統(tǒng)都會(huì)悉數(shù)記錄。

????Mettl的技術(shù)可以利用應(yīng)試者的攝像頭監(jiān)測(cè)到其中有多少人在使用電腦，很快就會(huì)追蹤應(yīng)試者的眼球移動(dòng)。憑借這種有效的追蹤，這家公司的技術(shù)可以感知應(yīng)試者是否在注視屏幕以外的地方。如當(dāng)真應(yīng)試者視線持續(xù)停留在顯示屏外，那可能意味著應(yīng)試者在偷偷地用智能手機(jī)上網(wǎng)查詢(xún)，或者是在向朋友咨詢(xún)。Mettl還會(huì)監(jiān)視應(yīng)試者的顯示屏，如果應(yīng)試者切換了頁(yè)面或者改變了瀏覽器，或是退出測(cè)試，Mettl也都能監(jiān)測(cè)到。系統(tǒng)會(huì)迅速記錄應(yīng)試者一方傳來(lái)的說(shuō)話聲音，這樣就能監(jiān)測(cè)到應(yīng)試者是在與別人交談，還是有人在給應(yīng)試者支招。

????一旦監(jiān)測(cè)到任何不正常的現(xiàn)象，系統(tǒng)會(huì)標(biāo)示出現(xiàn)異常事件，并向主考官匯報(bào)。結(jié)果可大可小，全視測(cè)試方的要求而定：可能一有發(fā)現(xiàn)異常便終止所有人考試作答，可能只是對(duì)出現(xiàn)應(yīng)試者異常表現(xiàn)的顯示屏發(fā)出警告，甚至通過(guò)網(wǎng)絡(luò)攝像頭人為干預(yù)。所有這些對(duì)策都由Mettl的控制中心指揮。

????Mettl聯(lián)合創(chuàng)始人兼首席執(zhí)行官克坦?卡普爾指出，即使僅僅是作弊被抓的威脅也產(chǎn)生了很大的震懾作用。2010年，卡普爾與曾任全球管理咨詢(xún)公司波士頓咨詢(xún)公司（BCG）顧問(wèn)的老朋友塔莫伊?辛格哈爾成立了這家公司。當(dāng)時(shí)兩人都認(rèn)識(shí)到，印度受教育的年輕國(guó)民人數(shù)激增，接受網(wǎng)絡(luò)教育的國(guó)民也在增加，這正是一個(gè)商機(jī)。

????在眾多領(lǐng)域之中，他們發(fā)現(xiàn)技術(shù)可能給予最大助力的是哪個(gè)領(lǐng)域？答案就是考試。在印度，與就業(yè)招聘和職業(yè)認(rèn)證有關(guān)的國(guó)家考試不計(jì)其數(shù)?？ㄆ諣柡托粮窆栆惨庾R(shí)到，管理大量考試現(xiàn)在就已經(jīng)是一項(xiàng)繁重的任務(wù)，而隨著應(yīng)試者人數(shù)增加，這項(xiàng)任務(wù)只會(huì)變得越來(lái)越沉重。

????如今，全球200家企業(yè)和大學(xué)都在使用這家新生代公司的平臺(tái)、監(jiān)督及服務(wù)，他們大多來(lái)自印度。知名咨詢(xún)公司埃森哲（Accenture）、軟件公司Cognizant和國(guó)際四大會(huì)計(jì)師事務(wù)所之一的畢馬威（PricewaterhouseCoopers）都是Mettl的客戶。

????Mettl希望，此次美國(guó)的處女秀將有助于公司闖入這個(gè)國(guó)家龐大的招聘與MOOC市場(chǎng)。Mettl公司現(xiàn)有員工50名，已募得資金450萬(wàn)美元，迄今為止發(fā)展勢(shì)頭良好。它成立至今已經(jīng)監(jiān)督測(cè)評(píng)逾百萬(wàn)次，預(yù)計(jì)今年?duì)I業(yè)收入將達(dá)到“幾百萬(wàn)”美元。（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

????譯者：若離??????

????Now that American education has entered the era of the MOOC -- the Massive Open Online Course -- the opportunity for cheating appears greater than ever. The omniscient Google search engine is never more than a few keystrokes away for the computer-bound. So how can a proctor possibly manage the far-flung multitudes, let alone smoke out cheaters taking tests across the Internet?

????Using technology, of course. While proctoring services via webcam and plagiarism-detecting software have been around for several years now, an India-based startup has come to America -- Silicon Valley, obviously -- with automated, algorithm-based techniques for netting cheaters that the company claims are even more sophisticated and foolproof. Essentially, if you try to pull a fast one, your computer will rat you out.

????The online assessment company Mettl has incorporated a handful of technologies into its test-taking platform, creating, for the duration of an exam at least, a mini-surveillance state.

????Here's how it works: A test-taker signs on to Mettl and selects his/her exam from the site's library of pre-loaded tests. Facial and keystroke recognition technology verify the person that has signed in is the person they say they are, and the system records both the test-taker (through the webcam) and the test-taker's screen throughout the test.

????Mettl's technology uses the test-taker's webcam to detect how many people are using the computer. Soon, it will track eye movement well enough to sense whether the test-taker is looking away from the screen, perhaps to consult a smartphone or a friend on the sly. Mettl also monitors the test-taker's screen and can detect when the test-taker has changed tabs or browsers or moved from the test. The system will soon be able to record sound, and thus detect whether the test-taker is talking or being talked to.

????If any irregularities are detected, the system flags the incident and reports it back to the test's administrator. This can trigger any number of things, depending on the test-giver's wishes: a complete shutdown of the exam, a warning message that appears on the test-taker's screen, even human intervention -- via webcam -- from Mettl's control center.

????Ketan Kapoor, co-founder and CEO of Mettl, notes that the mere threat of being caught serves as a great deterrent to cheating. Kapoor founded the company in 2010 with an old friend and former BCG consultant, Tonmoy Shingal, when the pair realized the opportunity presented by India's exploding population of educated youth and the growth of online education.

????Among the many areas where they found that technology could offer improvement? Assessment. In India, there are huge national tests given for job recruitment and professional certification purposes. Kapoor and Shingal saw that the considerable task of managing these mass assessments would only become bigger as the number of participants increased.

????The young company's platform and proctoring and assessment services are now used by 200 corporations and universities around the globe; most are in India, such as Accenture (ACN), Cognizant (CTSH), and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

????Mettl, which has 50 employees and has raised $4.5 million in funding, is hoping its new U.S. presence will help it break into the country's sizeable recruiting and MOOC markets. It is well on its way: The company has proctored more than 1 million assessments since its launch, and projects "a few million" in revenue this year.