desk404 wrote: » I am not at all happy at how the Law Society has decided to roll out 'proctoring' software without providing us with any information about the nature of this software product. The chosen proctoring software is Proctorio (based in the US). BetterExaminations (based in Ireland) provides the platform to do each of the exams and Proctorio provides its software to add on the supervised element. It works by recording the student's video and audio during the exam, their screen, records an ID and, depending on the settings used, requests the student to show the webcam around the room prior to the exam. The key part of the Proctorio software is that it tracks the student's eye movements and using machine learning generates a score to predict the likelihood that the student is cheating. For example, if it detects the students eyes constantly moving away it will generate a higher score, suggesting that perhaps the student is cheating. Much of this has yet to be explained by the Law Society to us. It gives rise to several concerns: - Who has access to video and audio recordings? Is it just the Law Society? - How long will that personal data be stored for? - Will examiners interpret results from Proctorio's assessment? What is considered acceptable eye movement? - Has the Law Society received adequate assurances from the company after the CEO of Proctorio apologised after posting the content of student support messages on Reddit? (Article on The Guardian's website (1st July 2020) 'CEO of exam monitoring software Proctorio apologises for posting student's chat logs on Reddit') - At what point did we consent to handing over personal data (email address and other info) to either of these companies? - Is our data being stored inside or outside the EU? While it is understandable that the Law Society has had to come to some sort of workable solution during the pandemic, it is unfortunate that students are required to surrender aspects of their privacy in pursuit of maintaining the "integrity" of exams. This is the only way to enter the profession and it is a shame that students need to agree to this. If someone prefers the traditional exam format and wishes to delay, they may end up delaying or forfeiting their training contract. Moreover with only 15 days to the first exam, we have not been made aware of any of these privacy implications.
awsah wrote: » Ha ha ha ha ha oh my god I have to laugh! so to keep the integrity of the exams we are going to be watched by a robot. like what if u have a habit of always looking to the ceiling or behind the screen when ur thinking, what if your eyes get tired after 3 hours of staring at the screen and u stop looking at the screen. Also the privacy thing is a big enough issue, the new email stated we shall receive an email form better examinations, this means they have already provided our information to a third party, is this something we agreed to allow when we signed up for the FE1s? Also it says that you then have to login, does this mean we have to create an account with them, what kind of permissions do they request that you allow. If we agree to allow a software company to record us, do they have that ability even when we have finished the exam?
lawgrad2020 wrote: » Sorry reposting this as still confused and need to order my legislation today. Hello, did everyone doing company order their legislation from opw or did they get the companies act binded book? I'm so unsure which of the books are usable/out of date and so confused and stressed Would be so appreciative of any guidance.
Iso_123 wrote: » I ordered mine from book depository I got the bloomsbury 2018 version but i understand you can order from the OPW too
lawgrad2020 wrote: » Thank you so much everyone - I have ordered the bloomsbury edition from legalbooks.ie and they have guaranteed quick delivery so fingers crossed it will be here by the end of the week/ early next week.
Al1501 wrote: » Here is the link for the Companies Act from Bloomsbury: Also, the code STUDENT should knock 20% off the price
Fe1Student20 wrote: » Thank you very much, I've just used this myself. Not been given a delivery date initially, but it said 5-7 working days on the website prior to ordering so hopefully all will be fine
Twinings2016 wrote: » Super concerned about this proctoring software. As per what previous posters mention, I often stare off into space when trying to think/formulate answers. This will be one hundred per cent the case this time around also. Is it an automatic fail if the software detects something suspicious? Can we not dispute this? Also what about rough work and legislation, if our eyes are off the screen and looking down.. ? From what I can see online with this software .. if they detect anything suspicious like the above re. eye movement you fail automatically. This is madness in my opinion for these exams and is seriously stressing me out.
FE1new wrote: » Just got that email for the Betterexaminations there. Says I have no upcoming exams...huh. God I'm just very done with all of this.
Healyjhow wrote: » I got this email too went in to set my password and now it says link is expired and only valid for one use within 24hours ?
LawStudent999 wrote: » Mines already giving trouble. I followed the link and set a password. It then asked me to log back in with my new password which it said was wrong? Anyone else having a similar issue? I requested a new link under the 'forgotten password' option but that never arrived. Doesn't give me much hope for the system.
jus_me wrote: » They can’t make us sit there for 3 hours and not use the bathroom surely ..
