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  • Question for the guys and girls?

    Singles & Dating - 4 hours ago

    Additional Details

    First of all, I'm 30 years old, so I'm no little kid with a crush. I met this guy and we get along good and we talk on the phone every day and text message every day. He is still trying to get over his last girl friend. They were dating for 6 years and he was planning on asking her to marry him, but he found out that she was cheating on him. He told me last night that when he started talking with me and our friendship-relationship started he started putting up walls around him to prevent from getting hurt again. He did finally say that we can go out and hang out with each other and just see where things lead. I'm just wondering if anyone has had a similar situation and if you think it's possible for him to one day want more than just friends? (FYI: they broke up about a year ago)
  • Is he still into me, now that the chase is over?

    Singles & Dating - 5 hours ago

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    I meet an amazing guy about three weeks ago in one of my classes we just started talking and totally hit it off texted me non stop for two weeks we went to a dance together, and spent Halloween together he finally asked me out threee days ago and now he's no where near as attentive and cute is he bored now that the chase is over?
  • Exactly why do men snore?

    Marriage & Divorce - 5 hours ago

    Additional Details

    ok I am willing to accept the one or two women may snore, but why do men do it. It's not in their best interests is it?
  • I feel uncomfortable around the friends of my popular girlfriend?

    Singles & Dating - 5 hours ago

    Additional Details

    Alright just to tell you I am using my sister's account. So I asked out this girl I have always crushed on as a dare. She is beautiful and smart and nice and popular and I never thought she would say yes. But she did. So now we are going out and the whole school is disgusted. I'm not popular but I am not a total weirdo either, I'm just on the lower end of the social ladder and no one would expect my current girlfriend to go out with me. But I love her very much and I would not break up with her for anything. However whenever I'm with her and shes with her friends they all give me dirty looks and don't include me. My girlfriend tries to include me but it never works. No one has any idea why she went out with me. I'm astonished myself. Help?
  • Why does my friend act like a total B**ch?

    Friends - 5 hours ago

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    My friend's been acting like a b**ch for some time now and it's getting annoying for example yesterday during 3rd period we were playing Monopoly and well my friend thaught that we should play er way but i said no and she got all b**chy with me and then on Tuesday she wore a shirt that was way too big for her and she tied it up around her stomach and it made her look a hoe and i wanted to tell her that but once again i didn't want her getting pissed.
  • My dad is soooo tight?

    Family - 5 hours ago

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    Like honestly if I asked him for even $5.00 he would go mad and not give me it. And if you think that's bad, If i asked him for a candy bar that's 40 cents he would be mad and not get me it. It's making life hard..... hes soo tight. Is your dad like this?
  • I don't know what I should do!?

    Singles & Dating - 5 hours ago

    Additional Details

    Well i had a dance last friday at my new school and i really liked this one guy and he said he really liked me so we texted each other ALL weekend and on monday i told all of one of my friends we kissed and my friend spread it to the entire school and now even of the other campuses know. but the thing is we didn't really kiss and this has gone WAY to out of hand. i don't want to say i lied because then everyone is going to think i'm a liar but i don't want to keep it this way (saying that we did kiss) because then people will think i'm a slut. And he removed me as a friend on facebook but i don't know why because i don't think he knows that i said anything. please please please give your advise to me because i don't know what to do! =( and if possible can you please think of something i can say to everyone that would be great. thank you so much :) even if the question is already answered please post more answers that way I can get answers from all kinds of perspectives please :)
  • Should I be mad at Friend 2?

    Friends - 5 hours ago

    Additional Details

    Ok so I haven't had a bf yet. My friend just got her first. My other friend has had a ton. So Friend 2 texted Friend 1 to tell me she predicts I will get a bf soon because before the school year started I gave 3 of my friends predictions and 2 of them came true. Friend 2 got her first kiss, friend 1 got her first bf, and I'm not sure if friend 3 is over this guy but she has a bf and there's still 6 months left before the year ends. Anyway, friend 2 wanted friend 1 to make a pity prediction. Should I be mad?
  • How do you talk to a guy that you like over the phone?

    Singles & Dating - 6 hours ago

    Additional Details

    i like this guy, and i am to scared to call him..what do i do?
  • How Should I ask this girl out?

    Singles & Dating - 6 hours ago

    Additional Details

    I really really like this girl, and I know she likes me, we going out today to a mall and I wanna know how should I ask her to my gf! D:
Yahoo! Parenting

Ghost students busted: Does spying belong in the classroom?

Posted Fri, May 29, 2009
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Your college-aged daughter is required to do some of her course work online. A couple of times each week, she logs on to the course website to catch up on lecture notes and engage in chat sessions with her classmates and the two ghost students who are being paid by her professor to gather information about your daughter and her classmates. (Yes, ghost students.)

Educators are always looking for new ways to evaluate online learners, but does planting ghost students in the online classroom cross the line, ethically speaking?

That issue has become the subject of much debate this week, ever since The Chronicle of Higher Education reported that academics in Indiana, Connecticut, and South Africa have started to pose as students to gather information about their real students.

Critics of the practice point out that the process causes students to lose trust in their course instructors. "What other sneaky tricks do you still have to admit responsibility for?" one student asked after finding out about the ghost students.

Fans of the technique argue that ghost students can jump-start conversations, monitor student discussions, and make learning more interactive, thereby helping to reduce drop-out rates.
It puts into question the trusting and respectful relationship that has to be developed between teacher and student. And if you betray that trust, and you in effect set up an espionage system, then how on earth are you going to have meaningful, deep, authentic discussions?

In situations like this, I always ask myself how I'd feel in a similar situation, say if an employer hired ghost employees to keep tabs on me.

My verdict? Definitely not cool.

So what's your take on this online teaching method? Do you think its ethical for teachers to pretend to be students? How do you think your child would react if he or she found out after the fact that one of his or her classmates was actually a teacher?

Average (2 Ratings)4.50 out of 5 stars

5 Comments

  • 1. Posted by Carlsberg on Mon, Jun 01, 2009

    That IS disturbing, and pretty lousy. I can't understand why my instructor can't just ASK me how I'm enjoying my online courses. Better yet; how about paying actual TUTORS/TEACHER AIDES to actually speak to the students one on one instead of this closed door garbage. This whole 'undercover' deal reminds me of the saying 'one lie spoils a thousand truths'.

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  • 2. Posted by tarzanswife2001 on Mon, Jun 01, 2009

    if you are in school ,no matter what format, why are you surprised there are teachers present.

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  • 3. Posted by lilgerdie on Tue, Jun 02, 2009

    Teaching Assistants and Graduate Assistants are the bridge between the professor and student, I agree with Carlsberg's comment. In tutorials questions arise, interest in course material is voiced. It may be too late but at the end of the course there are Teacher Evaluations where students are asked a series of questions, and some evaluations ask questions regarding student interest in course material, how effective the professor was with material etc. Ghost Students used to direct online discussions are not a good idea. If the students in the course do not grasp concepts enough to come up with related discussions online, that is an indicator the course material and lessons are not coming across correctly. That would give the profs/teachers an opportunity to discuss the material/explain it in the classroom. As for work that would be annonying and creepy to discover you have fake co-workers whose sole job is to spy on you and report to your boss!

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  • 4. Posted by Brian and Brenda Joyce on Tue, Jun 02, 2009

    Any form of deception is completely unfair and seriously wrong. This kind of interaction can just as well be done by our school's policy of "peer guides", other students who volunteer to assist younger students. They're not online, but could easily be as a board moderator or advisor.

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  • 5. Posted by noeffects83 on Tue, Jun 02, 2009

    its actually quite simple. its a good thing for 2 reasons. some students are too shy to ask for help. the ghost student can find out a student needs help and can report to the prof and get them the help. and 2 whats wrong with more teachers? more people who can help is always a good thing. if you're on a boat that has 300 crew members and 700 passengers and for some reason the boat starts sinking, would you feel "betrayed" to find out that 50 of the 700 passengers were actually crew members and those crew members helped save you from drowning? there is NO debate on this matter. unless the spying goes further than the classroom; if they start stalking you and reporting when you eat dinner and watching you sleep etc. or even if they start collecting personal information then thats different. but if its nothing personal then why is it a bad thing? lilgerdie: you are correct and very incorrect. "If the students in the course do not grasp concepts enough to come up with related discussions online, that is an indicator the course material and lessons are not coming across correctly." that statement is correct. you are, however, incorrect because the ghost students will help the real students learn. who cares if a teacher is pretending to be a student? they're still a teacher regardless so i dont see why this issue matters. Carlsberg: do you know HOW many students are dishonest to teachers? this method gives raw feedback on how students are actually enjoying/learning in the class.

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