????美國的教育界已經迎來大規模開放網絡課程（MOOC）風起云涌的時代，網上考試作弊現象也由此前所未有地猖獗起來。在電腦操控的世界，想呼喚萬能的谷歌（Google）搜索引擎，也不過就是輕輕幾下敲擊的距離。那么，網絡課堂的督導者們要怎樣管理遍布各地的學員大軍？要是管理眾多學員的有效方法還無法確定，就更別提怎樣撲滅作弊者在整個互聯網世界燃起的熊熊大火了。

????當然，上述問題用科技手段就能解決。利用網絡攝像頭和檢測抄襲的軟件提供學監服務也不是新生事物，這個產業已有多年的根底。一家總部位于印度的業內初創公司Mettl已經殺入美國，入駐硅谷。雖說在搜捕作弊者方面只是“新人”，但Mettl擁有以計算機程式為依托的自動化技術，還自豪地聲稱，它捕獲作弊者方式比傳統做法更老到，甚至堪稱萬無一失。當然，有一條基本原則我們不該忘記：如果你想在參加網上考試時玩什么鬼把戲，你應試的電腦就會出賣你。

????作為一家從事網上評估測試的公司，Mettl將多種技術融入了自家的測試平臺，至少在一場考試所需的時間內便能創造一種小型監控環境。

????具體來說，監控環境是這樣形成的：一名應試者先要在Mettl網站注冊，然后就能在網站的考題庫里挑選預先上傳到網站的測試題。面部擊鍵識別技術可以確認注冊的應試者是否就是他們自稱的那個人。不論是在應試者注冊時網絡攝像頭拍下的應試者信息，還是整個考試期間透過電腦顯示屏留下的應試者信息，系統都會悉數記錄。

????Mettl的技術可以利用應試者的攝像頭監測到其中有多少人在使用電腦，很快就會追蹤應試者的眼球移動。憑借這種有效的追蹤，這家公司的技術可以感知應試者是否在注視屏幕以外的地方。如當真應試者視線持續停留在顯示屏外，那可能意味著應試者在偷偷地用智能手機上網查詢，或者是在向朋友咨詢。Mettl還會監視應試者的顯示屏，如果應試者切換了頁面或者改變了瀏覽器，或是退出測試，Mettl也都能監測到。系統會迅速記錄應試者一方傳來的說話聲音，這樣就能監測到應試者是在與別人交談，還是有人在給應試者支招。

????一旦監測到任何不正常的現象，系統會標示出現異常事件，并向主考官匯報。結果可大可小，全視測試方的要求而定：可能一有發現異常便終止所有人考試作答，可能只是對出現應試者異常表現的顯示屏發出警告，甚至通過網絡攝像頭人為干預。所有這些對策都由Mettl的控制中心指揮。

????Mettl聯合創始人兼首席執行官克坦?卡普爾指出，即使僅僅是作弊被抓的威脅也產生了很大的震懾作用。2010年，卡普爾與曾任全球管理咨詢公司波士頓咨詢公司（BCG）顧問的老朋友塔莫伊?辛格哈爾成立了這家公司。當時兩人都認識到，印度受教育的年輕國民人數激增，接受網絡教育的國民也在增加，這正是一個商機。

????在眾多領域之中，他們發現技術可能給予最大助力的是哪個領域？答案就是考試。在印度，與就業招聘和職業認證有關的國家考試不計其數。卡普爾和辛格哈爾也意識到，管理大量考試現在就已經是一項繁重的任務，而隨著應試者人數增加，這項任務只會變得越來越沉重。

????如今，全球200家企業和大學都在使用這家新生代公司的平臺、監督及服務，他們大多來自印度。知名咨詢公司埃森哲（Accenture）、軟件公司Cognizant和國際四大會計師事務所之一的畢馬威（PricewaterhouseCoopers）都是Mettl的客戶。

????Mettl希望，此次美國的處女秀將有助于公司闖入這個國家龐大的招聘與MOOC市場。Mettl公司現有員工50名，已募得資金450萬美元，迄今為止發展勢頭良好。它成立至今已經監督測評逾百萬次，預計今年營業收入將達到“幾百萬”美元。（財富中文網）

????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.