Heads up to those of you who have computer-savvy kids!

[TranquilMind]

I just heard this story from my young teen. A long-term acquaintance of his attends his part time school, and that kid, while there on breaks, does other homeschool computer-based work assigned by his Mom. I'm not sure what program, but it is all computer based, and then you take the tests on the computer, and it records the grades in the various subjects.

 

This particular friends is not academically-oriented, which we have known for years. He asks my kid how to spell everything, etc, etc.

 

Anyway.....he tells my kid that he has all A's. Somewhat flummoxed by this, my kid inquires in an interested way how he's able to do this, since he doesn't particularly seem to get into schoolwork. Kid smiles and tells him that he has hacked the program his Mom is using so that all his tests can be taken as many times as possible until he achieves a score he likes (under 100%, to remain believable). He's able to score it, and then go back and correct wrong answers!

 

I'm torn between admiration at his problem-solving, and concern that he isn't really learning anything! My kid (who IS very academically-oriented) said, "When I don't know something, I go back and study more; when X doesn't know something, he just hacks the system so that he can get it right!"

 

Future Facebook- type upstart? Future Criminal? Who knows??

 

Just thought I'd give a head-up to you Moms who might be doing something like this. Junior might be way ahead of you!

[G5052]

Yes, this goes on more than we think. A variation of the "look at the answer key when Mom is busy/asleep/sick."

 

Other than the daily math keys, I keep the answer keys in my home office. And I've threatened them with "harm" if I ever catch them going in there to use them inappropriately.

[regentrude]

I admire the kid's resourcefulness and skill (not so much his work ethic). But honestly: the mom is to blame if she is fooled by this. Even if she uses a computer based program for schooling, she should have some realistic idea of her son's abilities. A scenario like this is only possible if the parent is completely out of touch with her kid or does not care.

[DragonFaerie]

I would think the mom would wonder how her kid was getting perfect (or near perfect) grades all the time.

[TranquilMind]

I admire the kid's resourcefulness and skill (not so much his work ethic). But honestly: the mom is to blame if she is fooled by this. Even if she uses a computer based program for schooling, she should have some realistic idea of her son's abilities. A scenario like this is only possible if the parent is completely out of touch with her kid or does not care.

 

I know the family, and this is not the case. In fact, the parents are computer-savvy as well and are on top of everything their kids are doing.

 

I'm thinking this kid has some mad skillz that have not even occurred to the parents yet.

 

Parents are not highly academic either, which is why this particular thing might go unnoticed if using computer tests.

[Unicorn.]

I'd be letting mom know.

[TranquilMind]

I would think the mom would wonder how her kid was getting perfect (or near perfect) grades all the time.

 

He mixes it up and misses enough to be realistic.

 

Did anyone see, "Person of Interest" a few weeks ago. There was a high school computer genius that only answered every other question in order to maintain a failing grade. He wanted to deflect attention from his side business he had going.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I know the family, and this is not the case. In fact, the parents are computer-savvy as well and are on top of everything their kids are doing.

 

I'm thinking this kid has some mad skillz that have not even occurred to the parents yet.

 

Parents are not highly academic either, which is why this particular thing might go unnoticed if using computer tests.

 

You don't have to be computer savvy to be monitoring computer usage. He can do it because no one is noticing that he's taking the test multiple times. He probably is learning something though by correcting his answers.

[regentrude]

I know the family, and this is not the case. In fact, the parents are computer-savvy as well and are on top of everything their kids are doing.

 

Parents are not highly academic either, which is why this particular thing might go unnoticed if using computer tests.

 

Those two statements are slightly conflicting, and I do not understand: If the parents are on top of everything, they would be aware whether their kid is an A or a C student without having to look at the computer grades. Now, if the kid is as good as his grades, and he hacks in to save himself stupid busywork, then I see much less of a problem - but I was under the impression that he creates grades that reflect a higher performance? If the parents don't realize this, that, to me, would not qualify as being on top of everything.

[unsinkable]

Bueller...Bueller...Bueller...?

[TranquilMind]

 

You don't have to be computer savvy to be monitoring computer usage. He can do it because no one is noticing that he's taking the test multiple times. He probably is learning something though by correcting his answers.

 

 

The way I understand it, the program is created to allow only one test. He has rigged it so that it is not showing up that he is doing it more than once; there isn't any way for her to tell. He's away on those days doing it on a study period, so she isn't over his shoulder.

 

That's my understanding of it anyway.

[TranquilMind]

Those two statements are slightly conflicting, and I do not understand: If the parents are on top of everything, they would be aware whether their kid is an A or a C student without having to look at the computer grades. Now, if the kid is as good as his grades, and he hacks in to save himself stupid busywork, then I see much less of a problem - but I was under the impression that he creates grades that reflect a higher performance? If the parents don't realize this, that, to me, would not qualify as being on top of everything.

 

 

I suppose you are right. I think a blindness in reference to our kids is quite possible, and every parent wants to believe her child is doing better than before. I know this kid does have a tutor, so they are on top of it enough to know he needs help, but not on top of his ability to break into the program and rig it so he can take it until he gets a good enough grade.

 

What I really meant by being on top of things is that they do monitor computer usage and can figure out all sites on which their kids have been because we've talked about it once. I think he's gotten around it somehow in that his retesting isn't showing up so he is getting the grade that the test reflects.

[pdalley]

 

The way I understand it, the program is created to allow only one test. He has rigged it so that it is not showing up that he is doing it more than once; there isn't any way for her to tell. He's away on those days doing it on a study period, so she isn't over his shoulder.

 

That's my understanding of it anyway.

 

 

 

If it's SOS - Switched on Schoolhouse- then it's fairly simple and not much of a hack at all. :)

 

 

All you need is the Teacher password and you can reset it to let you retake/see the answer/skip problem/etc very easily.

[katilac]

 

 

If it's SOS - Switched on Schoolhouse- then it's fairly simple and not much of a hack at all. :)

 

 

All you need is the Teacher password and you can reset it to let you retake/see the answer/skip problem/etc very easily.

 

 

This scenario sounds far more likely to me than any actual hacking into the program. If the kid does have the skills for that, then I promise you his parents actually have no bloody idea what he is doing online, lol.

[TranquilMind]

 

 

If it's SOS - Switched on Schoolhouse- then it's fairly simple and not much of a hack at all. :)

 

 

All you need is the Teacher password and you can reset it to let you retake/see the answer/skip problem/etc very easily.

 

Oh....well, maybe it isn't that big of a deal after all. The kid was going on and on as if he had really pulled one over on everyone.

 

I don't know, but thanks for telling me this.

[TravelingChris]

So is this kid's curriculum all on the computer? I know one program that has complete curriculum on the computer and I don't think that normally anything can be redone. The grade just has to be accepted. And that would be one thing if the computer course wasn't so picky. So if your child writes something like The dog was on the carpet and they want The dog was on a carpet, your kid gets the question wrong. We used this program for one subject briefly in the time period of 1999-2003 (only for a few months but I don't know when, just where I was living) and I had to just give up on it. It was so frustrating to my kid. Later on, I did use the booklet form of the program for another kid for another course and then I could grade it accordingly. But the computer course was insane.

 

As I said, I last used that program at least 10 years ago and I would hope the program has improved. But I am not sure it ever did. IF it was that program, I would do nothing.

[Arcadia]

This scenario sounds far more likely to me than any actual hacking into the program. If the kid does have the skills for that, then I promise you his parents actually have no bloody idea what he is doing online, lol.

 

If the child has the aptitude for that, he can go and pass the Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) exam and get a decent paying job.

[TranquilMind]

If the child has the aptitude for that, he can go and pass the Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) exam and get a decent paying job.

 

That's what I'm thinking. He's mentioned a future career in computers, I'm told.