Looking back at the proctoring eye

This project critiques a worrying turn in education during the pandemic, the increased use of intrusive surveillance technologies on students.

Technologies developed in defence industry, used to police and discipline, now also in the educational space to facilitate remote learning. We examine a case of student resistance to video proctoring during remote examinations and the university/faculty response to address only technical "bugs" while disregarding the extended pedagogical and socio-political issues these tools bring into learning environments.

We initiated a process of raising concern about the use of video proctoring at faculty and university levels. This included arranging for students to give their opinions in personal interviews, focus groups and on etherpads.

We held an online conference where we discussed video proctoring and where the audience was encouraged to pose questions and articulate critique. This resulted in a letter signed by a number of students, addressing their faculty and the university's Executive Board, making their case against the use of proctoring software.