Disclaimer: This article is published under the Charlatan’s satire section, the Partisan. All quotes have been fabricated.
In a statement on June 20, Carleton University announced online course exams for the fall term will exclusively be available on the latest generation Xbox and PlayStation consoles.
The change comes after the university found success in the gamification of course materials and after students expressed concern about the proctoring software, CoMaS, currently being used by the university.
“We want students to know that we take their complaints very seriously,” a Carleton representative wrote in an email to the Charlatan. “By taking cues from anti-cheating measures developed for e-sports, we hope to solve problems around proctoring while making online school a little more enjoyable for our students.”
Physics professor Callough Duti said he was excited to see how making exams into video games might let him enhance his student’s learning experience.
“Video games take theory off the paper and into a realistic simulation,” Duti said. “Instead of just teaching students about trajectory and force, they can learn it themselves by shooting at things in a video game.”
Duti said he hoped his online courses would be helpful for both students and educators.
“Maybe with a small army of students behind me I can finally get to the next rank in Grand Theft Auto,” Duti said. “It’ll really help my street cred.”
Meanwhile, not all students are happy about the announcement. Do Rito, a second-year political science student, said he was not happy his university was blurring the line between entertainment and education.
“I look forward to relaxing by shooting some zombies after a long day of reading boring political theory,” Rito said. “How Plato would react to my Minecraft utopia is the only thing that gets me through his books. But if I have to see the Brightspace logo every time I boot up my PlayStation, video games won’t be an escape anymore.”
Rito also said he was worried the interface was not at all suited to the style of exam that his course offers.
“Have you ever tried entering your name using a console controller? It takes forever,” Rito said. “How am I supposed to answer an essay question in time?”
The school says students can expect to play Call of Duty for credit by fall reading week.
Featured graphic by Sara Mizannojehdehi.
