Facial authentication as an extra support in virtual learning environments to avoid academic fraud

Abstract

Currently, both teachers and students are adapting themselves to the new technologies offered by the XXI century. In the case of teachers, this adapta­tion is greater since there is a need to adapt learn­ing to new technologies, lifestyles and habits. One of the possibilities that information and commu­nication technologies (ICT) offer us is to provide learning management systems, with flexible learn­ing, that allows us to manage and evaluate diffe-rent activities of an e-learning process.

Despite the progress made in the field of e-learning, there is a very low number of works that allow through proper mechanisms to a correct identifica­tion of students when they do their on-line activi­ties to prevent cheating. Although current learning management systems include tools for user authen­tication, they only verify the user’s identity at the time of login through a username and password, but it does not certify that it is the correct student.

Against this trouble, the use of facial authentica­tion software in on-line activities which students have to do, allows us to identify and prevent those students who might cheat. This research project seeks to propose a mechanism or technique to ensure the correct access to the student within a learning platform, that is to say, the student is the one who really is, through a facial recognition software called Smowl.