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Digital

Computers in Exams: Different Type of Problem

Because of such concerns, there has been a move recently to think about letting undergraduates complete their written examinations on word processors. The logic is that it is unfair to make them put pen to paper (rather than it being easier for examiners to mark word-processed text). The main thrust of the pro-word-processors-in-examinations argument seems be that since no one (including undergraduates) writes anything longhand any more, and because all other assessed work (for example, coursework) is word-processed, having to handwrite examination essays is unfair. The second main argument is that students generally obtain higher marks in tests when they word-process their answers (see Journal of Computer Assisted Learning 2008, 24: 39-46).

Read full story in Times Higher Education.

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Academic Life(style)

British GCSE Mistakes

Following questions and answers were collated from some British GCSE exams in the 1990s. 16 year olds, in case you didn’t realise!

Geography
Q: Name the four seasons.
A: Salt, pepper, mustard and vinegar.

Q: Explain one of the processes by which water can be made safe to drink.
A: Flirtation makes water safe to drink because it removes large pollutants like grit, sand, dead sheep and canoeists.

Q: How is dew formed?
A: The sun shines down on the leaves and makes them perspire.

Q: What is a planet?
A: A body of earth surrounded by sky.

Q: What causes the tides in the oceans?
A: The tides are a fight between the Earth and the Moon. All water tends to flow towards the moon, because there is no water on the moon, and nature abhors a vacuum. I forget where the sun joins in this fight.

Sociology
Q: What guarantees may a mortgage company insist on?
A: If you are buying a house, they will insist you are well endowed.

Q: In a democratic society, how important are elections?
A: Very important. Sex can only happen when a male gets an election.

Q: What are steroids?
A: Things for keeping carpets still on the stairs.

Biology
Q: What happens to your body as you age?
A: When you get old, so do your bowels and you get intercontinental.

Q: What happens to a boy when he reaches puberty?
A: He says goodbye to his boyhood and looks forward to his adultery.

Q: Name a major disease associated with cigarettes.
A: Premature death.

Q: What is artificial insemination?
A: When the farmer does it to the bull instead of the cow.

Q: How can you delay milk turning sour?
A: Keep it in the cow.

Q: How are the main parts of the body categorised? (e.g. abdomen.)
A: The body is consisted into three parts – the brainium, the borax and the abdominal cavity. The branium contains the brain, the borax contains the heart and lungs, and the abdominal cavity contains the five bowels, A, E, I, O and U.

Q: What is the Fibula?
A: A small lie.

Q: What does varicose mean?
A: Nearby.

Q: What is the most common form of birth control?
A: Most people prevent contraception by wearing a condominium.

Q: Give the meaning of the term Caesarean Section.
A: The caesarean section is a district in Rome.

Q: What is a seizure?
A: A Roman emperor.

Q: What is a terminal illness?
A: When you are sick at the airport

Q: Give an example of a fungus. What is a characteristic feature?
A: Mushrooms. They always grow in damp places and so they look like umbrellas.

English
Q: Use the word judicious in a sentence to show you understand its meaning.
A: Hands that judicious can be soft as your face.

Q: What does the word benign mean?
A: Benign is what you will be after you be eight.

Technology
Q: What is a turbine?
A: Something an Arab wears on his head.

Religious Education
Q: What is a Hindu?
A: It lays eggs.