Colleges now have to deal with the unexpected side effects of better technology – cheating. The New York Times is reporting that all the new gadgets that are coming out are helping students cheat in order to get a better grade.

“And at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, after students photographed test questions with their cellphone cameras, transmitted them to classmates outside the exam room and got the answers back in text messages, the university put in place a new proctoring system.”

Cheating is so wide spread that “in a survey of nearly 62,000 undergraduates on 96 campuses over the past four years, two-thirds of the students admitted to cheating.” Teachers and college professors all around the country now have to spend more of their time trying to figure out who is cheating. Colleges have a very competitive system in place and many students just want to game the system to get ahead. Anyone that has taken a standardized test in the last few years knows exactly how bad the problem has gotten. Once you check into your exam you are asked to lock up all your personal items, and they supply you with the test materials such as pencils and paper. You often feel like a criminal taking an exam that will make or break your existence.

“To take a final exam last week, Alyssa Soares, a third-year law student at U.C.L.A., had to switch on software that cut her laptop's Internet access, wireless capability and even the ability to read her own saved files. Her computer, effectively, became a glorified typewriter. Ms. Soares, 28, said she did not mind. "This is making sure everyone is on a level playing field," she said.”