Universities: No smart watches allowed

The highly anticipated Apple Watch is expected to globally hit stores sometime in April, bearing a strong chance to sell in record numbers, especially in the US, Europe and China.

Most recently, the University of London, as well as other UK universities are bringing up an interesting point, which is likely to lead to new policies regarding smartwatches in the classroom, especially at test time.

Following an incident in which two students were caught discussing the potential use of smart wrist-worn devices during an assessment, educators are now planning on enforcing policies banning students from wearing any device on their wrist, during a test, regardless of the device functionality, as teachers may not be able to tell a smartwatch from a traditional, non-web-enabled, timepiece.

The policies are likely to enter into effect very soon, considering the number of smart watches already available on the market, and their functionality, and once the Apple Watch becomes available to consumers, universities are expected to enforce stricter policies due to many of the advanced features the new Apple product will offer.

Applications such as the Sketch feature, allows Apple Watch users to send each other drawings that appear instantly on each other’s screens. this feature can be easily exploited by students looking for an untraceable way to pass notes to each other during a test.

For those familiar with Morse code, Tap is another tool that might turn useful to the more sophisticated cheaters. Tap patterns are only noticeable by feel, and very inconspicuous on screen.

While the enforcement of these policies is currently being studies in the UK, the spread of regulations in the US is expected to be a hot topic as well, since smartwatches fall in the same category as tablets and smartphones, even when having to rely on smartphone pairing to function and for web access, which could become unnecessary in the near future.