Technology can be helpful for the good and bad alike. A recent exam cheating case at a Ho Chi Minh City University has proved this.

The Ho Chi Minh City University of Technical Education has penalized a student for cheating on his end-of-semester exam with the help of a smartwatch.

A Faculty for High Quality Training major was found repeatedly looking at his watch and manipulating it during the exam, Dr Ngo An Tuan, the dean, said.

“The proctor noticed that the student’s watch turned shiny all the time so he came to check it,” Dr Tuan said. “It turned out that it was a smartwatch, which can store and open cheat sheets.”

The university will keep the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) informed so that it can take necessary steps to prevent candidates from using similar devices during the university entrance exam early next month, Dr Do Van Dung, president of the school, said.

This incident, likely the first of its kind, has sent an alarm signal to the ministry, which has allowed candidates to use recording devices in exam rooms at national high school graduation and college admission exams this year.

Students can bring cameras and audio and video recorders as long as these devices cannot display pictures, play the recorded files, receive audio and video signals on the spot, or transmit them out of exam rooms, MoET noted.

The green light followed a major scandal last year in which two students taped proctors watching and helping test-takers cheat on their national high school graduation exam at a private high school in the northern province of Bac Giang.

The ministry hopes similar cheating will be exposed with the support of such recording tools, but many educators have voiced their concerns over how proctors can single out devices like smartwatches.

Smartwatches available in Vietnam use touch screens instead of a keypad. These gadgets can display photos, play digital songs, and connect to other smart devices and social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter over wireless technologies.