Most colleges and universities have strict rules and consequences for those students who engage in plagiarism acts. As more and more courses are being offered in distance learning formats it is even more essential for students and instructors to protect against plagiarism. Any student can access just about anything with today’s digital technology. Faculty and staff need to become more aware of the characteristics of plagiarism in order to be proactive in preventing it from happening. Boston University provides a video that shows plagiarism in today’s digital age.
What plagiarism detection software is available to online instructors?
Today there are many different software tools available for online instructors in order to help prevent plagiarism with students. Understanding the different tools will help with instructors to determine which one will work in each situation.
Some examples of detection software include:
Turnitin
(www.turnitin.com)- this site allows for instructors to view student work
against many other sources and student written papers. This program also
assists with spelling and grammar mistakes.
Free
Grammarly (www.grammarly.com)- this site allows for papers/documents to be
copied and pasted into the site. The site checks for plagiarism, grammar &
spelling mistakes. It checks over 2 billion documents for plagiarism.
Duplichecker
(www.duplichecker.com)- this is a free online tool for detecting the use of
copyrighted material.
Scanmyessay
(www.scanmyessay.com) – allows for documents to be scanned over thousands of
documents, allows for an unlimited length, resubmission, a side by side
comparison of documents, provides links for plagiarized work, and is free.
How
can the design of my assessments help prevent academic dishonesty?
“Effective course design practices place a high priority on designing assessment experiences that matter to the student” (Boettcher & Conrad, 2010). Course assessments should be designed to align with the course goals and outcomes. Creating assessments that allow for student choice allows learners to develop a personalized and customized learning experience that requires innovative thinking (Boettcher & Conrad, 2010). Instructors can provide students with guidelines to follow or rubrics to assist the development of the project. If an instructor gives clear directions for an assignment there is less room for the students to “copy and paste” from other sources. Another way that instructors can prevent plagiarism is to have check points for student work throughout the entire course. When students are not overwhelmed with lengthy projects and assignments they are more likely to provide a true summary of what they learned.
What facilitation strategies do you propose to use as a current or future online instructor?
Some different strategies that I would implement in my online course is to use tools or software such as Turnitin or Scanmyessay. Using tools such as these will help to identify student work that is not written in their own words. I also feel that it is important to inform students that all work will be checked through a site such as these. When students know their work is going to be checked, I feel that they will be more cautious about using and citing sources. Secondly, I would schedule assignments throughout a course to measure the process of their work and not just the final product. Students should be able to revise and edit as they learn to ensure that the culminating activity reflects the student’s knowledge. Lastly, within a course I feel that it’s important to spend time discussing copyright and plagiarism with the class. Being open about it and the consequences is essential for student success.
What additional considerations for teaching should be made to help detect or prevent cheating and plagiarism?
Providing clear guidelines and consequences for plagiarism is essential in any setting. Instructors should give clear guidelines for plagiarism, cheating and using someone else’s work without crediting the author. If clear expectations are set then there is no question if they are not followed by a student throughout the course. Instructors should confront students if they suspect any type of cheating or plagiarism has taken place. When the instructor contacts the student it should be direct and should address specific details from the assignment that was detected as plagiarized. Of course there should be consequences for plagiarism within the course. This will allow the instructor to direct the student to either redo the assignment or further disciplinary action to take place.
References:
Boettcher, J. V., & Conrad, R. (2010). The online teaching survival guide: Simple and practical pedagogical tips. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Boston University. 2010, December. What is Plagiarism in the Digital Age. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFtdZTG2-OM
Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary (2012). Plagiarism. Retrieved fromhttp://www.learnersdictionary.com/search/plagiarism
