What is
plagiarism?
This week’s blog topic is
plagiarism detection and prevention. First let’s start of by defining
plagiarism. According to www.dictionary.com
plagiarism is, “an act or instance of using or closely imitating language and
thoughts of another author without authorization and the representation of that
author’s work as one’s own by not crediting the original author.” Plagiarism involves both stealing someone else’s work and
then lying about it afterward.
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.
§ 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 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.
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 are to use tools or software such as Turnitin or Scanmyessay.
Using these tools 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 sites such as these. When students know their work
is going to be checked they will be more cautious about using and citing
sources.
What additional considerations for online
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.
References
Boettcher,
J. V., & Conrad, R. (2010). The online teaching survival guide:
Simple and practical pedagogical tips. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Dictionary.com
Unabridged Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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