We should be concerned about students cheating in an online environment. Cheating should not be encouraged in any form. Some schools use the turn- it- in tool to check for plagiarism.
Austin Umezurike
Do you think that more research activities would be beneficial?
Mark:
I have been also in the teaching business for about the time as you, and I totally agree with you on your conclusion that cheating is going to happen, no matter what the instructor will do. But your idea of allowing students to retake tests and exams is really new, and maybe radical to me.
I know that some of my colleagues allow their students to retake tests and exams, but I was always reluctant to do that idea, because I feel that it is unfair for the students who have studied hard for the tests and exams. In reading your posting about allowing retake to curb cheating, I am really thinking about trying this strategy to see if it really works.
So how would you deal with cheating? Fail the class or take an F for the paper?
Of course cheating is a problem no matter where it occurs, since students who cheat are probably not achieving the learning outcomes for the class. Although it may be hard to catch cheaters online, that does not discount the seriousness of the problem.
How can we know if it is the same student taking each exam?
I disagree; we must be concerned about cheating in an online environment for sure. One strong signal for cheating in an online environment is if the student's "voice" does not sound genuine. Similar to plagiarism, action must be taken if the student's writing raises red flags. I type entire sentences into Google and usually find out if the student has copied from the internet. Asynchronous discussions and written assignments are an opportunity for us instructors to be vigilant.
I agree we shouldn't concern ourselves with the inevitable. If I'm taking an online class and I come across a question I'm not sure about, does researching a good answer constitutes cheating?
Hi Shelly,
I disagree, we should be concerned about students cheating in an online environment.
I give students an opportunity to form study groups with other students. This will allow students to get an opportunity to work together, thereby helping to remove the sense of isolation many online students feel.
But I also look very critically at the similarity between assignments. If I find an incidence of plagiarism and cheating, I take it very seriously. Academic Honesty is of the utmost importance in my classroom.
Thanks.
Susan Ceklosky
Cheating is cheating in any learning environment. The integrity of student submissions, tests and projects must be above board. Any suspicion of dishonesty must be resolved privately with the student in question. Plagiarism may be the most common infraction.
Online and on-ground classes are fundamentally different; if you treat the two exactly the same, students may be more tempted to cheat. For example, if you provide the student a multiple choice quiz with unlimited time, then the students may just look up the answers which is not something that they would have been able to do in a classroom. However, if you give the students an essay question that asks them to compare and contrast Everyman with Dante's Divine Comedy, it is going to be much harder for them to cheat, so they will be less likely to do it. Now, not every student is going to cheat, but if the opportunity presents itself, some will. Our job is to find ways to help the students learn the material better and to dissuade them from cheating at the same time.
I think that depends on the grade level of the student. Children, K-12, should be taught that cheating does not benefit them. At this age it is imperative that there are consequences to their actions.
However, once a student enters higher level instruction, I believe that if they are going to cheat there is not much that can be done to stop them. These are not the students that will excell in the end. It will simply catch up to them and when the knowledge is needed it will not be there.
It is a serious offense. What can be done to make students realize that?
Cheating is cheating. Do you think students who do cheat would try even with a proctor?
What about students in a traditional classroom using their cell phones for texting? Is this on the increase?
Cheating is the same in any environment. If the student online chat back and forth with others, how will we stop that action. I think with a proctor in a testing online environment would be Helpful.
Shelly,
I disagree; we should indeed be concerned about cheating in an online environment. Cheating in an online or traditional classroom is a serious offense and should not be taken lightly. Verification of student identity for test taking should not be overlooked regardless of the learning environment.
Maureen
Students would cheat more on line. There is not as much supervision as a class.
TEAM!!
No matter what in life is done to undermine the objective of an event, is CHEATING!!!
When I think of cheating, it reminds me of two students who handed in the same assignments, exact Excel Worksheets, all four Exactly the same.
If I was not aware of the ability to cheat (I had 20+ students handing in four spreadsheets each), would I have caught it?
Awareness is key!!
Another viable solution is Proctored Exams...
Also, for writing course, Plagiarism detection software can be used..
Do you know of other ways to prevent cheating in your online environments?
Cheating in an online environment is unethical and leads to the student not mastering the learning outcomes for the course. This occurs in face to face classes as well. In either situation, cheating is not acceptable for many reasons. The course syllabus should have information about the negative points of cheating and the actions which will accur as a result, such as earning an F for the assignment or even for the course.
