Gretchen,
Teaching what integrity is helps the student become more aware of cheating issues as well...in school and work.
Shelly Crider
Cheating does happen in either environment but cheating is probably easier to do in an online class. Even so, there are many students who are totally honest and learning is occurring in the online environment and is not worth throwing away the entire concept because of a few people that might cheat.
I disagree, cheating is cheating whether the course is on-ground or on-line. However, it is difficult to monitor a student's integrity to determine if they are using other means to succeed.
Patricia,
Good question. Study buddies can actually help each other, but there is a fine line there as well.
Shelly Crider
Tanya,
These are two very good examples. Both do happen. It is easy to blame a university when you cannot find a job. Having academic integrity policy posted in your class will certainly help.
Shelly Crider
Michael,
Excellent! Yes, this is why we do need personal relationships.
Shelly Crider
Yes, we should be very concerned with students cheating. I personally know of no one who would have completed my online homework for me. I also would have never considered cheating.
Yes it is the same by definition. How cheating should be determined in an online environment is difficult because there are some other variations of cheating (online)
For example, let's assume two students who live under the same roof and share one computer. Both students are enrolled in online courses and are studying the same program.
How can you determine whether both students did their own work? I have experienced this in my own courses. The assignments were exactly the same including incorrect answers. The fonts were the same including the line spacing. The only different is the student's name on the assignment and filename.
If both students states that they work together as "study buddies" can you really say they cheated?
Hello everyone,
We should be very concerned about cheating in an online environment. We need to specifically be concerned about Plagiarism taking place in an online environment. With the improvements in technology and the availability of information on the web students have a much easier time plagiarizing information and I have personally experienced an increase in Plagiarism in recent years unfortunately.
A strategy I use to deter Plagiarism is to inform the class about the issue and set a clear policy concerning consequences of cheating in the class and explain the difference between intentional and unintentional Plagiarism as well as provide a list of websites that will not be accepted as sources for research assignments. This helps a lot in reducing problems associated with cheating.
As instructors, we need to be concerned about cheating in any environment whether online or traditional. Students do not gain knowledge or skills when they cheat. They then proceed to graduate, if not caught, and enter the workforce without the necessary knowledge and skills to be successful in the field. This can create a number of bad situations (1) the student cannot get a job and then blames the university, which is a big concern as government focuses more on graduation and success of graduates; and (2) the university and/or program gains a bad reputation for not having graduates who know what is expected from the degree program. These are both unacceptable and need to be acted upon to ensure academic integrity and future graduate success.
I believe that we should be more concerned about cheating or plagiarism in an online environment. Even though this is certain to occur in a traditional setting, there are more opportunities for egregious offenses in an online setting. In my experience, I have found more instances of academic dishonesty teaching online compared to that of face-to-face classroom; and, this is partly due to the more autonomous nature of online learning which is sometimes a false sense of autonomy, in that students are mistakenly led to believe that they might not get caught, or that it would just be easier to copy and paste an article from the internet. Regardless of the case, the lack of personalization that face-to-face interaction has in the online classroom does, in reality, contribute to cheating/plagiarism. This is exactly why it's important to foster personal relationships, to the extent in which it is possible, with students.
Anthony,
I like how you added the other students in this equation. It does hurt them as well. Most students do work hard.
Shelly Crider
Darlene,
Cheating should not be tolerated. Period!!
Shelly Crider
I disagree. It is not fair for the hard working students who actually do the work to have their grades affected by students who have somehow either elicited the answers or copied off of outside material.
Cheating in either deovery format is just the same. It robs the student of the full learning experience and sets a pattern if not dealt with that can carry beyond the classroom environment and into personal and corporate activities. Cheating, copying, or use of other students materials without consent is against the school regulations and should be dealt with in the correct manner. The student is aware of the consequences and the correct punishment should be enforced. There should not be exceptions to the rule.
The integrity of the school, of the instructor and the student is at risk. Awards of passing grades would be unfairly earned and conferred to the student if cheating is not dealt with.
I disagree. We do not tolerate cheating F2F, and likewise, should not with the online environment.
I am presently serving on a committee at our state college and we are addressing this exact issue.
There is software available where the student is monitored through the webcam, after holding up ID and moving the camera around the immediate environment.
With more classes available online, this is a topic we will be discussing and determining a solution.
Yes! Time tests are a great idea! As is a randomizer. Thank you for your idea. Now if I can only remember this by 01-14-13 when I will be setting up quizzes for 3 hybrids.
PM
Peter,
You can have a timed test as well. This still allows for open book, but knowing that you will not get throught the test by looking each question up will help students rely on their own knowledge.
Shelly Crider
Eugenia,
I feel most schools have a bigger issue with plagiarism than cheating. So many students do not realize they must cite their work or how to cite. Others will comment as well.
Shelly Crider
I feel that with the online environment, students are provided with more resources to learn and experience. In assessment, students should be able to refer back to the material. Don't we,as instructors, want success or rote memorization that is easily forgotten. I feel that we should not look at the use of materials as cheating but supporting.
