Dr. Naomi,
I think we as instructors must post what is acceptable and what is not along with how to know what needs cited.
Shelly Crider
Lotlamoreng,
Nice link!! This is very interesting. I hope others check this out!
Shelly Crider
Dr. Naomi,
I like to help the students by talking about time management and how to keep track of their tasks, personal, work, and academic. Showing them Project Management timetables or a simple calendar helps them get started.
Shelly Crider
I have noticed a huge increase of academic dishonesty over the years. I don't know if students really aren't aware of how to summarize or if they just get in a hurry. Regardless, it is the instructor's job to teach the students to do it properly. It doesn't matter if it is in the classroom or if it is in the online environment.
Some schools now offer a similarity score right on the discussion board. It is a wonderful feature. In my opinion, it is never okay to cheat.
Angie Sokol
Hi Lyn and Shelly,
I definitely agree that student's cheat when they feel overwhelmed or when 'life circumstances' happens and they just want to pass the class. This is why I believe students must consider time constraints when taking an online class; although the online learning environment is great for those of us who are busy, have families, and do not have time to go to an on-ground university. Time constraints must be factored into their decision to take an online class.
Very nice discussion!
Naomi
Hello Shelly,
Yes, we should absolutely be concerned with students cheating in both learning environments. In fact, students may be more apt to cheat in traditional classes, because they may think the instructor will not thoroughly examine their papers. In contrast, in the online environment students will cheat in the following circumstances:
1. They cheat even when they know they may have to submit their papers to Turnitin.com;
2. They may still cheat when they know the LMS may automatically send their paper through Turnitin.com;
3. They tend to cheat when they wait until the last minute to submit their assignment and do not have the time to research their topic.
4. Students cheat because they feel it is okay to just copy and paste material they find off the web and/or do not understand how to appropriately cite material that is not 'common knowledge'.
Furthermore, I have witnessed students using inappropriate websites where they can buy research papers instead of conducting their own research. Truly, it is a sad when students' cheat because this places the instructor in an awkward position, because we have to be firm and at the same time sensitive in how we communicate this information. Consequently, I do post announcements at the very beginning of my classes regarding Academic Honesty, and another post called, 'What's Originality Verification,' which explains original content versus plagiarism and what is acceptable/not acceptable in my class.
Take care...
Naomi
We should be very concerned about cheating in any form. Cheating, whether by student or anyone can be costly to the reputation of the person cheating or an institution. Cheating happens everywhere, whether the class is online or onsite.
Fortunately, software that track cheating has helped tremendously in tracking any academic dishonestly in the last decade.
Instructor have be be vigilant with academic honestly whether a class is online or onsite.
I mentioned above that academic dishonesty can be costly to an institution or person accused of it.
Here is a rather feisty war that I saw in 2003 between Norman Finkelstein, former professor at DePaul University, and Harvard's Professor Alan Dershowitz’s . Scroll to 11:00 to start the debate. Very, very interesting!
http://www.democracynow.org/2003/9/24/scholar_norman_finkelstein_calls_professor_ala
Lisa,
haha yes it is sad but true.....students will copy and paste even bad work!
Shelly Crider
gene ,
This helps with critical thinking as well. Good idea Gene!!
Shelly Crider
yes it is. i basically eliminate this by requiring students to write short opinion answers to questions that do not require turnitin to check.
I think cheating can still happen in an online environment. I have had a student copy and paste the exact same discussion response as another student, right down to the same typo. I have sisters in class now online and they have turned in teh exact same papers.
Andrew,
A writing assessment or project does indeed show what the student has learned.
Shelly Crider
Betsy,
Good point. Why students cheat is very insightful.
Shelly Crider
Cheating is not okay. We should be very concerned.
Instructors, online or on ground must make the point clear that cheating is not allowed, and give them the tools to properly cite sources on their papers. We must be aware that students will be more likely to cheat when they are short on time, or overloaded.
We have to make good use of the tools at hand - such as TurnItIn,SafeAssign and PaperRater. And remind our students to give credit to the authors of work they are citing....
I agree Shelly. It takes me longer to grade the IP and Db because I check their sources and review the Turnitin report. But as I tell the student,
I want to be fair to all of them".
I agree with you Shelly. I too think the instructor must have said something.
I think we need to be concerned and aware of cheating online just as much as we are in a traditional class. Since the methods of cheating will be different in an online class, the course delivery and assessment needs to be different as well. For example, a multiple choice final exam is typically not the best method for online. (They are possible, however, if you have a huge database of questions and have it set up so that each student gets random questions to prevent copying, and a time limit can limit references to notes and books).
I think the best assignments would involve subjective questioning, in paragraph/essay/paper form, asking "what would you do in this situation". This way the students have to use what they have learned and apply it in a real world scenario.
Aida,
You are killing me with "nobody cared before"......I cannot imagine many instructors not saying something about cheating!!
Shelly Crider
James,
Students do not realize how serious plagiarism really is.
Shelly Crider
Yes, cheating is the same online as it is in traditional classes. For example, plagiarism is a serious academic offense regardless of contexts, and students must adhere to scrupulous standards of academic honesty. Students must learn to recognize that any idea that did not originate fully from the student should be credited to its proper source. Moreover, whether they are in traditional or online classes, students must learn not to merely imbibe but also to apply the complicated instruction they learn. Cheating short-circuits this process entirely, resulting in students who lack the motivation to acquire new knowledge and who lack skill sets appropriate to their level of education.
