What strategies do you plan to implement in order to reduce the possibility of cheating and plagiarism in your online course? If an instructor is using threaded discussions, short papers, live chat sessions and other forms of interactive online instruction, it's possible for that instructor to develop a strong sense of an student's writing style and thinking to know if a student has been cheating. In teaching a course, it may be helpful to post some notes on the concept of plagiarism with students. Many students may have only a vague idea of when and how to give references to the words or ideas of others. I think the best prevention for plagiarism is open and detailed discussion with students. Students should be absolutely clear as to the type of material they may and may not use as well as how such material should be cited. Sometimes I have found requiring students to hand in a copy of their rough drafts as well as the final version of a paper to be helpful in controlling the potential for plagiarism. It is also necessary to make clear to students what the course rules are regarding collaboration on assignments. There is wide variation among faculty as to how much collaboration is permitted or encouraged, and this may be confusing to students too.