I disagree with this statement. Everyone should be concerned about student cheating. By everyone I mean, the instructors, the students, and the administors.
I do agree that cheating does take place within a traditional classroom environment. I just recently experienced serveral students cheating. However, while I agree with the statement that others have said that it is important for the student to know the value of the material within the class. I believe that the student should want to know the material. If the student actually wants to know the material than cheating will be reduced greatly.
I love the rotation of assignments so that there is not sharing between terms.
We should definitely be concerned about cheating in any academic environment in an attempt to maintain integrity. Luckily, there are a number of ways to combat cheating within the platform: secured testing, rotation of assignments, group work, project based assignments, etc. It's definitely something to consider when designing lesson plans.
If educators instill at a very early age the importance of learning the subject matter rather than finding the easy way out to obtain just a passing grade, perhaps,and only perhaps students will grasp the concept that cheating is not the answer and that it will have further consequences.
I'm not sure students fully understand the concept of plagiarism, therefore, take lightly its consequences. Technology makes it all more difficult for instructors to safeguard cheating today.
That is so true.....anything is up for grabs! Correct????
We have to be more concerned because many people believe that anything taken from the Internet is ok to use. We have seen this attitude in the music file-sharing cases believing that it is not copyright infringement.
I disagree. We should always be concerned about students cheating, regardless of the environment. It compromises the academic integrity of the class and institution, and it cheats the student out of valuable learning.
Good point! If we can save one person....hopefully they will pass it along!
Penny,
I used to think the same thing, but the more I have watched as corporate execs cheat their way through the business world (not to mention politicians), the more concerned I have become. I think that colleges have a responsibility to ensure that their graduates have obtained their degrees ethically. You are right that there is only so much we can do, but we should do all that we can. In so doing, we are protecting the name of the schools that we work for, and we are teaching students that there are consequences for cheating. Perhaps if we can deter one student, that will be the one who does not swindle millions from unsuspecting employees.
Tara
I have never done that, but I will do that if I think that a student's work is above his or her level.
Thanks for the tip!
Tara
You have to love Turnitin!
You can check the properties of their word document for one.
Absolutely! Schools have to be concerned about their own integrity. However, some schools are also concerned about student privacy as it relates to the use of tools like Turnitin. Because there have been some lawsuits, one school I work for has refused to use this excellent tool. Of course, for on-site courses, it can be easier to spot cheating when a student's in-class writings are vastly different from his or her other essays, but it does take some time and it is more difficult to prove.
Tara
Vince,
I have been teaching online for several years, too, but I have not encountered a student who was having someone else do the work for him or her. How would you even figure that out? I'm curious.
Tara
Though it is true that students cheat in any learning environment if they can, that does not mean that we should not be concerned about it in the online environment. In fact, because the restrictions and scrutiny of online learning is so widespread, we should be more concerned with it.
The course that I recently reviewed had something called a "lockdown browser," which I thought was a fairly effective method for ensuring student integrity in quizzes and exams. I also think that using a variety of course assessments and even assigning different topics to different students helps to curb cheating. Though I am loathe to assign topics, it is one method. Another is using a program like Turnitin.com.
Tara
yes I certainly agree that there are many who do not know what constitutes plagiarism or they do not know how to cite their work.
yes, knowing the material is the end result we want for students.
Knowing the material (as opposed to cheating to get the grade) and becoming subject matter experts offers the additional benefit of raising the bar on the level of knowledge being shared in class; everyone can benefit as a result.
A great question! I agree that cheating is always wrong, and the cost can be measured in loss of learning, no matter the method of delivery.
I sometimes find that students are unsure of what constitutes plagiarism in writing assignments (for example, I sometimes ask students to spell the "p" word for cheating, which often generates a lively discussion about cheating in general).
Once students truly understand what plagiarism is, and how to paraphrase source material and cite sources properly in writing, I am often impressed with their level of engagement and willingness to do what it takes to do what is right (of course, some will invariably look for the easy way out).
Love that phrase...you are only cheating yourself!
