on line cheating
I would perfer to think if a student signed up for a class they would be interested enough to complete the class on their own. Would I encourage some one that was having a difficult time to seek out some one else in the class for help or tutoring ? absolutely I generally take people at their word. Maybe this is a flaw in my way of thinking. I would rather see what I can do to help a student than try and catch some one cheating. I think what I want to say is I must have not taught some thing very well or I must not have made myself as available as I should have. If a student has to cheat to pass I going to take some of that responcibilty.
Janis,
As I know you know, student cheating has been around long before the online classroom - I think there were some students who did it when I was in school. ;-] We are just providing new technologies with which to carry out the intentions. I'm also glad to say the technology to combat it is improving (e.g. plagiarism checkers, proctor cameras, login recognition, etc.) Keep up the good fight.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
I have been teaching online for 12 years and I am still constantly surprised at how students believe that they can get away with cheating. I would rather talk to the student one on one than to send them to another student. I have found that one student may give another student one of his/her old papers. I have found that when a student asks another student for help, some of them resent it because they have worked hard to get to where they are now and think that the student asking for help has not done his due diligence in trying to improve. Many of my students work full time and find that other students asking them for help are intruding upon their personal time. I believe that it is the responsibility of the instructor to teach. Many students learn differently, some by seeing, some by hearing and some by doing. It is our responsibility to bring the right format to the student.
Leslie,
Yes, good point, the technology continues to assist teachers as students find their way around it. There are many websites that assist teachers with this, but full-featured applications (e.g. turnitin.com) continue to refine their tools to better facilitate instructors who are intent on providing high-quality education. Thank you for your recommendation.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
If your school subscribes to turnitin.com I highly ecommend using it. It's so beneficial to both instructors and students.
Interesting perspective Cecil. I have read (and also believe) there is only one thing that many people do not care if they get their money's worth. That would be a degree.
By teaching a course on ethics, you certainly have a great forum to discuss the issues of cheating in an online class. However, I would suggest that ethics is a topic that all teachers can discuss as it is an important concept for students to learn. Ultimately, they are cheating themselves more than anyone else.
Hello all:
In the discipline that I teach in most often, there is a distinct emphasis on compliance with ethical behavior. Therefore, in our discussion forums, we review and comment on vignettes which present ethical dilemmas, with the intent of imbuing the students with a guiding sense of propriety which may influence their actions as they apply theory to their career.
I perceive parallels with respect to the student's willingness to accept challenge in any classroom, either brick and mortar or virtual, and their future behavior in another setting. As this behavior will potentially influence other members of society, it is critical that the student is aware of consequences.
Best,
Susan
Is seeking the help of another person good, or considered cheating? I don't know the answer, and I want to know the answer.
Here is another question: do we know for sure if the student is the same person who is doing the work?
That is an interesting idea Deborah. Assuming that a student understands what is considering cheating is an assumption. I know there are certain cultures don't have the strict adherence to citing sources that we do, and students from those cultures simply don't understand that they are stealing someone else's words and thoughts.
I think you have a good point there. If students are cheating, then we need to ask ourselves, what is it that we aren't doing to TEACH them that cheating is not the way? We should take some responsibility for not teaching the material and not teaching ethics.
Unfortunately, when a student wants to cheat, regardless of online or residential, somehow they find a way. But certainly technology has come a long way in helping us identify cheaters.
Thanks for your comments Shana and good luck with teaching our first online class!
As I am new to teaching on-line courses, I was very concerned as to the quality of education a student would receive, because of the ability to easily cheat. BUT, as I got into the course and realized there were many tools for me to use that would essentially prohibit cheating, I became confident that students that put in the effort would walk away from the course having had a quality education. There are always going to be those few students who try to do minimal work, with DL, teachers can track just how much effort is being put into the course, we can put time limits, we can make sure that everyone is participating in discussions, students will have to step it up and do the work themselves.
Katie,
I agree with your point of view. If a student wants to get the most out of the class then they will seek assistance. However, some students are fast with the challenges of time management and do not have the time to put into their studies. When this happens the temptation to cheat will begin to creep in.
Cheating is something that we have to address and creating websites like you had done is one way to teach students about plagiarism and how to avoid it. I thought the website was very good and helpful to students. Nice job and thanks for sharing it with us.
Whether the class is on-line, or in a regular classroom setting - given the opportunity any student WILL cheat. I am not condoning this practice, but a lot of our students are overwhelmed. Some are returning students after being out of school for many years, and some are traditional ones. I hear so many excuses,why they weren't finished with the assignment and others are just clueless as to why we think that the work submitted was plagiarized. If this is not discussed and enforced (i.e. academic probation and/or dismissal) what can we do to get the point across to the students?
http://www.fairfield.edu/media/flash/library/lib_plagicourt.swf
We have incorporated this website as a learning tool...tell me what you think about it.
You are right--bottom line is that no one wins when a student cheats! Thanks for your post Tim.
I was always brought up to believe that when you cheat, you're not only hurting yourself, but everyone else in the class (if they find out you cheated and then decide to do so themselves) and the school's reputation (once it gets out that the school allowed such things to happen).
You are right--it would be helpful if students would realize they are just cheating themselves. Thanks for your post Jennifer.
While it has gotten easier for students to cheat (just cut and paste) it has also gotten easier for teachers to catch students who cheat. It would be wonderful if the websites that help students cheat go out of business, but I guess I am not keeping my hopes up. Thanks for your post Marcos.
