Prevention of Plagerism

Blog Assignment: Plagiarism Detection

Plagiarism and cheating can be a problem in any classroom, so it is important that instructors take proper steps to avoid this dishonest behavior. Many believe that this is much more of a problem in an online setting versus a traditional classroom, but this is not always true.  Dr. Pratt and Paloff explain that, “learners cheat about as often in an online environment as they do in a traditional environment (Laureate Education, 2012).” I believe that it is even easier to cheat in a traditional classroom experience because there is no plagiarism software to assist instructors in detecting dishonesty.

There are a variety of plagiarism detection software available for online instructors.  The plagiarism software that is used by our university has proven to be very efficient.  Jocoy and  DiBiase explain a variety of benefits by stating, “Turnitin.com met several of our needs: it is easy to use, it accepts papers in HTML format, and it allows for selected websites to be excluded from searches, a feature we needed so that the search did not simply match our students’ papers to their own postings of their

papers in their e-portfolios, which were publicly available webpages (p.8).”  This software also creates a detailed report depicting the percentages of information that came from different types of sources.  As a high school teacher, my district does not have access to any plagiarism software; however I conduct my own investigations using Google as a tool.  When I encounter the same literature on the computer I use the website that found to confront the student about the dishonest behavior.  Usually it takes only on incident for a student to deter from any further attempts.

The design of assessment can also prevent plagiarism and dishonesty. Dr. Pratt and Dr. Paloff  explain that assessments can be designed to discourage cheating by incorporating collaboration (Laureate Education, 2012).  If students are allowed to work together and use each other’s information, plagiarism will be kept to the minimum because student s do not need to do it.  In addition traditional examination is becoming more and more obsolete because it does not simulate real-world workplaces.  In real-world workplaces, employees must work together and build upon each other’s other work rather than constructing individual projects.

        

One of the strategies that I plan on using as a future online instructor is to create a lesson defining plagiarism and how to avoid it. Many students do not understand what plagiarism consists of, so informing students in the beginning of the course is the best way to avoid misunderstandings. This information can be disbursed through the orientation module, since students need to be informed about this information for the onset of the course.

The best way to detect or prevent cheating is to keep a prominent presence in classroom discussions and really get to know how your students write.  As a high school teacher, I don’t need any kind of software to detect if cheating or plagiarism has taken place, because I know how my students write and their personality traits.  In an online experience in which a shorter semester takes place, this may not be possible.  In this case, it is important to use and require all students to submit their work to plagiarism software.   Just the mere fact of the students feeling like they are being, “watched” by this software will deter any kind of cheating. 

In summary, plagiarism is not something instructors must be reactive to but rather proactive.  Instructors can prevent plagiarism and cheating by keeping their students informed about the behavior is not tolerated in an online setting. 

Resources

Jocoy, C., & DiBiase, D. (2006). Plagiarism by adult learners online: A case study in detection and remediation. International Review of Research in Open & Distance Learning, 7(1), 1-15

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2012). Plagiarism and Cheating. Baltimore, MD: Author