Regardless of where the cheating takes place it must be addressed. Cheating robs us as educators, the ability to clearly assess the student’s progress, our instructional effectiveness, and the effectiveness of our courses and all associated materials. I will not even address how cheating by one student may result in negative issues regarding grades, GPAs, effort, etc. of the cheaters fellow students.
Cheating is ok because at least they are looking it up for the answer.
hope you are kidding - Jon
Cheating is cheating no matter what form it takes. We should support the ethics that wold deter this type of behavior
Cheating is cheating no matter where or when it is done. I am vigilant in preventing cheating by my students during exams, however if someone is intend on cheating no matter what, there is nothing I can do to prevent it, but I know that person will go through life with the same value and may get caught some day.
We should be very much concerned about cheating whether on line or in traditional classes. There are tools to minimize cheatings.
Yes, these tools will not stop it, but will make it harder and deter casual cheaters.
Jon
I agree cheating is a problem in every learning environment but that doesn't mean we shouldn't be concerned. Institutions should implement realistic ways of ensuring students don't cheat regardless of the learning delivery format.
What are we talking about when we say "cheating". Per definition, it's the act of practicing fraud, deceit, rule violation, dishonest, et al. In the traditional classroom environment, the opportunities for cheating are greatly reduced due to consistent supervision by the instructor, as well as the fear and guilt that comes with getting caught. However, in the online environment the opportunities are greater for students; therefore, a different angle or viewpoint toward cheating must be observed.
Again, we resort back to the discussion about what is the purpose for online learning. Is is REQUIRED that students take an online course? Of course not because they have the option to take the traditional classroom course if they choose. Online learning is geared toward adults who are self-motivated and more disciplined to handle the rigors of such a format. If the learners resort to cheating to simply pass the class, then they are only cheating themselves because online coursework is set up to complement and enhance personal experiences, and it's at the whim of the learner since it is learner-based.
The major points of cheating that are hammered home on the online level are those of plagiarism and academic integrity. They are hard line rules, but implied that the students will adhere to them. Failing to either implies that the individual honestly doesn't understand, or flat out desires to buck the system. For the previous, one warning will normally do the trick; however, for the latter it will not matter and thus the repercussions of such violations are swift and harsh.
There are methods to curb cheating in both the online and traditional classroom; however, the inherent purpose of each learning format must be considered before resorting to enforcement to prevent cheating in each.
D.B.
I too have very strong feelings on this and disagree that cheating doesn’t occur online- in fact I think it occurs more and is easier to recognize! I have seen all form of cheating – the most common being cutting and pasting from websites or cutting and pasting discussion responses from other students in the same class in an effort to pass it off as their own work! For cutting and pasting of websites it has been so blatant in some cases that they forget to take the hyperlinks out so if you click n it their whole paper comes up! It never ceases to amaze me the high occurrence of cheating that occurs online. We only need to do a quick search to see the rising number of websites available to purchase papers, and even assignments from current schools!
I disagree. I think it is important to maintain academic standards regardless of the environment we are working in. When I completed my Masters degree we had a student who copied other peoples work and the instructor warned her a few times and then put her up on disciplinary charges. The school upheld this and actually kicked her out. It was the right move, it upheld the quality of the course.
So, student cheat in traditional classes and if we let them the quality of the graduate goes down and so will placement and retention. We should uphold the same in the online environment.
-Chris
Kourtney,
Great point about the greater ease in recognizing cheating online.
Jon
I agree, its important to hold up acceptable standards. - Jon
Cheating in course work that leads to certifications and degrees should be monitored as closely as possilbe and delt with when discovered. However I acknowledge that to be not an easy task for online instructers.
Testing and evaluation methods must be scrutinized carefully. Tests that can be taken multiple times should probably be avoided in those cases.
Having never taught online, I would love to read about methods of evaluation which have been found to work well.
Cheating is very different in the online setting. There are countless answer websites that student can either pay for answers or simply cut and paste an existing answer. I am amazed at how bold students are with cheating. They even go so far as to reference in APA the website that they cheated from. The nice thing about an online setting is we have Turn It In to run the students work through to identify cheating. Cheating is always a major concern in any classroom setting.
Kourtney,
I agree, it is astounding how bold the students are with cheating online. I once had a female student submit and assignment in which she discussed her wife. This would be fine if she had a wife but I was able to verify through her profile that she enjoys watching movies with her husband. Do they even read what they are copying and pasting? It is unfair to the students that take their work seriously because it devalues their degree.
