Michael,
I so agree! Cheating is cheating whether online, in a classroom, or at work.
Shelly Crider
Cheating degrades the integtity of a discussion, assignment and learner experience. I always make it very clear that cheating is not allowed in my classroom. I include a definition of plagiarism and acceptable uses of outside materials in my introductory materials. I also teach graphic design courses and I make it very clear as to what materials can be borrowed and used, and what has to be generated by the student.
Hannah,
Definitely more pride in something you can show as your own....good job!
Shelly Crider
We should always be concerned about cheating and the standard applied should be the same regardless of modality.
Brian,
I so agree. If students cheat in school, what will they do in the workplace?
Shelly Crider
I've read the other posts and I think we agree that knowing the material is the goal, yet some will always try to take the easy way out. I am like a dog after a bone if I suspect cheating. I will spend a great amount of time looking for the source they used to plagiarized. Fortunately, most of them make it very easy for me because all don't even need a program to find the source...I can simply google a sentence that is unique and it pops right up. It's the projects that can be difficult to identify as cheating. I've finally learned to let some of it go. I try to impress upon the students that they are wasting their money if they don't take advantage of the learning opportunities. Of course, if it becomes a real problem as instructors we must ask: are the learning outcomes relevant? We have to at least ask ourselves if they feel that they already know the information and they are just checking the task off a list and moving on. Most of the time that is not the case,at least in my experience, but I think we need to at least consider it.
Yes, I think we need to be concerned about cheating in any environment. As many of you have already said, the student will need to have the information in the real world; he or she will be expected to have that information and not be able to access other sources on the job. Plus, it lowers the standards of your course. It will not take long for others to identify the unethical students. If they sense the instructor is winking at cheating it is demeaning and devaluing the efforts of those who are taking it seriously.
carol,
lol, right again....some students make it so easy to hunt them down!
Shelly Crider
The disadvantage in a e-learning setting is the student can have someone else do the work and no one will ever be the wiser for it Although students are encouraged to know the subject matteials, they are still allowed to use the text in on line courses when taking exams or quizzes.
Cheating will ocur when it come down to writing papers, that is why turnit in or having the students submit to smartthinking is a good idea that way they will know that the instructor know they cheated.
Vince, after reading students assignemmt or TD you can get a feel for the quality of their writing, if you have astudent that is doning Cor B work and then produces an A paper for me that ring a bell. I taught a research class, one student was doing ok, then he had to submit his first paper , bingo the the paper was at a grsd school level, I mentioned it to him after paper # 2 and told him I did not think he wrote the paper and why. He confesssed, his girfriend was in grad school and helped him write the paper , but he did the reseach. Is that cheating?
joy,
Good point, where there is a will there is a way!
Shelly Crider
The outcome of cheating is the same (not learning), but the method is very different. How do I know that the student is not paying someone else to take the tests or accomplish the other tasks? There is no way to truly know. IE how do you know this is me, rather than my neighbor kid who is bright and can use the $100 bucks?
There is also copying text off of the internet and (if they are a smart cheater) editing it to match their writing style.
Catching cheating (other than the obvious) in an on-ground envrionment is difficult. Online, unless the cheater is a complete moron... It is close to impossible. IMO, the ones that get caught are the morons I referred to above.
Loren,
Oh so true....cheating is simply not learning!
Shelly Crider
I disagree. We should be even more concerned about students cheating in the online environment because we cannot physically monitor them as they complete assignments and take quizzes. More attention must be given to the work submitted by students in order to recognize cheating in the online classroom. For example, two students might submit the same document for the same assignment, just changing the color or the font. For this reason, I like to grade all of the work from one assignment at the same time so that I have a better chance of recognizing duplicates. If something looks suspicious, I must check the file to see who the author is. If two different files for two different students have the same author, I know that I must address the situation promptly.
Erin,
Exactly! If students cheat online, what does that set them up for in a career?
Shelly Crider
Disagree! There is always opportunities for cheating to occur. In an online enviornment we have to assume that the student is who they say they are and that they are taking the course and doing the work. A student could have someone else do their work or take quizzes for them. Also plagiarism is a big concern for all universities. Students need to be made aware of what is and is not appropriate and be aware that they are expected to do all work themselves.
Dianna
Dianna,
You are so right. There are always opportunities for cheating. It is important for students to know what will be done.
Shelly Crider
I disagree that we should not be concerned about the cheating aspect due to the fact that in an online environment cheating is much easier.
shane,
Technology makes cheating easier online and in a traditional setting!
Shelly Crider
We should always be concerned with cheating, and while people can cheat in any class they take. It is the job as the instructor to hold our students accountable and discourage the shortcuts students will be tempted to make. Some may be participating in this behavior because they have never been caught, maybe you are the one that finally needs to set this individual on the correct path. Though our "job" is to convey information, many times we teach social skills and professionalism to these students through our actions. I finish by asking what are we teaching our students by being complacent with cheating?
With the ease of research on the internet, we should always be concerned with cheating, regardless of whether the class is being taught in the online environment or on ground. Integrity is of great importance and should be standardized in every class at the post-secondary level. Many believe that it is much easier to get away with plagiarism and "cheating" in an online environment compared to a ground class, although many online classes have integrity checkers built into the submission platform, that one does not have when handed a research paper in print.
Every professor should be a role-model when it comes to their own research and publications. I know that in the online classes I have taken, when professors post to DBs and include the sources used for their conversation pieces it helped to set the stage for us students. In addition, the more assessment and feedback provided by the instructor to the student - the less likely the students will “cheatâ€.
Have others witnessed this in their own courses?
