I do not think that students know the full meaning of academic dishonesty. There is a diminished level of accountability in an online environment. Not having face to face contact with the instuctor makes it easier for students to take the liberty of trying to pass work as their own.
Hi Cynthia, at my institution we include a discussion in the course that discusses academic honesty and helps learners understand how to properly paraphrase and cite sources. It has helped deter plagiarism in our courses. Tina
Thank you for the feedback Tina! I will incorporate that in my courses. I think addressing the issue before it becomes a problem, is a better approach.
Cynthia
I have seen plagiarism from students who are unaware of the fact that the things they see on the Internet cannot be “cut and pasted†and presented as their own work. Then, occasionally, I believe I have run into intentional plagiarism, and this has most often occurred when a student has fallen behind and submits several assignments at the last minute. My guess is that the lack of available time causes some students to intentionally plagiarize, hoping it won’t be caught.
A few times when I have looked at a plagiarized assignment, I will suggest ways that the student can resubmit the assignment, and the grade is a zero until they do resubmit. Some students are confused; they submitted something, so why didn’t they get any credit. There are several online sites that offer free papers, and I have had students occasionally submit one of these.
Plagiarism software worries me in that the students’ writing becomes the property of the software firm. The school pays to use the software, and then the students’ papers are used as part of the software company’s database.
I would like to see schools work toward other solutions. For one thing, using the same assignment over and over again, class after class, can end up with students using some online version of what used to be known as “fraternity files†where students borrow each others; papers.
Intellectual Property (IP) issues have become more complex with our new high speed communications tools developed in the past few decades. Many people (and companies) profit from questionable (if not outright illegal) uses of others' IP because of the speed and vastness of the electronic world.
Marcia,
Your stated concerns identifying some important plagiarism issues in education. 'Sharing' papers, songs, software, movies without appropriate payment is so pervasive that many students do not understand the impact until someone misuses their IP.
Group,
What are some effective techniques for the online instructor to enhance student understanding/awareness and help them choose to do the right thing?
Hi Fred,
I've noticed similar situations in my schools. Student may be aware of the plagiarism policies, but there is a disconnect between knowing the policy and applying it to their coursework. I've found that some students will copy an entire page and feel it's not plagiarizing as long as they state the author's name. Other students will paraphrase work but not list their sources because they feel that since they've changed the words around, it's their own work. We need to teach students APA formatting in addition to requiring them to read the plagiarism policy.
Sara,
Your recommendation of teaching the APA formatting in addition to plagiarism policy is something I've implemented in my own classes. I agree that it has helped the students significantly. However, I do not refer them to the APA manual and all the technicalities. I provide them with a few components that are required for my class and seems to have made a positive impact.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
