Plagiarism Detection and Prevention

I think it is important for instructors to incorporate the topic of plagiarism into their courses. Students need to be aware of other options and what the consequences could be. There are a lot of software programs now available for institutions to help check for plagiarism. Additionally, encouraging the student to recall on their own experiences and teach them how to properly cite sources could help deter them from plagiarizing, intentional or unintentional.

What plagiarism detection software is available to online instructors?

Turnitin.com, mydropbox.com, and scanmyessay.com are great tools for online instructors to check papers for plagiarism. Additionally, the students can upload their papers directly. This saves the instructor time and may help the students keep in mind proper rules of citations knowing their papers will be reviewed.

How can the design of assessments help prevent academic dishonesty?

Assessments can be created to encourage students to respond in their own words or based on their own experiences when possible. This would help eliminate academic dishonesty as the student would need to recall their own past experiences.

What facilitation strategies do you propose to use as a current or future online instructor?

I would be sure to educate my students regarding what plagiarism is, what the consequences are, and how to properly cite resources. According to Christine Jacoy and David DiBiase (2006),  “…students who received no explicit plagiarism instruction plagiarized twice as often as those who participated in active instructional activities such as class discussions of definitions of plagiarism, review of Turnitin.com plagiarism reports, and exercises requiring students to identify instances of plagiarism in example essays (pp 5).”

I would follow similar strategies to reduce plagiarism such as require students to upload to Turnitin.com and activities that help students identify plagiarism.

What additional considerations for online teaching should be made to help detect or prevent cheating and plagiarism?

Knowing your students can help. If you are familiar with their writing style in the discussion boards and how they interact with others, you can use this information when reviewing their papers. If the writing style is completely different then in other assignments, you may want to take a closer look. Additionally, if you know your student is struggling in writing or not properly citing resources, you could provide additional support.

References:

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. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Week 5: Impact of Technology and Multimedia

Technology can greatly enhance the online learning environment for the student. New technology available today can be used for collaboration, which is extremely important for online learning. “Collaboration can energize learners, promote deeper learning, and make learners more self-reliant (Horton, 2000, p 334).” Examples of collaboration tools are Wikis and Discussion Boards. New technology software also allows for live collaborative tools including Adobe Connect, Skype, and live chat.

In addition to making collaboration easier, technology also provides a way for individuals to enhance the instructional material to allow for interactivity. This would include technology used for games and simulations that enhances the students’ learning.

It is important for the online instructor to consider how well they know the technology, how well they feel their students will be able to use the technology, the level of support needed, and how the technology will help accomplish the course objective.

There are many technology tools out there, many of which the instructor may not be familiar with. It can be an overwhelming task to feel like you have to learn them all. It is a best practice to learn a few you feel will help meeting your learning goals and discipline (Boettcher and Conrad, 2010).

It is also important to consider how the instructor will support the students in the event they have trouble using the technology implemented. Technology that may be complex in nature can frustrate, distract, and discourage learners. This can cause them to feel like they wasted valuable time or give up altogether (Horton, 2000).

To help reduce any frustrations or the time it takes to support the students, only technology relevant to the course objectives should be used. “Focus on the essential tools, and build your first course around those tools. You can branch out later as you teach the course a second or third time and gain experience, confidence, and a sense of exploration (Boettcher and Conrad, 2010, p 57).”

Usability and accessibility of the technology tools is very important in the online environment. To keep students from becoming distracted or discouraged with technology issues, it makes sense to use technology tools that more students will be able to access. Instructors should avoid unnecessary technology to reduce technical hurdles. It is important for the instructor to consider what technologies their learners may already be familiar with and use those rather than require them to learn new technologies (Horton, 2000). If the students do not have the proper web browser or plug-ins to access the course’s multimedia, the students can easily get discouraged.

Of the tools I have become more familiar with, the ones most appealing are Wikis, Discussion Boards, and synchronous collaboration tools like Adobe Connect.

Technology, if used properly by the instructor, can provide significant benefits to the students’ learning experience in the online environment. Technology is always used, even just the Course Management System that displays the basic instruction. It can be frustrating for students if there is a long list of technology requirements to attend the course. Students that may be less familiar with technology may be more inclined to pass up online class altogether (Horton, 2000). In addition, instructions must be able to provide the proper level of technical support for their students.

If you are able to overcome the possible technical hurdles, technology can really enhance the user experience. There is a considerable amount of technology available for online learning, a lot of which now has tutorials to learn it and may come at no expense. “These tools make it possible to design almost any learning experience that you have designed for your face-to-face environment (Boettcher and Conrad, 2010, p 58).”

References:

Boettcher, J. V., & Conrad, R. (2010). Phase One:What's Happening, Themes, and Tools. The online teaching survival guide: simple and practical pedagogical tips (pp. 57-62). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Horton, W. K. (2000). Overcoming technical hurdles. Designing Web-based training: how to teach anyone anything anywhere anytime (pp. 334-484). New York: Wiley.