Plagiarism in the Digital Age: Voices from the Front Lines

Plagiarism in the Digital Age: Voices from the Front Lines Moderator: Renee Bangerter, Asst. Professor of English, Fullerton College Donna Bell Academic Integrity Officer Ryerson University William Connolly President Student Council on Academic Integrity, Bentley University Dr. Teresa Fishman Executive Director Center for Academic Integrity, Clemson University Dr. Jon Radue, Professor Brock University Panel: What’s Happening on College Campuses Today?

-Teddi Fishman, Director Center for Academic Integrity, Rutland Institute for Ethics, Clemson University

Research, including Don McCabe’s Academic Integrity Survey, consistently shows us that :
Students cheat more than most people (including teachers and administrators) expect.
Students’ perceptions of what constitutes “serious” academic dishonesty differ from those of teachers and administrators

We have plenty of data to show us what is happening.

Our ability to affect the “what” depends on our ability to address the “why.”

Variations:
This is what you have to do to get ahead in the real world
All that matters is that I get it done
Subtext:
I’ll be at a disadvantage if I don’t cheat.

Product/outcome based evaluation
High-stakes assessments
Uses (consequences) of assessments

Variations:
I’m not hurting anyone
It’s not like it really matters
Subtext:
This activity doesn’t have any value

Fragmented learning,
Acontextual information,
“Temporary” (disposable) knowledge
Lack of transference

Process based assessments
Varied evaluations
“Room to fail”
Visibly related (dependent) courses
Cumulative learning

Culture of learning:
Everybody isn’t doing it.
What they are learning has value.
Test scores and grades are a means to an end, not an end in an of themselves.

-William Connolly, President Student Council on Academic Integrity, Bentley University

Plagiarism is not always intentional
Professors Assume we will always try to cheat
Administration Assumes that students know everything about Plagiarism
There are grey areas of Plagiarism that must be considered

Immense Pressure
Parental
Social
Peer
Personal
Grades are heavily stressed
Less emphasis on learning than on performance
They can get away with it

Integrity is a culture, not a mandate
Emphasizing Rules and threatening students with punishment only intensifies the problem
Schools need to promote the benefits of integrity on a broader level
i.e. Why is it beneficial not to cheat?
Building Values that will influence behavior
Students who believe plagiarism is wrong will not do it!

Peer Motivation Theory
Growth/Change from the Ground  Up
Throughout childhood education, Administration pushes importance of avoiding plagiarism
Students respond more positively to their peers!
If cheating is not cool, students will not do it!

High School Visits
Campus Events
Faculty Presentations
“State of Integrity”
Promotional material during finals
Diverse Student Membership
Our group is cool

Executive Board:
Bryant Roche-Bernard, Pablo Pareja, Jimmy Palombo, Daniela Carlacci, Chris Liptrot
Other Important Group Members: Gregg Grenier, Kristen Mausert, Jori Layton, Brittany Dixon, Sierra Fontaine, with help from many others.
Advisor: Coralee Whitcomb
(All Pictures from Google Images)

-Donna Bell, Academic Integrity Officer, Ryerson University

Students have easy access to technology “that enables them to dance around academic integrity by cutting and pasting, photographing notes and text messaging test answers to each other, do we throw in the ethical towel or do we, as educators, consider this an opportunity to change our pedagogical approach”.
-(International Conference on Technology, Knowledge and Society at http://t05.cgpublisher.com/proposals/198/index_html )

Look at how technology is being used to promote academic integrity and how students are using technology to further their learning.
look at ways technology is being used to plagiarize and cheat.
present tips on how technology may be used to engage students in learning.

There are 3 main ways technology can be used in a positive way in the classroom:

Implementing the Seven Principles: Technology as a Lever (The TLT Group, AAHE Bulletin). http://www.tltgroup.org/programs/seven.html
Examples of Student Activities (Penn State World Campus) https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/public/faculty/studentactivities.html

Create your own “electronic reserves” system
Directly link to articles from Blackboard via the Library’s databases
Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching (MERLOT): http://www.merlot.org/
World Lecture Hall: http://web.austin.utexas.edu/wlh/

06/09/09 Turnitin Webinar Series-- Plagiarism in the Digital Age: Voices from the Front Lines Webinar #1: What's Happening on College Campuses Today plagiarism.org
Turnitin.com
Google searches by entering in the phrase you suspect with quotes
Using www.find-same.com
Using on-line technology to help educate students through workshops/tutorials/modules

Ways in which technology may be used negatively in the classroom:
On-line test cheating
Sharing of electronic files between students
Cell phones/text messaging
Mp3 players
Calculators
Editing services that go beyond editing
Online access to instructor manuals /testbanks

‘ Ugly’ ways in which technology has been used in the classroom:
Indiana University School of Dentistry students hacked into password-protected files to view test materials.
Purchasing papers from online paper mills.
Submission of false documents created using technology.

How Technology CAN HELP in Blackboard
Have students post topic on discussion board.
Keep an online research “log”.
Use an online “journal” for reflective purposes.

Villano (2006) suggestions for responsible internet use
sources for a plagiarized paper - first three pages of a search return.
Use of Questia

McMurty (2001) tips to combat e-cheating
Know what’s available online before assigning a paper.
Design assignments with specific goals and instructions
Require oral presentations or have students submit an explanation of thesis statement and research process
Have students submit essays electronically

“ Technology didn’t cause cheating, it only made it easier” (Harned & Sutliff, 2004, Academic Honesty: Teaching Kids Not To Take The Easy Way Out , www.njpta.org/committee/chared3.html )

-Jon Radue, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada

Deter
Dialog
Defend
Detect
Discipline
Define

Complete online tutorials
Attend Student Development Centre/Library presentations on time management, Library research, essay writing, and many other relevant information literacy skills
Know how to quote, paraphrase and summarize
Know when, and how, to use and cite a quotation, a paraphrase, a summary
Other web sites (e.g. Berkeley, OWL)

Know the submission requirements
Know the citation style required (APA, MLA, …)
Know if group work is acceptable/how much collaboration is allowed
You should be informed (in Syllabus) if submission to a phrase detection site (such as Turnitin) is required
Ask for clarification

Take care of your work/know your computer
Backups to a dated secure site
USB Key (handle with care!)
Printouts
Save drafts
Consider locking/encrypting documents
Clear a public/lab computer's cache, and logoff

Don't let others influence your work
McCabe's Hypothesis
Be careful of how you help others
If requesting help, or working collaboratively, don't record ideas/solutions
Ask others to proofread your work to detect possible citing and other problems

You are already keeping copies of your own work (on your Institution's email server)
Keep a copy of resources consulted
easy with Zotero
Similarly, keep copies of printed book/journal title pages, and relevant other pages
Keep a journal/log of all your work
Maybe via Zotero, with tags identifying work consulted, but not used

Contribute to group work
As part of a group, ensure that you can prove the originality of your work if someone else in the group plagiarizes

Take care with note-taking/research
Mark a paraphrase you developed with a P;
a quote with Q;
a summary you wrote with S;
your own words with M; and
common knowledge with C
Use RefWorks or Zotero to keep the full reference (and more) for each piece of work

Be aware of your environment
Ask for permission to 'recycle' your own papers
Ask Professor if you can hand in work in stages—Lit review, hypothesis, first draft, …
Submit to a phrase matching site such as Turnitin (try Writecheck.turnitin.com)
Get to know the TA or Professor

There are several good programs and Web sites available to encourage you to start writing early
OWL
Writer's Block, Treepad, …
Mind Mapping
Time Management
…

Give credit to your sources
It strengthens your own work
Lipson's Laws
And remember, "over-citing is no oversight"

Know the procedure
Contact the Student Ombudsperson
Don't panic—you are not guilty until proved otherwise
Collect and organize all your relevant work
A printout from Zotero is easy and comprehensive
Ask to see any computer reports (Turnitin)
Be honest and calm
There is usually an appeals process

plagiarism.org
Center for Academic Integrity
http://www.academicintegrity.org/
2009 Annual International Conference
Oct. 16-18, Washington U., St. Louis, Missouri

We’d Appreciate Your Feedback! http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=Ux8CJS7AO_2bd5tg5v69VDEw_3d_3d /

http://www.plagiarism.org	16404
http://plagiarism.org	2152
http://blogs.berkshirecc.edu	188
http://ctl.uregina.wikispaces.net	155
http://simons-rock.campusguides.com	125
http://liu.cwp.libguides.com	82
http://translate.googleusercontent.com	41
http://englishpost.org	39
http://libraryschool.campusguides.com	30
http://savannahstate.libguides.com	23
http://collin.libguides.com	20
http://englishpostcr.wordpress.com	17
http://kdge-ducation.be	7
http://www.slideshare.net	6
http://www.franklinville.wnyric.org	6
http://www.plagiarism.org.	3
http://dev3:5026	3
https://vpn.utm.my	3
http://dev3:5022	3
http://131.253.14.98	1
http://mohawkcollege.ca.libguides.com	1
http://members.webs.com	1
http://wordpress.prutstuin.be	1

Plagiarism in the Digital Age: Voices from the Front Lines

by Turnitin User Experience Team

Accessibility

Categories

Upload Details

Usage Rights

23 Embeds 19,311

Statistics