This document discusses ways that teachers can use technology to detect plagiarism in student assignments. It notes that surveys show high rates of cheating and plagiarism among students. It then provides tips for teachers to deter plagiarism, such as educating students about proper citation and structuring assignments in multiple parts. The document recommends that teachers check assignments against in-class work, references cited, and topic appropriateness to detect plagiarism. It also suggests using online tools like Google to search suspicious phrases or subscription services that can match submissions to existing content online.

1. Using Technology to Detect Plagiarism Ken Parcella January 12, 2008 Source: Using Technology in the Classroom Gary G. Bitter & Jane M. Legacy

2. An Internet Disadvantage Even though there are great benefits of the internet, there is potential for information from the internet to be used inappropriately.

3. Plagiarism Statistics A national survey published in Education Week found that: 54% of students admitted to plagiarizing from the internet 74% of students admitted that at least once during the past school year they had engaged in "serious" cheating 47% of students believe their teachers sometimes choose to ignore students who are cheating www.plagiarism.org According to a survey by the Psychological Record 36% of undergraduates have admitted to plagiarizing written material www.plagiarism.org

4. Ways Students Plagiarize Cut and paste whole text pages into their work Accessing complete essays online and using for their own from such websites as: http://Cheathouse.com www.planetpapers.com www.costal.edu/library/mills2.htm

5. Deterring Plagiarism Let students know that you are aware that the possibility of cheating using technology exist Teach students about the correct way to cite online material Educate students about the seriousness of plagiarism

6. Deterring Plagiarism, Cont. Require specific components or source for the assignment Structure assignments with smaller parts due at various times Include topics that spark students’ interests

7. Detecting Plagiarism Compare writing of the assignment with in class assignments Check that any references made in the assignment are current

8. Detecting Plagiarism, Cont. Analyze the assignment for any formatting changes that would signal pasted chunks of text Ensure that the submitted work is appropriate to the assigned topic

9. Technology Catches Cheaters Teachers can paste or retype a phrase from the assignment directly into a search engine such as Google or AltaVista

10. Technology Catches Cheaters, Cont. School districts may subscribe to specific plagiarism detection sites, such as: www.turnitin.com

11. www. TurnItIn .com This website requires students to directly upload their assignments to the internet The site then matches the text to their databases of other papers online, as well as other papers submitted by students in their teacher’s previous courses The site will return color-coded results showing the pieces of the text that have been plagiarized

12. THANK YOU Any questions?