Plagiarism Detection and Prevention

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Plagiarism Detection and Prevention

Webster online dictionary defines “plagiarize” as the use of words or ideas of another person as if they were your own words. Plagiarism is not new to the world of education. It can take place in a traditional setting as well as an online setting. Combating plagiarism in the online community has lead to many plagiarism detection softwares appearing in the software market. Educators have always been concerned with upholding standards of academic integrity among individuals engaged in scholarly pursuit ( DiBiase & Jocoy p. 1).

What tools are currently available for online instructors to detect plagiarism? There are several tools on the market including Turnitin, biometrics, video cameras, retina scans, thumbprints and remote proctoring with cameras. For this blog, I will focus in on three types of tools.

Turnitin scans and indexes content from the from the web into the Turnitin database. When students upload their papers, it is compared to millions of book/publications. Results show how much of the student’s paper matches the Turnitin database.

Biometrics is automated methods of recognizing a person based on a physiological or behavioral characteristic. This is considered high security identification and is being used to ensure that the assigned person is actually completing the assessment.

Remote proctoring with cameras allows for a 360-degree webcam and a microphone setup that ensures students are not receiving help from others during the exam. It also locks the computer down, restricting internet and file access for the length of the exam so that students cannot get information from the web or his hard drive.

One way to discourage dishonesty in assessments is to design assessments that mirror real like expectations. When assessments are authentic, students will not feel the need to cheat. Projects can be designed so that the student will have to do research and collaboration should always be encouraged.

As a future online instructor it will be important for me to use facilitation strategies that I know will not promote plagiarism. Designing activities that promote creativity is a strategy that can be used in a k-12 environment. After reading a story students could rewrite the story changing various elements of the story. After studying a certain time period in history, students could construct questions for an interview with a person from the 19th century.

Additional considerations that could be put in place to prevent cheating and plagiarism include assisting both students and parents by giving them a clearer understanding of what plagiarism means and how it affects the students work and grades. Also, I can equip students with the resources such as NoodleTools that can assist them with citations.



References:

Dillow, C. ( 2010, June 8) . New Remote Proctoring System Lets Students Take Exams at Home ( without cheating). Retrieved from : http://www.popsci.com/gadgets/article/2010-06/anti-cheating-system-lets-students-take-exams-home

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.

Laureate Education, Inc. ( 2011) “Plagiarism and Cheating”

Moulton, J. (2007, August 21). Cite It Right: Online Citation Tools and Formal Citations. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/cite-it-right-online-citation-tools-and-formal-citations

Retrieved (April 6, 2011) fromhttp://www.biometrics.gov/

Retrieved (April 6, 2011) fromhttp://www.Turnitin.com/