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December 1999 - Beating
Cheating Online
By: ION
Keywords: Plagiarism,
shoddy scholarship, cheating, tests & quizzes cheating, ringer,
proctoring, alternative assessments
Editor's note: Several more links removed in Fall 2004
Plagiarism: the reproduction
and presentation of others' work without acknowledgment. The attempt by someone
to receive credit for the ideas or words of others. There is a distinction
between the more serious form of plagiarism involving verbatim copying in
significant parts of a paper and cases of plagiarism involving unacknowledged
paraphrasing, which might stem from shoddy scholarship rather than a conscious
choice to represent ideas as someone's own. (There are issues of culture
concerning the definition of plagiarism that Pointers & Clickers plans
to discuss in the future.)
Ways to help prevent plagiarism in your online courses:
1. Familiarize yourself with each student's academic writing
ability by having students write a paper early in the semester.
2. Have students turn in their papers in stages.
3. Debrief/interview a student concerning their paper. Ask
specific questions concerning their topic and their thesis. (See
November's Pointers & Clickers: Chat)
4. Give specific topics for assignments or set definite boundaries,
and require students to submit their paper topic to you early in the semester,
and discuss any changes they make with you.
5. Keep copies of past papers.
6. Be aware of the stock papers available for students to purchase.
[Send for a copy of Research Assistance, a $2 catalogue
of term papers for sale (call 800 351-0222 to order)]
List of active Internet term paper sites:
Internet Paper Mills: http://www.coastal.edu/library/mills2.htm
Also, realize that there are services which will write papers
to order for students.
Custom written papers services:
Specialty Research: http://specialtyresearch.com/
ABCResearch, 24 Hr. Research/Term Paper Assistance:
http://www.abcresearch.com/index.html
7 .Read all papers on the same topic together.
8. Assign a style format requirement for the references and/or
bibliography to the class.
9. If you suspect a student has plagiarized a paper, but are
unsure of the source, the following sites may be of service proving or disproving
a case of plagiarism:
Proving plagiarism sites:
Glatt Plagiarism Services, Inc.: http://www.plagiarism.com/
Plagarism.Org: http://plagiarism.org/
Cheating on Tests & Quizzes: Cheating
is a deception with the purpose of gaining an advantage for the cheat. Cheating
is typically taking unauthorized material into tests/quizzes, looking at
others' answers, or when someone takes a test/quiz for someone else, a ringer.
The problem with cheating on online tests/quizzes is slippery by the very
nature of online classes.
Ways to help prevent cheating on tests/quizzes:
1. Require a copy of a student's ID with a picture at the start
of the class, and the have them use a web-cam while they take the test/quiz.
Requiring photos of a student should help prevent a student having someone
else, a ringer, take the test/quiz for them.
2. Have test/quiz proctored. Visit the Proctoring Online Students,
DALLAS TeleCollege, Dallas County Community College site: http://ollie.dcccd.edu/Admissions/TestingInfo/sub/proctorInfo.htm for
suggestions on how to have online course tests/quizzes proctored.
3. Deliver test/quizzes "orally" through chat. Meet
with students individually online and test/quiz them on course content. You
can explore depth as well of breadth of your students' knowledge and understanding
of the concepts.
4. Debrief/interview a student concerning their test/quiz.
Ask specific questions concerning their answers. (See November's Pointers & Clickers:
Chat)
5. Make all tests/quizzes take-home in nature.
6. Have different versions of the test/quiz Send students their
own version of the test/quiz instead of just posting the test/quiz.
Sending the test/quiz also allows you to check if the student has received
their test/quiz.
7. Have students return the tests/quizzes to you privately.
Finally, remember that testing should never be the
only means by which you assess the abilities of your students. If they
are evaluated with various different methods, you have the best way of
ensuing that there is real learning taking place.
Alternative assessments:
Alternative Assessment & Electronic Portfolios: http://transition.alaska.edu/www/Portfolios/bookmarks.html
The Consortium for Equity in Standards and
Testing: http://wwwcsteep.bc.edu/ctest
Critical Issues in Assessment: http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/as0cont.htm
RESOURCES:
Article: WWW.2CHEAT.COM: http://ollie.dcccd.edu/Admissions/TestingInfo/sub/proctorInfo.htm
Strategies To Promote Academic Integrity: http://www.id.ucsb.edu/IC/Resources/Teaching/Integrity.html
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