Dealing with Cheating and Plagiarism in Online Classes Ms. Darla Runyon Dr. Roger Von Holzen Northwest Missouri State University

The New Role of Assessment n Major change to the role of the instructor –Shift from the deliverer of content to student mentor n Function of assessment techniques must also change*

The New Role of Assessment n Assessment techniques should be based on desired learning objectives n Assessment results should be used by students to evaluate progress through course materials n Provides the instructor with: –evidence of effectiveness of course materials –indications of content areas that need further enhancement and/or development*

Assessment Strategies

Assessment Strategy n Aids in forming student assessment profiles –snapshot of student understanding n Profile constructed by: –building learning objectives based on critical course content –use of applicable assessment methods to determine student’s understanding of learning objectives n Should guide the student to mastery of the learning objectives*

Assessment Strategy n Continuous process (formative) n Assessment strategy becomes foundation for developing the instructional design of the online course n Learning objectives should be assessed using applicable assessment techniques*

Beyond the Rhetoric n Evolution from seat-time/credit hours to objectives-based education as a measure of learning –Acknowledging present reality n What matters is whether the student has actually learned n Often difficult to get faculty to change*

Assessment Strategy Steps 1. Assist faculty in integrating new assessment techniques and developing an overall assessment strategy 2. Administer pre-assessment –Provides guidance in the development of appropriate learning activities*

Assessment Strategy Steps 3. Present critical concepts through interactive, instructional concept activities –Design a learning cycle process which should include –content and concept delivery –concept application –performance feedback –opportunities for relearning*

Assessment Strategy Steps 4. Punctuate course with short assessment opportunities –Provide student with performance feedback on learning concepts and activities –Provide a diverse array of assessment methods to reflect student understanding of the learning objectives –Provide opportunities for relearning and reassessment*

Assessment Strategy Steps 5. Develop a post-assessment (summative) –Provides evaluation of the overall student performance –Indicates ultimate mastery of critical content and ability to incorporate content into appropriate situations*

An Interactive Mentoring Opportunity n Need to view assessment as a teaching tool and not as an evaluation mechanism n Use quizzes and tests as interactive mentoring opportunities –Enable students to evaluate their own progress through the course materials*

Beyond the Rhetoric n Quizzes and tests should be viewed as means of promoting learning –Open book and extensive testing time n Should be only a small component of the overall assessment strategy for the online course*

Online Assessment n Provides an organized and systematic approach to assessment –Digital exam building features »Variety of traditional testing methods are available Multiple ChoiceMultiple Choice True and FalseTrue and False Fill-in-the-BlankFill-in-the-Blank Multiple AnswerMultiple Answer OrderingOrdering MatchingMatching Short Answer/EssayShort Answer/Essay »Options to pool questions and control the delivery of the material*

Online Assessment n Traditional methods should only be a small component of the overall assessment strategy n Online delivery provides an environment conducive to incorporating –a diverse array of assessment techniques –strategies that may be employed across a variety of course subject areas*

Online Assessment n Flexibility of delivery allows for a more student-centered approach to assessment and feedback n Proctored exams –Some situations may require on-site examinations –Expenses and effort involved must be considered*

Cheating and Plagiarism

Course Design n Course design can assist in inhibiting academic dishonesty –develop a robust course site n Issues pertaining to academic dishonesty and plagiarism should be examined and communicated*

Academic Policies n Academic dishonesty and honor code policies should be clearly stated early in the course –Include in the course syllabus n Incorporate a student agreement*

OneNote and Plagiarism n Improved note taking n Software provides one location to store notes n Digital organization tool for research, projects and meetings*

OneNote and Plagiarism n May be used as a centralized collection system for an organized research process –Type/write original information –“Print” any printable files to OneNote »PDF »Word »Excel »JPG –Copy web content to OneNote with URL reference –Record audio and video content with synchronized notes*

OneNote and Plagiarism n Search features –Flagged content by category search –Keyword search n The OneNote file can be submitted by the student to the instructor with the research paper –Means to verify referenced content*

Dealing with Plagiarism n A paper or project development process should be followed –Paper or Project Prospectus »A brief, structured first-draft plan for a term paper or term project –Submission of rough drafts*

Dealing with Plagiarism n Utilize online resources such as Turnitin.com –Over 12 billion web pages crawled –Over 40 million student papers –Over 10,000 major newspapers, magazines & scholarly journals –Thousands of books including literary classics*

Turnitin CostSetup –Easy to set up via or phone –Generate faculty accounts »Faculty create their own course accounts –No need to manage student accounts* Plagiarism Prevention Per-Campus Licensing Fee $ $ Plagiarism Prevention Per-Student Licensing Fee Unlimited Classes/Instructors Unlimited Originality Reports $0.875,035$4,380.45

Turnitin n Training –No training necessary beyond how to interpret reports n Pedagogical –Reinforce proper research and citation methods and deter plagiarism –Three Turnitin report options »Immediate—first report final »Immediate—can overwrite reports until due date »Originality report only generated on due date –Second report options emphasizes using Turnitin as a teaching tool*

Turnitin n Management –Student copyright issue »Allow other papers to be checked against submissions? Choose yes if you would like papers submitted to this assignment indexed in their database.Choose yes if you would like papers submitted to this assignment indexed in their database. If you do not would like papers submitted to this assignment stored in their database and used for future plagiarism searches, select no*If you do not would like papers submitted to this assignment stored in their database and used for future plagiarism searches, select no*

Assessment, Cheating and Plagiarism n Cheating and plagiarism issues can best be handled through –role of instructor –design of instruction –design of assessment*

Ms. Darla Runyon Dr. Roger Von Holzen