Still contemplating this article. Though i am interested in the concept of online classes, this is the main reason i have not yet agreed to teach one. For now, i integrate online elements into a face-to-face course.
-
http://chronicle.com/article/article-content/125329/
-
I know cheating is endemic not just online but at all colleges, from community college to ivy league. I agree with one of the commenters: the only students likely to be immune to ghostwriting are those who are too poor to afford the high cost. Since application essays are a large portion of ghostwriters' business, a poor student deserving of a college education/scholarship is being unfairly excluded every time a rich student hires a professional writer. This is a strange way our admissions processes reward wealth and dishonesty.
-
Financially speaking, the only way the poor can cheat on a paper (thesis etc.) is to plagiarize it themselves - that is, copy and paste from wikipedia or a paper from the web. Colleges already use software which will detect this, even for purchased essays (these cost less than $100, which almost anyone can afford; in case you're wondering, turnitin.com will detect these easily). It is important to note that our current tools only find the cheap ways of plagiarizing. In terms of a finished product, the commenters discussing this article present no practical way to catch the expensive form of cheating.
-
With a brick-and-mortar classroom, i emphasize and grade the writing process. I can learn the writing style of all my students, i know what they look like (i can compare their appearance to the school database of student ID photos). I watch them move their pencils across a piece of paper as they create a first draft, and can require multiple drafts. Unlike a final draft, students' first drafts should be graded on content and concept, with very little regard for grammar or detail. Yes, the students could turn their first draft over to a ghostwriter such as Ed Dante. He would gladly write a second draft etc. On the other hand, since the first draft grade is substantial and the hand-written first draft is turned in with the final draft for comparison, hiring a ghostwriter is not a great investment in my class.
-
Can't say for sure it won't happen, or that the cheaters won't get away with it; only that if this is your chosen strategy to get a grade, you would probably find a different professor. Of course, cheaters always invent new ways to cheat, which could make my prevention efforts irrelevant...
-
An institution gave me a handout claiming honor codes -- actively read and signed in front of a teacher -- can measurably reduce all forms of cheating. I do not remember the study cited, i'll try to look it up. Anyway, i should remind myself of their verb choice, reduce. There are 6 or 7 solid techniques to reduce (but not eliminate) cheating.
-
*this is not entirely true. i taught at a small language school in Querétaro, where i worked with very small classes and did not give traditional grades. coursework was tailored to each student, and passing was measured by ability to orally explain (essentially, ability to teach) what was learned. this made cheating irrelevant. i understand this is not a reasonable model for most schools to follow.
-
http://chronicle.com/article/article-content/125329/-
I know cheating is endemic not just online but at all colleges, from community college to ivy league. I agree with one of the commenters: the only students likely to be immune to ghostwriting are those who are too poor to afford the high cost. Since application essays are a large portion of ghostwriters' business, a poor student deserving of a college education/scholarship is being unfairly excluded every time a rich student hires a professional writer. This is a strange way our admissions processes reward wealth and dishonesty.
-
Financially speaking, the only way the poor can cheat on a paper (thesis etc.) is to plagiarize it themselves - that is, copy and paste from wikipedia or a paper from the web. Colleges already use software which will detect this, even for purchased essays (these cost less than $100, which almost anyone can afford; in case you're wondering, turnitin.com will detect these easily). It is important to note that our current tools only find the cheap ways of plagiarizing. In terms of a finished product, the commenters discussing this article present no practical way to catch the expensive form of cheating.
-
With a brick-and-mortar classroom, i emphasize and grade the writing process. I can learn the writing style of all my students, i know what they look like (i can compare their appearance to the school database of student ID photos). I watch them move their pencils across a piece of paper as they create a first draft, and can require multiple drafts. Unlike a final draft, students' first drafts should be graded on content and concept, with very little regard for grammar or detail. Yes, the students could turn their first draft over to a ghostwriter such as Ed Dante. He would gladly write a second draft etc. On the other hand, since the first draft grade is substantial and the hand-written first draft is turned in with the final draft for comparison, hiring a ghostwriter is not a great investment in my class.
-
Can't say for sure it won't happen, or that the cheaters won't get away with it; only that if this is your chosen strategy to get a grade, you would probably find a different professor. Of course, cheaters always invent new ways to cheat, which could make my prevention efforts irrelevant...
-
An institution gave me a handout claiming honor codes -- actively read and signed in front of a teacher -- can measurably reduce all forms of cheating. I do not remember the study cited, i'll try to look it up. Anyway, i should remind myself of their verb choice, reduce. There are 6 or 7 solid techniques to reduce (but not eliminate) cheating.
- graded in-class writing for every class
- oral examinations in every class
- multiple drafts of every writing assignment
- interactive assignments that require combined action and writing (e.g., outline a project, explain it to the professor, gather data, explain data to the professor, submit multiple drafts of analysis/results/conclusions.)
- unique, unrepeated, and unannounced tests and writing prompts for every class
- software to automatically detect plagiarism
- a spoken and signed honor code from every student
-
*this is not entirely true. i taught at a small language school in Querétaro, where i worked with very small classes and did not give traditional grades. coursework was tailored to each student, and passing was measured by ability to orally explain (essentially, ability to teach) what was learned. this made cheating irrelevant. i understand this is not a reasonable model for most schools to follow.
Comments