We implemented electronic detection in most modules of my School at the
beginning of the 2005/2006 academic year. We require dual submission -
students submit a hard copy by the due date and upload the work
themselves to Turnitin within a day or two. If they don't upload, we
don't mark.
We also increased our efforts to teach students correct referencing and
plagiarism avoidance.
The first year, the results seemed quite bad in that we detected more
plagiarism than in previous years. We now think that the scope of the
problem was greater than we had realized.
Although the numbers are small, this year we are seeing a 75% reduction
in student plagiarism (both self-reported and detected) compared to last
year. Further, the students themselves say that electronic detection is
a strong motivator for improving their referencing and avoiding plagiarism.
Sandy
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****************************************************
Dr. Sandy Steacy
Reader, Geophysics Research Group
School of Environmental Sciences
University of Ulster
Coleraine, N. Ireland BT52 1SA
(ph:) +44 (0)28 7032 4242/4428
(fx:) +44 (0)28 7032 4911
[log in to unmask]
****************************************************
Bunyan, Nick wrote:
>
> Vicki,
>
> We have been using the Turnitin tool inside our institutional VLE
> (Blackboard) for a few years at the University of Liverpool. We have
> from the beginning introduced the tool within our learning and
> teaching staff development programmes with a focus on ‘designing out
> plagiarism’ in order that staff consider the full implications of
> using the service. Uptake for using the tool has been slow, but I
> think this reflects on the deeper issues associated with student
> plagiarism rather than the effectiveness of the tool – staff are
> realising quickly that a tool that just ‘catches’ students
> plagiarising is not an efficient process – one member of staff
> estimated that he has around 10% of his student plagiarising at only
> one time, which equals 30 students, and it takes him approximately 1.5
> hours to deal with each case through the University’s procedures i.e.
> a week’s work. We also tend to get younger staff on our learning and
> teaching workshops who are not necessarily in a position to influence
> changes to modules and programmes.
>
> Staff willingness to move to electronic means of coursework submission
> is a related issue. It can take a while for a department to consider
> and adopt this over traditional paper submissions – some departments
> have adopted a dual system but this is problematic for students and
> staff to manage. The Turnitin building block tool in Blackboard does
> not offer all the functionality of the main ‘assignment’ tool such as
> ability to give feedback etc. so we find staff are using the this tool
> to manage coursework submissions, and then passing it through the
> Turnitin tool themselves to check for plagiarism.
>
> The slow uptake of the tool has caused tension with our computing
> services colleagues. They generally evaluate the effectiveness of
> software by how much it is being used and not on its impact on
> reducing plagiarism. Our approach is to support staff to create a
> better student support and resources about plagiarism, transition to
> Higher Education, alternative assessment methods that make it harder
> to plagiarise etc. Our ultimate objective would be for the tool to
> used in limited and measured way.
>
> In hind sight I think this tool needs careful planning and discussion
> to create a well thought out implementation plan that is part of a
> coordinated policy to address the plagiarism issues that consults
> staff developers, learning technologists, computing services, student
> registration etc. There has not been a ‘natural’ person within any
> central service department that can coordinate and fully understand
> all the related issues - student registration issues, data protection
> issues of the Turnitin service, development of technical software
> guides, VLE support, learning and teaching case studies etc. These all
> need to be coordinated well as staff get frustrated when they have to
> go to multiple staff in multiple central services departments to get
> all the information they need!
>
> We have not reached any consensus as to whether it is ethical to tell
> students exactly how the tool works or to keep it mysterious and
> therefore a better deterrent. Some staff are very concentred that by
> over using the tool we are creating an environment of mistrust with
> students. Other staff see the tool as a way of supporting students
> that legitimately complete assignments against their peers that have
> plagiarised.
>
> Overall the key impact of implementing Turnitin has been to get staff
> thinking more about the pedagogical issues of plagiarism – the tool is
> attractive to staff as, on the surface, it offers a quick solution to
> plagiarism!
>
> Nick Bunyan
> Learning Technologist
> Educational Development Division
> Centre for Lifelong Learning
> The University of Liverpool
> Email: [log in to unmask]
> Tel: +44(0)151 7941163
> Fax: +44(0)151 7941182
> Web: http://www.liv.ac.uk/cll
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> *From:* Plagiarism [mailto:[log in to unmask]] *On Behalf Of
> *Vicki Simpson
> *Sent:* 25 April 2007 16:06
> *To:* [log in to unmask]
> *Subject:* Support and activities for addressing plagiarism
>
> Hello - just joined the group and am seeking some views...
>
> The University of Surrey have recently subscribed to the Turnitin
> detection service, and as Head of E-Learning, we are about to look at
> integrating its use with our VLE. However, my gut feeling is that I am
> uncomfortable promoting Turnitin without setting it in context - the
> danger being that people latch onto it, and don't consider other
> approaches such as student workshops to educate about plagiarism,
> support for staff to design out plagriarsim etc. I also wonder if
> using Turnitin may have knock-on effects that we need to consider e.g.
> Schools making students aware its being used.
>
> This makes me feel that addressing plagiarism probably doesn't sit in
> the domain of one group within the University but is a responsibility
> shared by several: ourselves (e-learning), Registry, student support,
> academic development to name a few.
>
> I'd be very interested to hear from other Universities who may be
> further down the line. Who is involved in this area at your
> university? What central support activities do you have in place, both
> for staff and for students? Is the support educationally-focused or
> technical/hands-on or both?
>
> Thanks
> Vicki
>
> Vicki Simpson
> Head of E-learning
> Information Services
> University of Surrey
> Guildford GU2 7XH
> 01483 689113
>
>
>
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