is magazine 8.1 - Autumn/Spring 2005 - International Schools ...

‘Schools and colleges need to
ensure that their teachers and
academic staff have powerful
and user-friendly software to
scan student work effectively
for incidents of plagiarism.
There is a wide range of software
available to help teachers
detect plagiarism.’
these resources appropriately. ‘The extent of your responsibility is
commensurate with the extent of your reach’, said Lowell W.
Monke, a former high school technology teacher and now an
assistant professor at Grinnell College in Iowa. ‘If we are going to
give kids these very powerful instruments that reach around the
world, we have a real responsibility to teach them how to use
them beneficially’ (Mendels, 2000).
On a more practical and classroom based level, teachers in all
disciplines need to take on the responsibility of including in their
teaching programmes specific lessons on the correct procedures
for students to cite sources and develop bibliographies to accurately
list their sources. Schools cannot assume that students are
well-versed in these procedures and will automatically use them
when undertaking research assignments.
Additionally, teachers should direct students to resources
which simplify this often complex exercise. Ironically, when one
considers how the internet has contributed to the explosion of
plagiarism, it is through sites such as ‘noodlebib tools’, a bibliographical
tool found on the net, that the mysteries of correct citation
have been greatly reduced.
Detection and sanction
Schools and colleges need to ensure that their teachers and academic
staff have powerful and user-friendly software to scan student
work effectively for incidents of plagiarism. There is a wide
range of software available to help teachers detect plagiarism.
Many commercial sites offer free trial versions of their software
while some schools and colleges are creating pathfinders to locate
effective detection software. ISKL, for example, has recently purchased
access to a service known as ‘turnitin.com’ as its major
detection instrument.
There will be a phased introduction to this on-line detection
service and currently high school departments are receiving onsite
training in setting up and using the program for their classes.
Ironically the ultimate plan is to train students to submit their
work to the system to check for plagiarism prior to forwarding it
to teachers for grading.
Another component of the detection and sanctions platform is
supporting educators with an appropriate Acceptable Users
Policy (AUP), such that it specifically addresses the issues of plagiarism
and copyright of material downloaded from the internet.
Administrators need to support the classroom programs with
clear definitions of what constitutes plagiarism and information
relating to copyright restrictions.
At ISKL the issue of plagiarism comes under the heading of
‘Academic Dishonesty’ in our Student Behavior Guidelines and
there are specific sanctions to deal with such incidents. Clearly
established sanctions consistent with existing school behavior
policies need to be developed to reinforce these aspects of inappropriate
use of technology. These need to be enforced and given
an appropriate profile to ensure that the students and broader
is Autumn 2005
Spring
school community are fully aware of the responsible access and
use of electronic information.
For educational institutions to tackle plagiarism effectively
there clearly needs to be a broad approach which addresses not
only the root causes but works at developing in students an
awareness of the ethics of learning. Educators must help students
to realise that existing reference sources, whether electronic or
hard copy, are the intellectual property of the legitimate authors
or creators.
Our goal as learners is to use these ideas, concepts, processes or
pieces of knowledge and to reflect, adapt or apply these to suit
our needs; while at the same time acknowledging their sources to
legitimize our own credibility as learners and scholars.
Originality comes through the adaptation or extension of existing
knowledge and students need this concept to be reinforced as
a key component of their ethics of learning.
Grant Millard is High School Assistant Principal at The
International School of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Bibliography
Baard, M. (2001, August 30). Wireless PC’s :Not just for cheats.
Retrieved April 4, 2004, from http://www.wired.com
Borden, J. (2003). Confucius Meets Piaget (Revised ed.). Seoul,
Korea: Author. (Original work published 2000
Bowman, V. (2002, March). The Campaign Against Plagiarism:
Academic Initiatives. LIRT, 12.
Dean, K. (2001, August 9). Plagiarists Booted; Others Wait.
Retrieved April 6, 2004, from http://www.wired.com
Dornin, R. (1999, November 21). Internet Watchdog Could Stop
Collegiate Copycat. Retrieved October 14, 2004, from CNN Web
site: http://www.cnn.com
Friedman, E. A., & McGrath, B. (1998, September 30). The
Internet isn’t a Threat to Students. Retrieved April 4, 2004, from
The Archives Web site: http://www.edweek.org
Mendels, P. (2000, February 16). Online Ethics Should Begin in the
Classroom. Retrieved April 14, 2004, from The York Times Web
site: http://www.nytimes.com
Norr, H. (1999, September 9). Homework Copycats Prosper on the
Net. Retrieved April 6, 2004, from San Francisco Chronicle
Web site: http://www.sfgate.com
‘For educational institutions
to tackle plagiarism effectively
there clearly needs to be a
broad approach which addresses
not only the root causes
but works at developing in
students an awareness of the
ethics of learning. Educators
must help students to realise
that existing reference sources,
whether electronic or hard
copy, are the intellectual
property of the legitimate
authors or creators.’
Plagiarism
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