Hello all:
In the discipline that I teach in most often, there is a distinct emphasis on compliance with ethical behavior. Therefore, in our discussion forums, we review and comment on vignettes which present ethical dilemmas, with the intent of imbuing the students with a guiding sense of propriety which may influence their actions as they apply theory to their career.
I perceive parallels with respect to the student's willingness to accept challenge in any classroom, either brick and mortar or virtual, and their future behavior in another setting. As this behavior will potentially influence other members of society, it is critical that the student is aware of consequences.
Best,
Susan
By teaching a course on ethics, you certainly have a great forum to discuss the issues of cheating in an online class. However, I would suggest that ethics is a topic that all teachers can discuss as it is an important concept for students to learn. Ultimately, they are cheating themselves more than anyone else.
Interesting perspective Cecil. I have read (and also believe) there is only one thing that many people do not care if they get their money's worth. That would be a degree.
If your school subscribes to turnitin.com I highly ecommend using it. It's so beneficial to both instructors and students.
Leslie,
Yes, good point, the technology continues to assist teachers as students find their way around it. There are many websites that assist teachers with this, but full-featured applications (e.g. turnitin.com) continue to refine their tools to better facilitate instructors who are intent on providing high-quality education. Thank you for your recommendation.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
I have been teaching online for 12 years and I am still constantly surprised at how students believe that they can get away with cheating. I would rather talk to the student one on one than to send them to another student. I have found that one student may give another student one of his/her old papers. I have found that when a student asks another student for help, some of them resent it because they have worked hard to get to where they are now and think that the student asking for help has not done his due diligence in trying to improve. Many of my students work full time and find that other students asking them for help are intruding upon their personal time. I believe that it is the responsibility of the instructor to teach. Many students learn differently, some by seeing, some by hearing and some by doing. It is our responsibility to bring the right format to the student.
Janis,
As I know you know, student cheating has been around long before the online classroom - I think there were some students who did it when I was in school. ;-] We are just providing new technologies with which to carry out the intentions. I'm also glad to say the technology to combat it is improving (e.g. plagiarism checkers, proctor cameras, login recognition, etc.) Keep up the good fight.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
