Workshop deals with plagiarism in classrooms

     Turnitin.com is working with professors around the world to bring plagiarism to an end.
     The site has been up and running for over a decade. Before Turnitin caught on, professors used search engines for their plagiarism queries. Turnitin is a more effective way for professors to check up on work they believe a student has plagiarized.
     After creating an account with Turnitin, a professor may search current and archive copies of over 6 billion published internet sites. Since 1996, millions of student papers have been submitted. All of which meet a student privacy policy and comply with copyright laws.
     Plagiarism is something most students are aware of.
     “They talked about it when we first came in as freshman,” sophomore Will Smith said. “I don’t plagiarize. As for students in general, I don’t know.”
     GCSU takes this academic dishonesty seriously. The repercussions range from an F in the course to being removed from the institution.
     “Any upstanding university in the state is going to do something about (plagiarism),”senior Gabe Stewart said.
Stewart thinks the punishment is fair and teachers are wise to use Turnitin.
     “Anyone that doesn’t write their own work should be kicked out. If not, and there is a second offense, they should be gone regardless,” Stewart said.
     Dr. Dan Bauer, assistant professor of English, said that at GCSU, graduate student teachers tend to run into the most cases of plagiarism. Bauer usually catches at least one a semester.
     “We know we aren’t catching them all,” Bauer said. “I’m never surprised. I’m saddened.”
     Plagiarism easily goes by unnoticed at times. A professor must seek out the apparent plagiary, appeal it and try to prove it. 
     “It’s a huge waste of a lot of our time when we find it,” Bauer said.  “It’s the vehemence and sometimes the ignorance I find in students in their attempt to defend themselves.”
     Bauer also said that it is the parents who get out of control when their child is the accused.
     “It can turn into your typical case of parents lashing out against professors,” Bauer said.
     Stewart is aware of the repercussions of plagiarism and has never used anyone else’s work.
     “I take too much pride in my own work than to use someone else’s,” Stewart said.
     Reasons for not trying to pass other’s work as their own vary amongst students.
     Smith said, “It’s too much work to plagiarize,” Smith said. “That would involve me having to write a paper. It’s pretty obvious when you do it. I’d prefer my own words over anyone’s.”
     Bauer described two types of plagiarism: inadvertent and willful. He said that it is the willful plagiarism cases that matter most.
     “We really distinguish between the two,” Bauer said. “Some (professors) believe any student should be thrown out for (any plagiarism).”
     He said that his job is to educate and not to punish. Being kicked out of the institution can be harsh.
     “It is not a punishment I would necessarily always advocate,” Bauer said. “For a couple of students, I don’t think it’s hard enough,” he said.
     Not to place all the blame on the students, Bauer said that faculty may sometimes be at fault when they run across plagiarized work.
     “Instructors who end up with plagiarism often have invited it. They’ve made assignments so broad, students can go to a website and download a paper,” Bauer said. “If you’re making good assignments, the plagiarized paper is impossible.”
     Something that may, in the long run, give Turnitin.com a situation to look out for.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Jan 26 2007. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry