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Technology in Secondary and Post-Secondary Education: Plagiarism

Introduction

Students have been finding new ways to cheat since the dawn of formal education, but

rates of plagiarism have seen a steep increase due to the ease technology has provided. In the

1998 Spring Semester at George Washington University, Cyber Forensics Professional Julie

Ryan observed that 17% of her students plagiarized their entire papers, but that 17% only

represented those of whom she caught through the Alta Vista online search engine. That

translates to having more than one in six college students prone to thieving others’ text or ideas,

revealing a serious issue in quality and integrity around the world and especially in the United

States and the United Kingdom (Cyber Plagiarism & Statistics). Although the twenty-first

century has presented the Internet as an easily accessible resource for plagiarists, it also serves as

a tool for educators to use a variety of detection systems. This contributes to the current issue at

hand which is that as students are more inclined than ever to throw away morality and cheat,

teachers and administrators must work to restore students’ sense of honor and academic integrity.

In a sense, it could be said that this technology can both promote and deter plagiarism as it is

more effectively integrated into secondary and post-secondary education.

Online Tools

Rising concerns about the increase in plagiarism give the misconception that there lies no

hope in deterring future academic dishonesty; however, numerous plagiarism detection

mechanisms have been developed to combat this rising trend of copying and pasting information

with the idea that the act is harmless and inconsequential. Modern electronic plagiarism detection
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is moving away from simply matching phrases to adopting artificial intelligence, thus enabling

teachers to identify similarities in ideas and structures as well (Bailey 1). Such technological

advancements contribute to deterring plagiarism because online mechanisms are no longer

restricted to comparing two documents and directly matching word for word.

Due to its improved indexing and abstracting services, Turnitin has become one of the

most widely used plagiarism software programs, but according to Dr. Simon Bheki Khoza,

Senior Lecturer of the Curriculum Studies and Educational Technology at the University of

KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, Turnitin only reduces plagiarism to the extent of its database

which is documented not to cover all existing resources, lacking especially in peer-reviewed

documents (8). As it is argued that Turnitin does not accurately judge whether or not a paper has

been plagiarized, an increasing number of researchers agree that it is misleading to label Turnitin

as a “plagiarism detection system,” instead calling it a “text-matching tool” to lower the

expectations of users, since no simple detection mechanism can be the concrete solution to such

a complex educational issue. To make more credible use of Turnitin, it should be used in

conjunction with many other “anti-plagiarism” resources, such as Plagiarism Detection, EVE2,

YAP, SCAM, MOSS, JPlag, Copycatch, Safeassign, and EduTie, to ensure quality and

originality of students’ work (Chew et. al 1). There lies a chance for the innocent to be accused

and the guilty to go undetected because of software imperfections. Nonetheless, David F. Martin,

MD, of Murray State University considers Turnitin as a viable source to catch and discourage

plagiarism in a university-classroom setting. Students who recognize that plagiarism can be

detected will be less likely to plagiarize in their own work, consequently leading them to develop

writing skills, creativity, and self-confidence (152). Dr. Liza Z. Bain of the Department of
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Accounting and CIS at Rhode Island College supports this idea that in order to lower rates of

e-cheating, students should be educated often and well about the dangers of plagiarism and the

importance of academic integrity (97).

The failure of students to resist temptation is mainly due to the fact that they

misunderstand the implications of plagiarism for their scholastic reputations which constitute all

information about comportment and academic performance that colleges and companies use to

determine eligibility. Once they are taught how much the crime costs through consequences such

as detention or temporary suspension, only then will young learners start to stray away from old

habits and take steps toward becoming experienced scholars.

Teaching Methods

Educational technology in the classroom has challenged conventional modes of teaching,

as middle school teachers and college professors alike must learn to incorporate all kinds of

electronic devices (i.e. tablets, computers, cell phones, etc.) into their curriculums appropriately

and effectively (Williamson 3). Dr. Hiller Spires, Professor of Literacy and Technology; Dr.

John Lee, Head of the Department of Teacher Education and Learning Sciences; and Dr.

Kimberly Turner, Assistant Teaching Professor at North Carolina State University, agree with

Dr. Simon Khoza that new information and communication technologies are indicating that

children are developing understandings and knowledge in different ways from the past. To

address this change, technology immersion pushes teachers out of their initial role as the primary

source of education and into the role of being a guide on the side (Purdue University Online).

This new form of education requires students to take responsibility for their own learning,
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instead of passively absorbing verbal information from a teacher. Knowing that each individual

learns differently, it must be recognized that while tech-savvy students may benefit from this

learning enhancement, traditional students may fall to technological frustration and resort to

plagiarizing information with the false mindset that their crime will pass undetected.

The Recommendation

Schools and universities are working to find a solution to the widespread issue of

plagiarism, as the integration of technology into secondary and post-secondary education

classrooms has invalidated traditional assessment methods and pushed for correspondingly

advanced teaching practices. Once technology has been successfully incorporated into modern

education to maximize academic productivity, students will be able to experience a higher

quality of education than the generations before them. Educational institutions will be able to

provide students with modern access to an endless variety of sources without allowing them to

forfeit integrity and originality.

Technology integration does not imply a drastic change in didactics. According to

Research Professor Nicola Yelland in the ​College of Arts and Education​ at Victoria University,

author of “Changing Worlds and New Curricula in the Knowledge Era,” learning via technology

is more than making learning activities digital; it is also about creating meaningful ways to

encourage authentic learning and enhance the production of knowledge (122). The impact of

educational technology on plagiarism depends on its level of immersion: individual teacher or

school-wide.
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If schools would refer to Turnitin more as a student’s learning aid and less as a teacher’s

policing tool, this would create the desired self-service learning environment with lowered

possibilities of plagiarism, ensuring that students learn the important skills to paraphrase and

form personal opinions. Students at higher education institutions are at a higher risk to plagiarize

if not taught at the high school level to avoid it, so the solution lies not in immediate detection

but in the development of a student’s perception of plagiarism (Khoza 1).

The most effective way to deter plagiarism is to focus on building the right habits instead

of harping on the wrong ones by shifting from high-stakes summative assessments to

lower-stakes formative assessment practices, from identifying mistakes in completed work to

giving formative feedback (i.e. in-class writing exercises and peer/instructor reviews), and from

protocol consequences to academic integrity education programs (i.e. tutorials, websites, and

workshops). These proactive opportunities, implemented through institutional and instructional

strategies, will allow students to develop personal confidence and ethic in their writing, driving

them away from literary theft (Eaton et al. 33). Until technology is effectively integrated into the

American education system to make progress for the future of education, plagiarism will remain

a pressing issue for students and educators alike.

Word Count: 1283

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