Technology and innovation have impacted our world, especially the education systems, in a number of ways. With the introduction of several pieces of technology, the education system is slowly evolving from the traditional in-class lectures to a more virtual or online setup. While most universities and colleges nationwide are leaning towards administering more online classes. The aspect of ethics has become an element of concern to most institutions and poses a question as to whether it is fair or unfair to expect students to exercise ethical behavior as they take the classes online. With the growing advancements in technology as well as resources students are faced with the challenge of cheating when taking an online class as well as the …show more content…
With administering a class online, faculty risk exposing students to vast number of resources which facilitate cheating on assignments, quizzes and or exams. Due to the opportunities online classes produce, one may ask, “should professors who suspect student dishonesty confront and report those students” (Coleman, pg 29). One could argue that with a lot of resources which encourage cheating, professors should be expecting students to cheat and therefore they should not report the student. However, the professors may argue that dishonesty is not acceptable in any class whether it is administered online or in class and therefore any form of dishonesty detected should be dealt with accordingly. By allowing dishonesty, the students may not learn anything from the class and will continue to submit work that does not belong to them which in actual fact means they are not being graded on what they know but on what someone else knows. In some cases, by having a class online, the faculty assumes that the students are responsible enough to avoid cheating when performing any particular activities associated with the class. In this case, professors may argue that the classes are for college level students and the students are expected to be responsible enough to abide by the rules and regulations of the classes. With that being said, students are
Chace, W. M. (2012). A Question of Honor: Cheating on campus undermines the reputation of our universities and the value of their degrees. Now is the time for students themselves to stop it. (Cover story). American Scholar, 81(2), 20-32.
To summarize, the topic presented in this article is about online courses which are widely used in colleges providing easy access to course materials, classroom discussions, and feedback to instructors. The course materials and activities may be accessed from any computer, whether it is from the University or from the comfort of your own home.
However, there are ways in which teachers can get creative in an online environment in offering ways for students to perform and display their understanding of the subject matter. It is important for students to be actively involved in an online course. Students must be self-directed. They are not being monitored, so logging in regularly helps to stay connected and enhances the learning. Having a tracking system of how many times a student logs in a course is one way to assess. Assessment can also include factors such as reading all the material and resources provided. There can be links to videos for students to view and listen to. Instructors can have a system where it
While the problem of cheating has persisted in higher education, the perceived seriousness of cheating continues to change (McCabe & Trevino, 1996; Stephens, Young, & Calabrese, 2007). Notably, students with higher moral development levels view cheating more seriously than those with lower moral development levels (Leming, 1978; Semerci, 2006). While the process of going to college promotes students' moral development (King & Mayhew, 2002) and higher moral development levels correlate to lower incidences of cheating (Leming, 1978), determining the relationship between the two is necessary. Prior research has demonstrated a positive relationship between higher moral development levels and lower cheating incidences; however, most data is more than 30 years old (Leming, 1978).
Technology is rapidly evolving and changing, and as a result of the increasing availability and propagation of several forms of technology, academic dishonesty cases in every college and university have greatly multiplied and become a global issue. The issue on cheating behaviors in students is so pervasive and uncontrollable that it is almost considered as commonplace (Arhin & Jones, 2009). One of the hardest challenges for educators is knowing how and when to discipline their students. In the given scenario, there are several issues to take into account; the first and foremost being the issue of academic dishonesty. Academic dishonesty is defined by the Webster dictionary as the intentional participation in deceptive practices regarding one’s academic work or the work of another (Faucher & Caves, 2009). Jones (2011) states that many institutions of higher education have adopted academic dishonesty policies, instituted academic integrity tutorial completion prerequisites for next term registration, and acquired plagiarism software detection tools. They go on to say that within the past few years, high-tech cheating is gradually replacing the simple cut-and-paste cheating, and educators must be proactive and develop instructional strategies that integrate all facets of appropriate digital citizenship, that is, digital ethics. By implementing these academic dishonesty and integrity policies and making them attainable to
Online college courses are almost becoming traditional for students. Some may perceive that a student does not receive an equal education when taking an online class. People tend to think that if a teacher is not directly giving the information about the subject, the course learning experience is different or unjust. This assumption is wrong according to the perception of many online course takers. Online college courses offer students the advantage to learn on their own time. The skills that a student learns in self-discipline, scheduling to complete graded assignments, and advantages learned with technology gives online classes equal education experience compared to classes on campus.
Technology in the classroom is important to assist in the learning process; however this is creating new challenges for teachers. Teachers are now required to educate students on the importance of technology ethics. Computer ethics is the moral guidelines that govern the use of computers and networks (Shelly, G, Gunter, G, and Gunter, R 2012). Ethics in the classroom also requires teachers to explain what plagiarism is and the proper way for students to give credit for information attained from another source. Teachers must also have a plan in place to address internet security, as well as devise a student use agreement and discuss ethical practices while using technology in the classroom.
One major concern is that cheating will be increased due to there not being any proctoring or monitoring of exams. This is a very valid concern. Plagiarism is a major issue in any school, whether it is an online or a traditional classroom setting. The major concern that some people have is that plagiarism is much easier online than it is in a classroom setting. I would have to disagree with this. I have been both a student at a traditional university (Georgia State University), and I have been a student online (University of Phoenix for 2 years and now, Strayer University). If a student wants to cheat on a paper, it is just as easy to do it whether he/she is physically submitting it to a professor or electronically submitting it. The medium used for submission does not change the actual process the student takes when writing the paper. Also, cheating on an online exam is not as easy as one may expect. Most classes do not offer multiple choice online exams for the very reason that there is a concern, because it would be easy to copy and paste a question into Google or any other popular search engine. Instead, the tests usually require the student work the problem out on his/her own or write a paper or summary to show that he/she actually understands the content. I find that
Student Perceptions of Cheating in Online CoursesYour Name:Class Name:University Name:Instructor Name:Student Perceptions of Cheating in Online CoursesAcademic integrity has long been a core concern of faculty as well as administrators operating in campuses. Recent statistics done on the extent of cheating that occurs in college campuses shows that the large majority of students have engaged in this vice to some extent. The core difference in today’s environment is the wide proliferation of technological devices that are used for both delivering as well as accessing information on university courses. Educators are fast becoming concerned on the impact that technology has on the numerous forms of academic dishonesty. Indeed a number of sources have argued that the internet is fast becoming a major culprit for the increasing instances of academic dishonesty. This paper therefore strives to examine what is the prevalence of cheating in online courses looking at it from the college student’s perspective.The number of students who a-re actively participating in college level online courses has far outpaced other forms of distance learning. Online courses are becoming a critical part of many campuses long term strategy as evidenced by the fact that colleges have seen a distinct increase in the levels of online enrolment. The growth in learning opportunities online has increased on the concerns concerning cheating in online courses (Cluskey et al, 2011). Numerous studies have
The positive of online classes is being able to access the class in any free time. Most online classes though, require work to be turned in on certain days and times. Which makes it harder for students to remember when assignments need to be done. The pleasure of the instructor reading/lecturing the textbook material out loud won’t be there. It
Technology is changing every aspect in our lives, even the way we learn. Online classes are a rapidly growing trend it today’s society. Online classes are a cost-effective substitute for traditional courses and more convenient for many, so more schools and universities are offering this option. Due to the increase in online course enrollment, people are questioning if students truly learn something from online classes because it’s not a traditional learning environment. Online classes are just, if not more, effective as traditional classes because grades have increased and online discussions provide students with the chance to interact through networking while earning a degree for less than what it would cost to enroll at the same university.
On the other hand, an online course permits students the option and availability to enroll in a vast array of course choices regardless of their location. In so doing, it allows a student a unique opportunity to further their education anywhere in the world. After all, if one is in the United States or on a military base in Japan students can still attain an education from their home country and in their mother tongue via the Internet. However, lessons that take place in a physical classroom are confined to that location. Thus, students situated within the nearby vicinity of the school building typically can access the instructor’s lessons. Consequently, this creates a clear disadvantage to any student residing outside of the classroom’s surrounding area.
If students get caught they should have to face the consequences whether it is in a class online or a face-to-face. Professors should take the necessary measures to keep students from cheating. These measures should include running papers through turn it in, changing test questions each semester and personalizing questions as much as possible so questions cannot be found online. Cheating is a serious problem, but it hurts the student in the end.
In many schools, online classes are becoming more available to students. Recent studies show that the use of online classes has been rapidly increasing over the past three years. Currently, there are a total of 6,700,000 students enrolled in all different variations of courses
But without the securities of the traditional classroom environment cheating has become a big concern in online education aside from cheating the quality of online education is also in question in addressed by article posted Greg Rodriguez which states “the level of effectiveness of educational technology is influenced by this specific student population, the software design that educators role, and the level of access to technology I agree that having a quality program is important but still requires much effort from both student and teachers to ensure success of the online program”. This is also true for traditional classrooms the use of online education impacted not only colleges but grade, middle, and high schools alike one of the biggest issues discussed on the topic of online learning is age and maturity an article written by Sam Dillon talks about the use of online learning in elementary and home schools. While I do agree with the statement made by Tracie Weldie, a native from Milwaukee, which home schools her three kids than there is no reason for Isabel to practice counting if she can already add not every child learns at the same rate and this will elevate, concerns the parent might have about their child being challenged to reach their full academic potential. Either the online