How to Detect and Prevent Plagiarism in Online Learning Environments

      With all the online technologies accessible today and the amazing growth of the World Wide Web, “the world is at our fingertips”. With such resources, comes great responsibility. There is greater opportunity for cheating and plagiarism both equally in traditional learning environments and online learning environments (Pratt, 2016).

Detection Software

            There are several plagiarism detection software packages on the market today. When shopping for detection software, the following requirements should be considered:

•  Ease of use
• Accepts HTML format
•  Allows for pre-selected websites to be excluded as needed
•  Ability to compare and display possible plagiarism flags within submitted work

(Jocoy, 2006)

Strategies to Reduce Plagiarism and Cheating

While the initial thought for detecting plagiarism and cheating would be software like Turnitin.com, There are other strategies within instruction that can help to reduce the opportunities to cheat or plagiarize. One of the first ways to address this issue is to include policies and guidelines (fair use, copyright, plagiarism & cheating) in the course syllabus (Simonson, 2012). This provides the learner with an immediate awareness of need to understand what is considered unacceptable.According to Jocoy and DiBiase’s study found that students receiving explicit plagiarism instructions were less likely to engage in it (Jocoy, 2006). The facilitator can also design assessments that incorporate collaboration. By doing so, it discouraging cheating. 

Instructional Design Preventative Planning

As instructional designers, preventing plagiarism and cheating, should be part of the planning of a course. Designing collaborative assignments within the course, including assessments will discourage cheating. It will also improve learning by reflecting real life situations. Most who are working on a project or assessing a project do not “go it alone”, it is usually a team effort (Pratt, 2016). Additionally, the beginning weeks of the course should include not only policies and guidelines but also various scenarios to show application of the policies and guidelines. Such scenarios could include:

(Pratt, 2016)

Resources
Jocoy, C. &. (2006). Plagiarism by adult learners online: A case study in detection and remediation.       International Review of Research in Open & Distance Learning, 1-15.

Pratt, P. a. (2016, February). Palgiarism and Cheating. Walden University Video Media.

Simonson, S. A. (2012). Teaching and Learning at a Distance. New York: Pearson.