Do you use plagiarism checkers in your classroom?

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Permalink Reply by Jerica Henry on September 11, 2012 at 4:37pm

I don't use plagiarism checkers in my classroom, but I'm also an elementary school teacher. I can usually tell when I'm getting original work from my students or when someone else has "helped" my students.

I'm not sure what level you teach--sounds like secondary or college level. In your case, I think it would be a great idea to use a plagiarism checker. One suggestion I have, however, is that you take the time to teach your students how to correctly cite their sources so there is no question later.

When I was in 10th grade, I had to write my first research paper. I had no clue what to do. Not only was the paper on an Old English novel that I struggled to read, I had no idea how to write a research paper. When we turned the paper in, my teacher accused me of plagiarism because I had not cited a source correctly and the checker he used hit on a phrase in my paper. I was mortified!! Of course it was not intentional plagiarism, but I was still horribly embarrassed and punished even though I was never taught how to cite resources.

So my advice to you would be to spend time teaching correct citations for the format you expect your students to use. If you don't model for students and teach them what to do, I think no matter which plagiarism checker you use, you will find many instances of unintentional plagiarism.

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Permalink Reply by Ann P. Miller on September 12, 2012 at 12:30am

Thank you, I will pay great attention to it. 

I absolutely agree about importance of correct citations.

Hope later I could share my experience here :)

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Permalink Reply by Sue Davenport on September 12, 2012 at 3:44pm

I teach AP Biology and one of the things I stress to my students is to cite all sources when writing papers, lab reports, and essays.  I only have about 12 students maximum in the course, so I can sit and read their papers and usually can tell if something appears plagiarized.  However, I think using a plagiarism checker is a great idea.  In the past, I would just type a line of the suspected paper into Google and see if it appears on the web.  I have caught a few this way.  I definitely think it will be easier to use a plagiarism checker.  The students taking AP Biology are the top students in the school, so I make sure they understand the severity of plagiarizing work.  These students are usually in the National Honor Society or are trying to get into NHS, so they know if they are ever caught cheating in any way, they will not get into NHS or they will be kicked out if already a member.  I have talked to the senior English teacher and since she always gives a huge research project at the end of the year, she said she uses on online plagiarism checker. 

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Permalink Reply by Elena Guyer on September 13, 2012 at 8:23pm

With students having unlimited access to electronic resources, I feel it is critical to use plagiarism checkers on student assignments.  Our faculty uses a program called SafeAssign.  I provide a link to the students that enables them to submit their assignments directly.  Their work is compared to academic papers and internet works, and I receive a report that states the percentage of the paper that was copied directly from another source, as well as a link to where I can find the copied information so I can look at it for myself. 

Another benefit of SafeAssign is that it once the student submits his or her paper, it becomes part of the "bank" of works.  If the student attempts to use the same paper for a different assignment or course, the instructor will be notified that the paper already exists. 

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Permalink Reply by Ann P. Miller on September 14, 2012 at 2:53am

Thank you for information!

It is good to know step-by-step how it should be done with plagiarism checkers. I have read that Plagtracker contains comprehensive database of academic papers too.

Is SafeAssign free?

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Permalink Reply by Elena Guyer on September 15, 2012 at 8:06pm

SafeAssign is a service provided by BlackBoard at no additional cost (if your school uses BlackBoard).

I forgot to mention earlier, one of the extra benefits of SafeAssign is that it has features that help educate students about plagiarism and the importance of proper citing of any borrowed content.  I like that it is very user-friendly!

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Permalink Reply by Carlos on September 16, 2012 at 12:09pm

Well im a high school teacher from Spain and i use,,,, just google or another searh engine as anti-plagiarrism and run so well at my education level to catch cheaters.

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Permalink Reply by Brooks Twilley on September 16, 2012 at 6:27pm

I teach an integrated STEM course.  Here is a link to my homework policy. My homework is due weekly, for all of my students.  Last year when I implemented the homework policy, I was accepting it in both hand written and digital formats.  I noticed immediately that my hand written submissions had a higher occurrence of writing that seemed out of the given student's repertoire.  Cross checking it through a simple google search confirmed my suspicions.  The culprits were counseled by administration on the first occurrence, and received consequences subsequently.  The problem was rampant, and detecting plagiarism was like shooting fish in a barrel.  This school year, the students were addressed on plagiarism during the code of conduct presentation on the first day of school.  I only accept digital submissions of homework now, it helps me keep them honest.  They are keenly aware of the risks of attempting plagiarism and the likelihood of being caught.  To help promote responsible work, I keep a binder, which I title the "homework hall of fame" to highlight how approachable my homework assignments are, really motivate them to submit their original work.  I also modified my policy to accept various mediums for my students to share their work - videos, audio files, presentations, etc.  This gives them a more organic way of demonstrating their knowledge, is less likely to be "borrowed" from sources, and really honors the spirit of why I assign homework in the first place.  

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Permalink Reply by Charles Voth on September 17, 2012 at 2:41pm

I have used SafeAssign and Turnitin.com.  I liked that latter, because it was more intuitive to use as a teaching tool. My college ESL students fall into plagiarism very quickly, mostly due to ignorance, but often because it's a means to an end. By By showing them the results of turnitin.com on rough drafts, etc, I have been able to work on summarizing and paraphrasing skills. I've never heard of plagtacker.com...will try it soon.

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Permalink Reply by Ann P. Miller on September 18, 2012 at 12:36am

I tried Plagtracker and actually liked it, I think I am going to use it.

"I have been able to work on summarizing and paraphrasing skills." - good influence of plagiarism checkers :)

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