Plagiarism and Technology

The accessibility of information on the Internet has changed the way that students collect data and information. It is very easy to just copy something off a website and post it as your own statements. According to Professor Domine in her textbook, “accessing information, has generated a wake-up call for educators in the area of student cheating and plagiarism” (Domine, 58). Teachers must be vigilant in looking out for plagiarism from their students. Not only can students copy and paste information, they can also find essays on the Internet about any given topic. However, some students who may seem like they are plagiarizing may have just made a mistake. They might just mistake of unawareness.

            What can teachers do? I think that defining plagiarism with the students is a good way to start. Teachers can teach their students how to properly cite a source. Teachers can suggest websites such as KnightCite to help their students learn how to cite with different types of styles. Another thing teachers can do is having the students email copies of their work instead of asking for a hardcopy. The Internet provides websites that can check what the student wrote against information on the Internet. An example of a website is Plagiarism Checking Website, but there are many sites like this on the Internet. There are also sites that suggest ways to help end plagiarism in the classroom. A helpful website I found is Discourage Plagiarism , it suggests techniques such as letting “students know that YOU are aware of online plagiarism sites and that you actively use anti-plagiarism software”. I believe students should be aware that there should be a zero percent tolerance for using someone else’s words as your own.