The different between ‘cheating’ and cheating.

Cheater: When I get an assignement, the first thing I do is Google it. I mean, if the answers are all out there, I’d be foolish to waste my time figuring them out the old fashioned way, right? Somebody has a question, I provide an answer. Do they really care whether I thought of it or not? Of course they don’t, so long as they have their answer. It saves so much time when all i need to do is copy the solution and paste it into a Word document. Next problem.

‘Cheater’: I’m an research ninja. I have networking skills up the wazoo. People bring me problems dealing with issues that I can’t even spell. Often I get them their answers before they even leave my desk. Since I don’t understand what they asked me, or what the answer is, more often than not I usually just IM them a hyperlink. I may not have actually solved the problem, but I pass them along to the person who has. When somebody needs numbers, I find the reports that have them. When somebody needs creative solutions, I find creative people who think outside the box. Whatever you need, I can find it.

Welcome to the world of 21st century cheating. So what’s the difference between these two people? Neither one is solving their own problems. They’re both taking advantage of the work that others have done and shared. They’re both coming up with correct answers. So why do I consider one a cheater and one a ‘cheater’?

Simple: Giving credit where credit is due.

The cheater copies out the solution and essentially takes credit for it. The ‘cheater’ is letting people know that he found the person who actually came up with the answer. It’s a fine line, but an important one.

I was reading Robin Raskin’s blog post about HIgh-Tech Plagiarism and love her advice for parents who are looking to reduce the temptation of plagarism:

One is to have them start their papers away from the computer screen,
outlining their plan of attack. With an outline in hand, students are
more likely to steer their own course and not just plop whatever
research they turn up into their papers. The second is for parents to
read their children’s papers. If every paragraph sounds as if it’s
written in a different voice, they can either suspect schizophrenia or,
more likely, plagiarism. The third, and perhaps most important, is to
understand the difference between plagiarism and citing your sources.
When in doubt, cite your source.
(Bold emphasis put in by me)

I’ve touched on this subject before over on the DEN blog. What I really think it comes down to is that educators need to stop going to extreme lengths to ‘catch’ cheaters. What we need to do is focus on letting students know that it’s perfectly acceptable to copy and paste so long as they cite their sources and include their own thoughts on the topic at hand.

It’s all about educating them so they understand just how close they are to research when their out finding things to copy and paste. A few more steps and a little bit of original thought, and they have changed from cheaters to ‘cheaters’.

And if you ask me, ‘cheating’ is going to be a critical skill for students in the 21st century. After all, most the answers are all out there if you take the time to look.

technorati tags:cheating, cheat, plagarism

Blogged with Flock

4 Comments

Jim W.
8/14/2006

Steve,

If teachers are involve with students throughout the planning, writing and publishing process cheating most likely will not occur. When teachers give the assignment “write a 5 page report on…..” you will get cheating.

Some teachers will say I don’t have time to read, comment, or edit drafts and outlines. My response is if it isn’t worth your time it most likely isn’t worth the student’s time. Students can’t do research and unless they are taught research skills and writing skills.

I know that is another teachers job! So blame the other teacher of the kid.

Sorry for the flaming. This is a topic that can get me going.

Jim

The Thinking Stick » My 25% PD
8/19/2006

[...] Steve at Teach42 has a great entry on cheating that every teacher should read. [...]

Weekly Roundup (20 August 2006) at teaching.mrbelshaw.co.uk
8/20/2006

[...] Teach42.com – The different between ‘cheating’ and cheating [...]

healigan
6/18/2008

Steve: i like the advice to parents, but my kids avoid any communication with parents on this topic. I do have students and parents sign a contract…I use a variation on the method Robin uses: They have to do research so that they learn enough about the subject to think about it, but their outline and draft may not include data from the sources or their citations. They are to be added later, as support only. There are still lazy kids who end up flunking because they transcribe sources and cut and paste them into a kind of essay. The students who work give me better essays. I also require them to use a certain number of actual print sources–it is often faster than Googling for hours. That’s a tough sell though.

Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI

Leave a comment