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Article Review
article: Cybercheating: A New Twist on an Old Problem
author: Steve Gardiner
journal: Phi Delta Kappan (volume 82, number 2, pp.172-4, October 2001


Summary:
The author was grading a stack of papers when he noticed one looked very familiar. After looking through the pile of 90 essays, he found another student had submitted the exact same article. He decided to find out which one had copied from the other when he was surprised to discover they had both downloaded the paper from the internet. By talking to a colleague, he learned all about cybercheating and the easy availability of papers on-line.

Mr. Gardiner learned how to verify cybercheating. First, he listened to his heart (or gut) to decide if the paper sounded like previous submissions by that student. Second, he found the same search engines the students used to get their sources. By using a meta-search engine, the teacher can type in a few key phrases of about 10 words and look for matches. Third, if Mr. Gardiner was still suspicious, he questioned the student about the material and sources cited. By following these steps and informing students of the consequences of cybercheating, hopefully this new type of cheating is reduced.

Mr. Gardiner concludes that he learned a lot that day and now incorporates how to use the internet as a research tool into his lesson plans. The web is an excellent resource if it is used correctly.


Reflection:
As Mr. Gardiner said, cybercheating is the same as copying out of a book but much faster. The ease of it and the time pressures on today’s students make it very appealing if they think they will not be caught. At Fairlaine in Morristown, cybercheating has been curtailed in the past year. Many teachers are enrolled in a service called “turnitin.com” where teachers define the project, receive and account number and students must...