Cheating Goes HiTech

Common Sense Media has a new section in their Parent Advice section on Digital Cheating . There are some excellent hints there including the fact that you need to talk to your kids about this issue whether you think they will cheat or not. Personally I hold the schools responsible for much of what goes on as the enforcement of digital cheating and anti-plagiarism policies are very inconsistent. Teachers, at least those at my local school, very rarely cite where they get the resources they hand out in class and hardly ever give an explanation of what plagiarism is other than “don’t copy.” They use plagiarism detection services like turnitin.com strictly as a punishment, never using the opportunity to help students who “get caught” figure out what they did wrong always saying they should have known better. They also rarely ask students to cite sources used for posters or other more “minor” assignments. Interested in more on this topic? See the Parenting with Technology columns on this site including They Do Know Better and information for students on plagiarism in Computers and Homework.