The internet has definitely made
researching easier for students when writing a paper. Students no longer have
to go to the library and go book by book and shelf by shelf looking for sources
that will help them with their papers. Even though the internet is a quicker
form of gaining information, it is also extremely dangerous because it is an
easy way of committing plagiarism. With just a few clicks, it is easy for a student
to copy directly from a website and paste it into their Word Document. Normally,
teachers who know their students and know how their students compose essays
will be able to detect plagiarism when it is present because the style and
vocabulary will not match the student’s original work. However, there is now a
more efficient way to do so through the help of technology.
I recommend that all teachers use the following website: www.turnitin.com. As a future English educator, I find this website to be extremely helpful and easy to use. All I have to do is instruct my students to create a FREE account and add my class to their page. They will then have access to my folder, which they will electronically submit all their essays through. By having essays submitted electronically, I can also determine if their assignments are on time by the date and time posted. As a teacher, when I select a student’s essay to read, the essay will appear on the left side of my screen. If any writing is plagiarized or is similar to anything posted on the internet, the words will be highlighted in green. The website that the writing is believed to be copied from will appear on the right side of the screen. As a teacher, I will be able to determine whether or not I believe the student copied. There is also an estimated “plagiarism” percentage to let me as a teacher know how much of the student’s writing is similar to what is on the web.
I believe that this is an excellent website that could be used not only in an English classroom, but is all subject areas. If students know that their work is being reviewed by a website, they will be less tempted to copy and paste from the internet. As teachers, we want our students to produce their own work by incorporating their creative and original thoughts.
I recommend that all teachers use the following website: www.turnitin.com. As a future English educator, I find this website to be extremely helpful and easy to use. All I have to do is instruct my students to create a FREE account and add my class to their page. They will then have access to my folder, which they will electronically submit all their essays through. By having essays submitted electronically, I can also determine if their assignments are on time by the date and time posted. As a teacher, when I select a student’s essay to read, the essay will appear on the left side of my screen. If any writing is plagiarized or is similar to anything posted on the internet, the words will be highlighted in green. The website that the writing is believed to be copied from will appear on the right side of the screen. As a teacher, I will be able to determine whether or not I believe the student copied. There is also an estimated “plagiarism” percentage to let me as a teacher know how much of the student’s writing is similar to what is on the web.
I believe that this is an excellent website that could be used not only in an English classroom, but is all subject areas. If students know that their work is being reviewed by a website, they will be less tempted to copy and paste from the internet. As teachers, we want our students to produce their own work by incorporating their creative and original thoughts.
I love it when technology comes up with tools for teachers to have their lives be a little easier. Teachers have so many things they have to do, but with inventions like www.turnitin.com, it just saves the teacher a lot of mindless work. These are just some of the great things about technology for the education department.
ReplyDeleteI disliked turnitin.com when I was a student in high school. Resources I found describe the facts so eloquently that it made it hard for me to write it in my own words. However, as you stated, this website it a great motivator for students to compose their own writing. Over the years in high school, I developed skills needed to write research papers. This was a valuable skill to learn when I started college. If it were not for the pressure I received in school regarding plagiarism, I would have a hard lesson to learn. I agree that turnitin.com can be used in all curriculums. Writing should be extended beyond an English classroom because of its vast importance in society. As a future mathematics teacher, I would like to incorporate mathematical research or current events relating math. I could use this technology to encourage students to not plagiarize and write a genuine report.
ReplyDeleteTurnItIn is such a great website for not only English teachers, but for any teacher that assigns a writing assignment! It lets students know that while plagiarism is very easy, it is also very illegal. It shows students the importance of properly citing their resources while also getting them to think in their own words. It was a total pain in the butt for me during high school, but looking back on it, I'm glad my teachers made me use TurnItIn.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great topic to talk about because we live in a society where students submit assignments online. Its easy for a student to just Google answers and compose a essay. Using a site like "turn it in" will act as a deterrent to keep students from plagiarizing. This is a great way to detect the authenticity of a students work. "Turn it in" is also an easy site to use because not every teacher is comfortable using the computer for classroom purposes, especially if they have been in the system for years.
ReplyDeleteAs a future Social Studies teacher, and as someone who had several classmates attempt to plagiarize but get caught due to this, I cannot say enough great things about TurnItIn. It is a very useful tool for teachers to detect academic honesty in student's work, and is simple to use as well. I completely intend on using it in my future career.
ReplyDelete