Creating an Environment That Discourages Plagiarism

Image Credit: Shelley Shott, Intel Free Press / CC BY 2.0

Why do students plagiarize? Most of the time it's probably due to two reasons: they don't know how to properly cite their sources or they don't know what to write.

In my English Language Arts class, my students are constantly writing. It may be blog posts, essays, or speeches. In previous years I've never had access to Turnitin to check for plagiarism, and even though my district has decided to subscribe to this service next semester, I don't plan to change my approach to teaching writing. This is because I prefer to be proactive, rather than reactive. So how do I know that my students are truly the authors of the work they call their own?

First, my students start and complete most of their writing in class. When given time to write, there is less inclination to cheat.

Second, I scaffold them throughout the writing process. If it's an essay, we brainstorm the ideas in class, and we crowdsource the evidence they need to support their opinions. I have students post their thesis statements on Schoology's discussion platform or using the "Create Question" feature in Google Classroom. Then, my students agree or disagree (respectfully, of course) by either supporting or refuting the posted thesis statement with evidence from the text. This natural dialogue helps them practice their arguments before they even start to plan the essay.

Third, my students brainstorm their essay on a mindmap. As they work, I confer with each one of them and discuss where they are going with their ideas. We use Google Slides or an essay planner on Google Docs to map out their essay. Though I could simply insert comments, I prefer to talk to them face-to-face. They appreciate the personalized attention, and I always get an appreciative "thank you" at the end of our conversations. If I run out of time in class, then I will resort to written comments.

Next, students write their essays on a Google Doc, using the information from their mindmaps or essay planner. As they write, I set up opportunities for students to give each other feedback. I instruct them on which specific criteria to focus on and how to give each other formative feedback. As they work on this, I also monitor their essays, jumping in as necessary to provide even more feedback.

After this process, students revise their essays based on comments they've received. When this draft is finished, I give them a self-assessment to complete. Then, they have the opportunity to revise their essay once more before turning it in. For each step of their writing process, I provide scaffolds and feedback for their writing.

After all the planning, drafting, and conferring in class, there is no need to plagiarize. From this point on, it'll take more work for students to look for someone else's work to copy.

If we equip our students with the skills they need, give them the time to write, provide them with our guidance, and cultivate the support of their peers, there is less incentive to plagiarize. However, I didn't take this approach to teaching writing because of plagiarism. I use this method because I believe in scaffolding and giving my students the tools they need to succeed. The decline of plagiarism was just a byproduct of this approach to writing instruction.

Two-way Sharing with the Dropbox App

You're using iPads in the classroom.  Now what?  How do you collect the work they created?

I found Dropbox to be a great two-way sharing tool.  Students can share their work with you, and you can share files you want them to access, too.

According to their website, "Dropbox is a free service that lets you bring all your photos, docs, and videos anywhere. This means that any file you save to your Dropbox will automatically save to all your computers, phones and even the Dropbox website."

This is my setup:

1. I have two Dropbox accounts: one that I use to store all my teaching files (I'll refer to this as my teacher account), and a second one that I use only for my class set of iPads (I'll refer to this as my iPad account).
2. I create a folder called "iPad Language Arts Folder" from my teacher account and share it with my iPad account.
3. I create subfolders in this "iPad Language Arts Folder" for each of my classes (i.e. Period A, Period B, etc.)  My students would upload their work to their specific class folder.
4. I also have subfolders of the unit we're studying (i.e. Short Stories, The Outsiders, etc.)  I usually leave those folders there for students to access all semester.

This setup allows me to easily drop any file I want to share with my students.  What do I share?  They're typically files I create just for my students.

1. A word document
2. A presentation file I want them to follow (You can turn off your LCD projector to save your bulb!)
3. A PDF file
4. An audio file
5. A video
6. Pictures (I take pictures of the participation points they're earning in my class.  I also take a screenshot of their current grades from my computer.  Both are posted anonymously.  You no longer have to post paper grades on your wall for everyone to crowd around.)

What kind of work can your students share with you?  The Dropbox app allows you to import images and videos from the iPad camera roll.  It could be any picture or video they created on the iPad.  It also could be a screenshot of any work they created on an another app.  See my post on "How the iPad Transformed My Classroom in 30 Days" to read about the different apps you can use with iPads.  I also describe in detail how I use Zoodle Comics in my classroom on a different post.  

How do you use the Dropbox app in your classroom?  Please share in the comments section.

Using An Email Alias to Receive Student Work

Have you ever asked students to email their work to you and all it does is create a big mess in your inbox?  If you don't use a Learning Management System, then one way to organize incoming assignments is to use an email alias.  Both Gmail and Hotmail have this capability.

Gmail Users

Here's a synopsis from the Gmail help page:  "Gmail doesn't offer traditional aliases, but you can receive messages sent to username+alias@gmail.com. You can set up filters to automatically direct these messages to Trash, apply a label or star, skip the inbox, or forward to another email account."

For teachers, this means you can filter student emails by period.  For example, your Period 1 students can send their work to msjosiebruin+period1@gmail.com while your Period 2 students can send their work to msjosiebruin+period 2@gmail.com.

You can use up to 30 Gmail aliases, so use them wisely.

If you don't know how to create a filter, visit this Gmail Help Page.

Hotmail Users

One nice feature of using a Hotmail alias is that your alias can be vastly different from your username.  Maybe your email address is ELAteacher@hotmail.com, but your alias is "msbruinperiodA@hotmail.com."  You can send out email using your alias without ever giving away your real email address.  You also can't log into Hotmail with your alias, so that can be an additional layer of security for some.

Hotmail allows a total of 15 email aliases, but you are limited to creating only 5 per year.  To get started on creating a Hotmail alias, click here.

Evernote is a Must-Have for Educators

I use Evernote and absolutely love it. It’s an extremely powerful productivity tool for one’s personal and professional life. With the ability to access my notes across all platforms (whether it’s my laptop or my numerous mobile devices), I always have everything I need to remember within reach.

Here’s how I use evernote as a teacher:

1. Notebooks: In Evernote, Notebooks are like folders.  I create notebooks to help me organize information. For example, I have notebooks called "Students," “Web 2.0 Tools,” “Apps,” “Tech Committee,” “Temporary,” etc.  Some teachers may want to create a notebook for each specific student if they need create documentation for parent conferences.

2. Notes: I create notes on anything I want to document or file inside a notebook. I usually receive paper copies of student IEP's and 504's from my school.  I prefer to store them in Evernote so that I can easily search for them without thumbing through stacks of papers.  I can either scan the paper using a traditional scanner, take a photo of it, or use a scanning app.  I also like to scan or photograph student work to who parents during conferences.

3. Web Clippings: Anytime I come across an article, blog or webpage I want to read again, I save it to Evernote. Sure, Read It Later and Instapaper are great for this, but I like to keep all my work information in one place, and Evernote fits the bill.

4. Save Emails from Outlook: Now whenever I receive an email from a parent or student, I can click “Add to Evernote” from my Outlook desktop client to export it.  If you have a notebook for a particular student, this is a great place to file it so that everything is in one place.  After I choose "Add to Evernote," a window will pop up, waiting for me to designate a notebook and add tags. If I’m using my iPad, I can just forward the email to my Evernote email address, and it’ll be filed under the notebook of my choosing. This leads me to my next tip.

5. Send Emails to Evernote: Each Evernote account has a unique email address, and sometimes I’ll come across a website that gives me the option of emailing a link or the page. This feature is especially handy to have on the iPad where there's no "Clip to Evernote" option.  Hint: on the iPad, if the page allows, tap "Reader" so that the entire page will be sent to your Evernote account.  Otherwise, only the link will be emailed to you.

6.  Students Submit Work Through Evernote:  Students can also send their work to your account by using your unique Evernote email address.  First, set up notebooks for each class you teach or name the notebook after an assignment.  Then, when they send their work, have them use the notebook name in their subject title with the "@" symbol.  This way, their work will go directly to that notebook.

For example, Joe Bruin from Period A needs to submit his Journal #1 to you.  He will fill out the email like this.

To:  Teacher's unique Evernote email address
Subject: Journal #1 Bruin Joe @ Period A

This way, all the assignments will be grouped together, and the students' work will be in alphabetical order, too.  The "@" symbol tells Evernote to file the note under your notebook named "Period A."

7. Take Pictures of Student Work: This is for when you need to bring examples of a student’s work to a parent conference. I used to photocopy student work just in case I ever have to justify a grade, and now I don’t have to make a trip to the copier or waste paper if I never end up using it.

8. Purchases: We all buy things for our classroom, whether at the store or online. This is a fabulous place to store those receipts or order confirmations. For web orders, I use my snipping tool to create a jpg of my confirmation page and load it to my Evernote.

9. How-To Guides/User Manuals/Product Information: This is a great place to store that type of information, especially if you need to know the model number of something because you have to replace a missing or broken part. I also take pictures of the product so that I can match it to the user manual.

10. Special Assembly Schedules: At my school, we have various assemblies throughout the year, and because the duration of the assemblies vary, we always have a new schedule each time an event occurs. I will take a picture of the schedule (or upload an emailed copy of the schedule) so that I never have to carry a sheet of paper around to see where I need to be and when. I also do the same when we have standardized testing in the spring. Every day is different when we are testing.

These are just a few ways in which I use Evernote for my professional life. I also use Evernote in my personal life: for shopping, vacation planning, home improvement projects, organizing kids activities…but that would be an entirely new post.

How do you use Evernote as an educator? Please share in the comments below.