Colleen Stamm

EDT 501
Position Paper #3
Technology and Cheating in the Classroom
Introduction
Cheating has been an issue in secondary classrooms for years but with the rise of
technology there has also been an increase in the occurrences of cheating and plagiarism. As
Murdock (1999) has found, all students are cheating, even the high achieving student. With the
introduction of new technologies, students are now using items like cell phone cameras to take
pictures of test questions and share information. Texting during tests has become a new way to
share answers. Plagiarism has also become easier with the increased use of technology. Students
are using the cut and paste method to write essays and papers. There are some positives to the
new technology when it refers to cheating. As Pearson (2011) states, even though plagiarizing
has become easier with the Internet, the technology to help find plagiarism in papers has also
improved and become easier to use. But, he also found that not only are students using cut and
paste to place information in papers but they are not changing the formatting of the information
from the website it came from. This kind of practice makes it obvious to the reader and the
student that the information was not written by the student. Students in secondary schools must
now face the reality of plagiarism much sooner than other generations. Pearson (2011) found that
students are becoming much more tech savvy and using new ways to plagiarize, including
changing the formatting and a few words or using online tutor help to write their papers. Some
students even use websites to buy term papers from other students. This research points to the
fact that schools must now take action in order to reduce cheating and plagiarism. With the
increase of available information found on the Internet, cheating and plagiarism has become a
large problem in secondary schools and needs to be addressed by teachers and administrators.
This paper will discuss how teachers should change their teaching practices and emphasize
academic integrity to deter cheating. Furthermore, teachers should implement projects that
require students to create personal and unique products.
Counter Argument
Some in the education field feel that cheating and technology is inevitable and is out of
the hands of educators. These educators feel that parents are ultimately responsible for teaching
students that cheating is not tolerated and the consequences of cheating and plagiarism. Strom
and Strom (2007) researched several students and found various reasons for cheating such as:
there is not enough time, this is not important, or I need good grades to get into college. Many of
these responses are issues that can be dealt with at home. But as Lathrop and Foss (2005) have
found, 63% of parents feel that their child would not cheat. This belief can lead to disagreements
among parents and educators, leading to lawsuits when parents believe that their child has been
unfairly accused of cheating or plagiarizing a project (Strom and Strom, 2007). An outcome such
as a lawsuit discourages educators from handling issues of cheating. 70% of educators are
worried about parent reaction when a child is accused of cheating (Whitley and Keith-Spiegel,
2002). Therefore, these teachers and educators feel that dealing with cheaters is up to parents so
as not to deal with lawsuits and upset parents. These educators have valid reasons for not
supporting teachers and administrators dealing with cheating but in the end, schools are
ultimately responsible for educating students which includes deterring students from cheating.
First, parents are not taking on the full responsibility of educating their children about cheating.

Many are teaching their children right from wrong but are not applying this idea to honesty and
schoolwork (Strom and Strom, 2007). Furthermore, educators must make students aware that
cheating is only hurting their learning and no one is benefiting from it. Scribner (2003) points out
that sometimes it is educators teaching flaws that allow students to cheat. For example, using old
assignments over again from year to year or giving students work that is too hard can lead to
cheating. Evans and Craig (1990) also note that when the objectives of an assignment were not
made clear by teachers, students were more likely to cheat. Changes, such as these, can be make
an impact in deterring cheating and can be handled by educators.
Argument #1 Teaching Practices
When it becomes the educators and school system responsibility to reduce cheating in the
classroom, teachers must first look at the practices in their own classrooms. Certain practices can
encourage or motivate students to cheat. Murdock (1999) has found that the more control
students have over their learning, the less likely cheating will occur. If teachers create
assignments and projects that allow students to make choices, then first, they will be less likely
to cheat and second, it will be harder to cheat since each student will be customizing their
assignments and projects. This plays a large role in the use of technology because if an
assignment is unique to that child, it will be very difficult to find a copy of that assignment on
the Internet. Another way that teachers can minimize cheating in their classroom is through
assessments. When students feel they are being tested on what is being taught in the class, the
need to cheat becomes less (Murdock, 1999). Students will be less likely to take the pictures with
cell phones and text during tests if they feel prepared because the assessments are aligned with
class work. Murdock, Hale and Weber (1998) also established that students are more likely to
cheat when they feel the teacher is not strong or knowledgeable about the topic. Teachers can
combat this by being prepared and knowing the content covered in the curriculum. Citations are
also an important practice for teachers to model. Barry (2006) states that many students do not
understand how to cite references. Therefore, students plagiarize inadvertently because they
dont understand why a person must use citations. Teachers can model how to cite works so
students will understand better when to cite works found on the Internet. Teachers can also use
software such as Noodlebib or citation web sites to assist students in creating bibliographies
when researching. When teachers take into account all of these small changes into their teaching
practice, educators can reduce the cheating and plagiarism that occurs in the classroom.
Argument #2 Academic Integrity
In addition to changing teaching practices, teachers and administrators can enforce
academic integrity in the schools. Academic integrity can be defined as knowing right from
wrong and how this applies to digital citizenship and technology (Jones, 2011). An example of
academic integrity would mean understanding that a cut and paste of information is not correct
unless quoted and credit given to the author. Another example is that it is right to use Creative
Commons to find images for projects and citing credit when appropriate. Schools can also enact
an academic integrity or honor code to help students understand what is expected of them.
Conradson and Hernndez-Ramos (2004) recommend that schools create an academic integrity
code that includes a definition of plagiarism, how to avoid plagiarism, an acceptable use policy
for technology, and consequences for breaking the code. McCabe and Katz (2009) recommend
several ideas in order for the academic integrity code to be effective. First, encourage students to
take responsibility for their work and teachers should respond in the classroom when

responsibility is take or not shown. Second, teachers need to clarify the expectations of the code
and help reduce opportunities for plagiarism or cheating in assignments or projects. Third,
teachers should work to establish academic integrity as a core value within their classroom and
the school. Last, it is important that all teachers and parents are supportive of the academic
integrity code and understand the components. Additionally, implementing the code should not
be a one time event in a classroom. Teachers can do many activities within their classroom to
help revisit the code. Jones (2011) suggests doing a treasure hunt regarding the information in
the code, playing a learning game to help remember the code, allowing students to reflect on the
code, showing internet links that help students to recognize if they are plagiarizing, and showing
students how to cite and resources they can use to help create the citations. An academic integrity
code can be supportive in helping schools to reduce plagiarism and cheating while implementing
more technology.
Argument #3 Change Projects
A third way teachers can help to prevent cheating and plagiarism when using technology
is to create projects that allow students to create personal and unique products that require
students to synthesize and reflect on their learning instead of sharing facts learned through
research. When students are given the opportunity to customize their projects, it becomes
difficult to plagiarize a project unique to that student. As Pearson (2011) remarks, students need
and want projects that require them to think. Term papers and essays do not fit the learning needs
of current students because information is so readily available. The workplace today no longer
requires students to find information. It requires that students use the information to work
collaboratively to solve a problem. An example of a project that would reduce the opportunity for
plagiarism could be giving the students an environmental issue, deforestation due to farming, and
requiring students to come up with a solution. Since students still need to research the rainforest
and find facts about it in order to come up with a solution, the skill of researching is still taught.
In this case though, a solution will be unique to the group and students will be less tempted to cut
and paste information found on the Internet. Conradson and Hernndez-Ramos (2004) also
suggest some project ideas that will help to reduce cheating in the classroom. These include
journals, interviews, first person stories, digital movies, comic strips and online discussions. All
these project ideas lend themselves to unique and personal ideas from the students. With the
purpose of reduce cheating and plagiarism, teachers need to focus projects on using information
instead of sharing information.
Conclusion
In the 21st century when information is easy to access, cheating and plagiarism has
become a major problem in our secondary schools. This is not a problem that educators can
ignore. It becomes their job to educate students on what cheating and plagiarism looks like and
the consequences. Schools need to equip students with knowledge and values so that students are
benefiting from their education. Educators can accomplish this through adapting teaching
practices to fit the technology available today, establishing an academic integrity code and
creating projects that deter students from cheating. All stakeholders in education (students,
educators, and parents) will benefit from this plan.

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