Exploring and Deterring Plagiarism in Schools Description of workshop run for Eduserv Information Literacy project, April 2008

Opportunities for plagiarism in schools have escalated with the growth of the world wide web, with its vast range of content, easy opportunities for cut-and-paste, and growing market of commercial sites helping the potential plagiarist. While sophisticated online services can help with the detection of web-based plagiarism, long-term deterrence lies with appropriate course design and administration, and clear guidance to pupils and parents alike about avoiding malpractice.

Topics:

  • Definition and examples of plagiarism
  • Plagiarism and the web - sources and detection
  • Exploring anti-plagiarism tutorials and essay banks
  • Designing out opportunities for plagiarism and collusion
  • How to raise awareness of plagiarism issues within schools

Who is it for?

This free workshop, funded by the Eduserv Foundation, is aimed at secondary school teaching and support staff who wish to find out about this complex and controversial subject and how to deal with it. Materials from the workshop will be made available for use within schools.

Participants need no special technical skills, but for the hands-on sessions they will find it helpful to have had some experience of using a browser.

By the end of the workshop participants will have:

  • Understood what is meant by plagiarism and how and why it may occur
  • Viewed and discussed examples of plagiarism
  • Seen how the web facilitates plagiarism
  • Tried out online anti-plagiarism tutorials
  • Used scenarios to explore pedagogic and administrative approaches to deterring plagiarism
  • Shared experiences and views with other participants
  • Discussed how to address plagiarism issues within schools