2. Solution #1 – Metadata, the Free Originality Checker Hidden within every Microsoft Word document is a free originality checker, called “metadata”? Metadata is simply “data about data” Name of the original author Name of previous authors When the document was created Access the metadata by right-clicking on the student’s document and clicking on properties 1 Click
3. Solution #1 – Metadata, Original Creation Date Inside every essay uploaded by students, faculty members can easily find out when the document was originally created Imagine you are teaching a History course this semester and you see that an essay submitted by a student was created almost 2 years ago! Recycled papers are a common form of plagiarism 2 Click “Details”
4. Solution #2 – Metadata, Check for Multiple Authors If the document was last worked on by a different author, you can check the “Last saved by” row More often, all authors of the document will appear on the “Authors” row Another metric to check out: Total editing time (a 10 page essay shouldn’t take 5 minutes to complete!) 3
5. Solution #3 – Leverage Discussion Boards 4 Leveraging the discussion board component has many benefits, such as increasing student engagement, improving retention rates, and also provides some free ways to detect if a student submits inauthentic assignments. (Writing style, tone, grammar, vocabulary, etc.) Get to know the personalityandwriting styleof students
6. Solution #4 – Compare Time of Submitted Assignments 5 Depending on your LMS system it may be possible to download reports that will show the time that students submitted assignments This can help spot potential cases of collusion on assignments
7. Solution #5 – All You Have to do is Ask! 6 If a professor makes clear that he disapproves of cheating, either in the syllabus, in the first class, or at the beginning of a test, academic honesty can rise by 12%* “Please don’t cheat!” *Joe Kerkvliet and Charles L. Sigmund, "Can We Control Cheating in the Classroom?", The Journal of Economic Education 30, no. 4, (Autumn, 1999), 331.
