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Learning:
Problems & Solutions
How can teachers prevent e-plagiarism when a world of information is just “a cut and paste” away? At Bullard High School in Fresno, California, teacher Thomas Atkins has been testing a revolutionary plagiarism detection software that may provide an answer. Designed to combat the theft of digital text, the software—TurnItIn.com—seems to be successful at revealing text that students have lifted whole from the Web and turned in to teachers as their own. “Not all kids plagiarize, but many do,” says Atkins, an anatomy and physiology teacher who has been beta-testing the software. “If teachers had magic vision into how many students use someone else’s intellectual property as their own, they would find as many as 20 percent of students cheat.” Developed by Bullard alum John Barrie and a group of his UC Berkeley colleagues, TurnItIn.com uses digital technology to conduct a meta-search of the Internet to locate sources of probable plagiarism. Teachers who paste in students’ word-processed assignments receive both an “Originality Report” that cites the degree of originality and URL links that help teachers determine what Web resources their students have tapped. Barrie, now CEO of Berkeley-based iParadigms, Inc., decided his alma mater was the perfect place to test a high school version of the software. This past September, iParadigms partnered with Bullard to bring enhanced computer technology to the school. The company created the school’s first Web site, Bullard.MyK12.com, and set up individual pages for each of Bullard’s 268 classes. Once installed on a school’s network, TurnItIn.com allows students to submit their word-processed assignments to a teacher’s proprietary home page on that Web site. Each student is given a digital receipt and an E-mail address. Overnight, the files are converted into a series of digital mathematical algorithms, which within milliseconds are then sent to virtually every Internet site. When the teacher opens each student’s file the next day, the program identifies the student and indicates the percentage of text taken from another source. The student’s report is displayed, with plagiarized sections underlined and color coded. The colors correspond to a list of URLs from where the text originated, so the teacher can go back and check inappropriate or excessive use. “It works,” says Atkins, a 32-year teaching veteran. “I’ve submitted students’ papers, and the program searches files, within files, and it finds lifted text.” Barrie, the program’s creator, claims that TurnItIn is sensitive enough to identify borrowed blocks of text as far down as the eight-word level. The program is said to check every computer in the world, in any language, and archival material—for example, student papers submitted the year before. How prevalent is online cheating? The Associated Press cites an unprecedented increase in Web sites that offer free, downloadable papers to students, and a 1998 survey by Who’s Who Among High School Students found 80 percent of students willing to admit that they cheat. That makes countering high-tech cheating with high-tech monitors “an issue of fairness,” says Atkins, “because kids who are taking the time to do the right thing sometimes get lower grades than those who cheat.” TurnItIn.com is expected to be available for general release by the fall 2000 school year. Barrie estimates the cost, at the school district level, will be around “one dollar per kid per year.” About 20 teachers are currently testing the program throughout Bullard. What are the odds that an innocent student will get tagged? “The human brain is so marvelous that if you give a million kids the same topic, there would be a million different approaches, and none of them would show up in TurnItIn.com,” says Atkins. “Each of us has a brain that’s completely unique,” he adds, “and when you run something through it, process it, what comes out is as unique as a fingerprint.” —Michelle Green For more information, E-mail Thomas Atkins at tsa01@csufresno.edu. To learn more about iParadigms, Inc., visit the Web at plagiarism.org. Dilemma I’ve found that peer pressure is an effective way to control behavior. I let my students sit with their friends on Fridays, if the class has not disrupted the learning process three times during one given hour. When students get noisy, I simply hold up one finger. If I get to three, I note the class hour on the board. The students usually control their behavior, since they want to sit with their friends. Trina Laing I had a student whose normal speaking voice overwhelmed other students. He never raised his hand, often left his seat, and would throw things or insult others if he felt neglected. Teachers were placing him in the back of the room to avoid giving him an audience. This only convinced him that they didn’t like him. So I placed the child in the front of the room. When I began the lesson, I would open his book for him and point to the text—a visual stimulus. As the discussion began, I would encourage him to share his views early and then remind him that others needed to share. If his behavior became disruptive, I’d ask him to step into the hall. I’d explain what behavior I accepted and reaffirm that I wasn’t objecting to him, but to his behavior. The student came to understand what acceptable behavior was so well that when other students abruptly entered a conversation, he would remind them that, in my class, they need to show respect—it’s very rude to interrupt others. Pamela Galus I allow students to be disruptive, if that is what they want to do. What I do is make sure they understand that there are consequences for their behavior. If a student is doing something that’s not appropriate, I write the student’s name on the board. The only punishment is that the students must see that name for the rest of the morning. This is usually enough. But if the same student decides to do something else, I put a check by the name. The student must write a prepared sentence 50 times per check. If students argue the check, which is their choice, I simply continue to add checks until they decide that they’ve issued themselves a large enough writing assignment. William Smith I’ve worked with one child for the past four years as a Title I tutor, primary assistant, reading instructor, and now as his third grade teacher. If I corrected him, didn’t call on him first, or told him to focus, he’d complain. Tears, negative body language, muttering . . . This year, I gave him a yellow card and a red card. I explained that when he starts to display negative body language, I would silently place the yellow card in front of him as a cue to reverse his behavior. When he straightened himself out, I’d remove the card, again without a word. I wrote “Ms. Brooks’ 5-10 minute cool-off card” on the red card. When he got that one, he was to leave the classroom for up to 10 minutes and pull himself together. When he returned, if I still saw traces of negative behavior, I’d return the card to him and he’d have to leave again. This system, combined with a goal-specific hourly behavior chart, has worked well for him. Deborah Brooks I teach a first grade inclusion class with a wonderful special education teacher and a paraprofessional. For our especially disruptive students, we have had luck with the 15-minute timer approach, incorporating individual sticker charts. We set our timer to go off every 15 minutes. Each time students disrupt the class during that period earns them one check mark. If they get more than three checks in 15 minutes, they don’t get their sticker for that block of time. If they earn the assigned number of stickers—we set a goal that allows for errors on their part—they get about 20 minutes of free time, and they can earn a pull from a prize bag. Jennifer Long Got an Answer? Send your answer by regular mail, by fax to 202/822-7206, or by E-mail to dilemma2@neatoday.nea.org. Please include your name, city, state, job title, and grade level, if applicable. Published respondents will receive a new NEA Today mug! Learning: Problems
& Solutions
When Kim Lyons was hunting for an advanced computer class that would excite students of all abilities about how computers are used in the real world, she pounced on the concept she now calls “Tiger Paws Publishing.” This school-based enterprise at Breckinridge County High School in rural Harned, Kentucky, involves students in the design, production, marketing, sales, and distribution of computer-generated merchandise inspired by the school’s tiger mascot. Each year, 20 Tiger Paws “employees” are selected from the more than 200 students who take the prerequisite Introduction to Computers class. Lyons, a computer and video production teacher, notes that candidates are evaluated for their grades, attitude, and commitment to putting in time before and after school. This advanced class integrates subject matter from all areas of the curriculum, says Lyons, and many special ed students participate. Students in the program acquire high-level technical computer skills and learn all aspects of the business as well, from design and desktop publishing to billing and inventory. They’re even learning advertising via an infomercial they produce in the class studio. Three years ago, the students started out by making shirts for themselves. Then, recalls Lyons, orders slowly came in from the student body and faculty. Now Tiger Paws Publishing is a burgeoning business that creates T-shirts, calendars, clocks, mousepads, buttons, note cards, business forms, and more for the school. “We do lots of tiger designs,” says Lyons. “Our big thing is calendars where we cut people out and put them in different backgrounds.” Tiger Paws has extended its reach way beyond merchandise promoting various school clubs and athletic events. Local merchants and community residents have all become customers. Class projects now include flyers for the public library, church bulletins, conference materials, even laminated bookmarks for a couple’s 50th anniversary celebration. Students also produce T-shirts promoting positive messages about sexual abstinence and other social issues. All revenue from sales is “reinvested” back into the business and used to buy more equipment and supplies, everything from a thermal heat press to additional software. But teacher Kim Lyons stresses that students profit more by what is learned than what is earned. “Tiger Paws has really enhanced the image of young people in the neighborhood,” says Lyons. “I saw a girl at church poke her mom and say, ‘Mom, I typed that!’ when she saw the Tiger Paws credit line on the bottom of the bulletin.” Adds Lyons: “They’re so proud of their work, and they’re so embarrassed if mistakes go out.” Students are dedicated, too. When an order for 76 custom-designed shirts came in for the regional cheerleader competition, students stayed after school to complete the orders. And work doesn’t stop over the summer. “If we have projects during the summer, we pull them in,” says Lyons. Students can work on those projects at a special summer program. “Our Breckinridge computer staff,” Lyons explains, “runs a half-day, one-week computer camp that teaches fourth through eighth grade students several different applications—multimedia, morphing, anything that gets them interested.” The school administration, Lyons notes, has been very supportive, providing funds to purchase a color copier, scanner, digital camera, and software for publishing and T-shirt making. It also helps that her class doesn’t work in techno-isolation. Breckinridge is a technologically progressive school, offering its 960 students an option of 11 computer-related courses. Each teacher has a computer and printer in the classroom, with E-mail and Internet access, and the school boasts a state-of-the-art video-broadcasting studio. Lyons has been approached by other schools seeking her advice on how to create similar enterprises within their own schools. “I invite them to come spend the day with us,” she says. “Whether you call it a desktop publishing class or a business class, it’s a great way to teach!” —Michelle Y. Green For more, E-mail Kim Lyons or visit www.b-ridge.k12.ky.us. Dilemma I’ve found that the only way to survive is to appropriate an AV cart and turn it into a rolling set of shelves. When I’m in my room, the cart serves as shelves behind my desk. When other teachers are using the classroom, I wheel it out and attempt to accomplish my work. I also have extra office supplies stashed in our computer lab, since it’s one of the most frustrating feelings not to have a stapler, an empty file folder, tape, or a #2 pencil. Most of the telephone calls to the room are for me, even when the other teacher is assigned to be in there. I purchased a telephone extension wire and run the phone into our computer lab when I’m spending my planning period there. Don Schulte I teach special education and share my classroom with a music teacher who teaches two periods in the morning. Open communication is the key. We discuss what the students should know with respect to boundaries in the room. We set up our desks in opposite corners so we each have our personal space. And we do our best not to let students invade that space. I requested a room divider, which has been a wonderful way to block off areas when I’m not there. I also use this to block off my desk if I must be in the room while the other teacher is teaching. This allows me to move around my desk without disturbing her class. We openly discuss problems that arise throughout the year—finding gum on desks, for example—and decide jointly how to handle the issues consistently. Lisa McCain When I discovered that I was going to have to share my art studio space with a psychology class, I was chagrined, to say the least. It seemed a terrible inconvenience not to be able to use my room to mat and grade work What’s worked for me is a change of mindset. I let go of the need to have a rigid seating chart, so it doesn’t bother me if the order of the classroom furniture is disturbed. In addition, the psych students are wonderfully appreciative of the art students’ displayed work, and tell them so. I’ve found their human behavior course work stimulating as well. Mutual respect and continual communication between staff have been the real keys to harmonious sharing of space at our overcrowded school. Gail Martin Rutherford When I have to share my classroom with other staff members, I always make sure that they have a key to the room and a secure place to store their personal supplies. I show them where I keep generic supplies and ask them to let me know when something is running low. I also share a blank copy of my seating chart and ask that they leave me a copy of their seating chart, in case there’s a concern at a later time. My classroom is a science lab. I take the time to show other teachers where the master cutoff valves are for the natural gas and water lines. Since roving teachers have been issued laptops, I’ve set up the computer in my “office” area with a password, so that no one else will be able to access it. Roberta Harnish I share my math classroom with a first-year social studies teacher. Considering the strain that she’s under, I try to do what I can for her. I don’t really have time to do much preparation for her other than clearing off the overhead stand. I do offer her bulletin board space and respect her “Save” on the blackboard. I have learned a lot from her. I have marveled at some of the discussions she has generated with her students. And I’m in awe of the way she manages to survive her first year, pushing a cart from room to room, not having a classroom to call her own. Connye LaCombe Got an Answer? Published respondents will receive a new NEAToday mug! Jeff Doles “My art education professors told me art belongs outside the classroom. That’s why during my first year teaching, I decided to try something new in art education.” Bringing the community into the classroom and the classroom into the community has been my major objective. As a first-year teacher, my first step was to send out a packet to the community introducing myself and a new club I was forming—HEART, Hampshire’s Elite Art Resource Team. HEART would focus on bringing together parents, teachers, students, and members of the community for art experiences that would benefit the students and the school. Next, I contacted the local paper and discussed my goals for the art department with the editor. This resulted in a front-page article. Within a week after the article appeared, I got a call from a new local business that needed a large mural painted on one of its walls. This accomplished my goal of getting art in the community—and provided an opportunity to raise money for the art program. Two of my best students are working on the project. The booster club then asked us to do a mural on the gym entrance. The newspaper was there again and printed another article. The community has also come into our classroom. Art students from local colleges have visited. A successful local artist has come—and completed a painting in front of the art students over the course of a day. The art club has visited her studio and viewed her work. It’s important that students get a perspective other than my own so they don’t develop tunnel vision. Recycled Lamination Smaller pieces of laminated paper are used for letters, numbers, and playing cards, since the lamination is thick and sturdy. Laurie Staley Planned Passes Having only three slips for a five-day week encourages students to visit the restroom and get everything they need from their lockers before coming to class. Marty Peregoy Floor Circles I use washable overhead markers and draw a large circle that covers about one-third of my floor. I draw a perfect circle using a marker tied to a piece of string taped to the floor. I draw the diameter, a radius, and a chord. My students pace all the parts as we define them, counting their steps. When we display their data on a chart, it’s easy to see that the walk around the circle took about three times as many steps as the walk across the circle. I find that kids don’t forget what pi means since they literally walked it. Pam Luckenbaugh |
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