According to an advisor to the UK government, relying solely on technological solutions will not prevent today’s children from using the Internet to ‘cheat’ in their studies.
Professor Jean Underwood of Nottingham Trent University argues that we also need to rely on families and teachers to understand that stealing ideas or copying in students’ essays is unacceptable.
The UK government has proposed that Professor Underwood provide technical advice on measures to detect the use of the Internet for ‘cheating’ in education.
This new move by the UK government can be seen as a first response after the Qualifications & Curriculum Authority released a report stating that the use of the Internet to download pre-written essays is uncontrollable.
| “The Internet is truly wonderful and has the power to change our lives. But the Internet also has its dark side.” Professor Underwood |
Searching on the Internet
Professor Underwood, an expert in researching the impact of new technologies on teaching and learning, believes that reducing repetitive questions and adding more creative questions would help lessen the tendency for students to search the Internet for ideas or entire essays.
She also mentioned that she has identified key objectives in researching the use of the Internet for educational ‘cheating’ and aims to find solutions to ensure that learning materials for courses are reasonable, appropriate, and secure. The regulations need to be made clearer.
“We oppose any website that sells essays to students.”
Parents of students also need to understand that helping their children with their studies or telling them what to do in their essays is not advisable, as it limits their ability to learn effective research skills—an essential skill for later life.
“Personally, I see nothing wrong with parents helping their children perform effective searches on the Internet for study purposes. However, downloading essays from the Internet to assist their children is against the regulations.”
Teachers also need to avoid providing unclear, inconsistent guidelines and offering template models or lists of what is required in students’ essays, as this leads to the copying of essays from the Internet.
Therefore, teachers should provide clear, specific guidelines, Professor Underwood stated. However, reviewing each line of a student’s essay to check for plagiarism will become an additional burden for teachers.
Technical Solutions
Professor Underwood believes that technology will help improve this issue, but it cannot be resolved overnight. She mentioned that there are already some software programs available to help schools verify whether essays are original or copied.
“Often, it’s as simple as typing a phrase into Google. If that phrase is copied, the results will appear immediately on Google. Such software exists, and schools can use programs like those from the Joint Information Systems Committee.”
The Edexcel examination board and the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) are working with the Plagiarism Advisory Service to develop software for detecting plagiarism.
According to a JCQ spokesperson, such software will help limit the use of or reliance on the works or writings of others.
Professor Underwood noted that while some software can detect plagiarism quite well, there are still some students who manage to evade detection. “Therefore, we need to carefully consider the issues of educational standards and technological proficiency.”
Is it too early to address this issue in Vietnam?
Bringing up this issue in Vietnam at this time may not be too early or too late. We have indeed seen how the Internet has impacted our lives today. The changes since the rapid development of the Internet in our country have been significant.
The Internet is seen as a vast resource for everyone, and we will have to confront this issue not only in the future but, regrettably, in the present as well, even if we are not yet writing many essays or adopting study methods like those in Western countries.
Perhaps this is merely an old form of ‘cheating’ in education disguised under the new technology.
