Learn
Remember to read and watch the information on all tabs in this lesson before clicking the Next button at the bottom of the page to move on to the Try It.
- Academic Integrity
- Scenario #1
- Scenario #2
- Scenario #3
- Plagiarism
- Taking a Quiz
- Quiz Passwords
- Quiz Grades and Feedback
- Preparing for Quizzes
Defining Academic Integrity
In your ACCESS class, you need to demonstrate academic integrity. But what does that mean? Let’s take a deeper look at the ACCESS Student Policy manual.
First, under the User Obligations and Responsibilities, it says
Students will give credit to others whose work is used. Neither Internet content nor the work of WBI or VCI classmates will be cut, copied, or plagiarized.
What does this mean? First, if you use a resource, like a website, to help write a paragraph or answer a discussion post, you should cite it. That simply means that you tell where you got that information. It allows proper credit to the author of the material used.
This statement also says that you should not just copy and paste work from the internet or other students. So if someone offers to share their answers with you, don’t do it. You have to do your own work. Otherwise, how will you learn?
Next, under the Code of Conduct, it say students will:
- Actively participate in the learning experience.
- Complete all assigned homework, projects, and assessments on time.
- Have zero tolerance for academic dishonesty.
This basically means you need to do your own work, and do it on time.
Finally, the Academic Integrity Policy says
ACCESS Virtual Learning students must sign a commitment form attesting to academic integrity. A copy of this form is provided on the last page of the student policy manual and on the ACCESS website under the Educators tab→ Administrators/ Counselors→Student Acknowledgement Page. If a student fails to abide by these policies, the student may be removed from the course, assigned a failing grade, and subject to other consequences as determined by the local school system administrators.
All ACCESS Virtual Learning teachers utilize a variety of technologies to check student work for authenticity. If an instructor confirms that a student has plagiarized work in any manner
or used resources not permitted by the instructor, the student will be subject to consequences determined by the local school system.
There’s a little more information here. First, before you can start the class, you must promise to follow all policies. This includes the academic integrity policy.
Second, this tells you that teachers can and will check work for academic integrity issues. Teachers may use software that detects where information was pulled from the web, for example. In foreign language courses, they know what vocabulary and tenses you have been taught. If you copy, you are likely to be caught.
Finally, this outlines what happens if you don’t follow the policy. If you violate the Academic Integrity Policy, you can be
- removed from the course
- fail the course
- be disciplined by your school
The consequences are high. Don’t risk it. Do your own work; it will help you make the most of your course.
Scenario #1 Working Together
Let’s take a minute to review some possible academic integrity situations that you might run into during your course.
There are a few students at your school in the same chemistry class. You are all having a hard time balancing equations. You decide to work together to figure out the equations in the Try It, to help each other see why you are getting things right or wrong. Then, you split up to work on the assignment on your own. After you have all submitted the assignment, you compare answers. Is this a violation of academic integrity?
This is not a violation of academic integrity. First, you worked together on Try It items. These are practice, not for a grade. Working together on the Try Its is not a violation of the academic integrity policy. In fact, working with other students at your school to study might be a great strategy.
Second, each person did the work on their own. If you continued to work together on the assignment and all submitted the same assignment, that might be a problem. You should check with your teacher to find out his or her policy on group work.
Comparing answers afterwards is also probably OK, as long as no one uses that information to resubmit work for a higher grade.
So, if you want to work with other students at your school on ACCESS work, ask your teacher about his or her policy and try to work together on the studying and practice and not on graded assignments.
Scenario #2 ClassMonster.com
You are having a hard time starting your English essay on Romeo and Juliet. To try and get ideas on an opening paragraph, you search for Romeo and Juliet essays online. You find a site, ClassMonster.com, with essays on Romeo and Juliet. You can either pay for the essay or share your own work to get a copy. What should you do?
ACCESS policy is pretty clear on this. Again, “Neither Internet content nor the work of WBI or VCI classmates will be cut, copied, or plagiarized.” and “Have zero tolerance for academic dishonesty.” Using an essay you find online is definitely academic dishonesty.
But what if you change a few words?
Nope, changing a few words is not doing the work yourself. That’s still academic dishonesty and plagiarism.
And if you upload ACCESS assignments, that is even worse. Per ACCESS policy, “the ACCESS Virtual Learning Program will be used in adherence to copyright laws and restrictions.” Uploading ACCESS documents is a violation of copyright. You can face pretty severe consequences for that.
So avoid sites offering downloads of essays or other work. Again, ACCESS monitors these sites. It is not worth the risk.
Scenario #3 Mystery File
You are close to the deadline for your Geometry task. You haven’t even downloaded the file. When you open the Desktop on your school computer, you notice a file named like your assignment. Should you open it and use it?
The answer is no. Like we said in the Class Monster scenario, ACCESS policy states that “Neither Internet content nor the work of WBI or VCI classmates will be cut, copied, or plagiarized.” The file on the Desktop is someone else’s work. The best thing to do would be to leave it alone and tell your facilitator. That will allow your facilitator to talk to other students about how to organize and save their files.
Plagiarism
What's Plagiarism?
"Plagiarism, An act or instance of plagiarizing (i.e., taking the writings of another person and passing them off as one's own). The fraudulence is closely related to forgery and piracy practices generally in violation of copyright laws." ~Source: Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (c)1995.
Basically, plagiarism is taking someone else’s work and representing it as your own.
Don't Let This Happen to You!
You can receive a grade of "0" or other consequences if you plagiarize. Plagiarism can happen in several different ways. Sometimes plagiarism is deliberate. Other times it is unintentional. Some examples of plagiarism are
- Failing to cite sources you used.
- Copying text from a website and pasting it into your assignment.
- Getting someone else to write your paper.
- Finding the answer to an assignment question online and turning in the answer as your own work.
Avoid Plagiarism
Avoiding plagiarism can be a balancing act, but there are things that can help. Here are some steps that can help:
- Make sure you get all the info you need to cite your sources when you first find them. Use a citation generator if you need to.
- If in doubt, cite your source. For an assignment, you may not have to use formal citation. The web address or URL may be enough. In a paper, use citations.
- Learn how to paraphrase properly. Don’t just copy and paste. Read, close or minimize the browser tab or window, then try to write the information in your words. Or, take notes (again, in your words) and write your answer from them, not the source. Remember, just changing a few words is not paraphrasing.
Taking a Quiz
Quiz Passwords
You can do most of your online course work anytime and anywhere your school allows, as long as you have an internet connection. However, there are a few exceptions. Students must take unit tests and term exams under the supervision of their facilitator.
To make sure that students do not take these tests unsupervised, teachers may add a password to them. Watch the video below to see how to begin a test that is password-protected.
Quiz Grades and Feedback
Preparing for Quizzes
How do you prepare for a test or quiz in an online class. This might surprise you, but the short answer is: The same way you prepare in a regular, face-to-face course.
- Before you even think about taking the quiz, review your notes and other study materials.
- Retake Try Its or reread lessons on challenging content.
- Look over all of your teacher’s assignment and quiz feedback.
- Ask your teacher any questions you have.
Once you are ready to take the quiz, make sure you have everything you need.
- Get scrap paper for working out math problems.
- If you are in a foreign language class, get headphones or speakers for audio questions.
- Make sure you are in a quiet space where you won’t be interrupted.
- Put away your notes and class materials (unless your teacher tells you otherwise).
- Carefully read the instructions before starting the quiz itself.
Once you enter the quiz,
- Do not open any new browser windows.
- Work quietly by yourself until you are done.
- If you have a technical problem (like a computer freeze), tell your facilitator immediately.
- And most importantly, don’t forget to submit your quiz when you are done.