Turnitin recently added a couple of video clips to their news page.
The first was entitled Plagiarism : Stopping word thieves :
“CBS Sunday Morning’s featured story on plagiarism included intimate interviews with infamous plagiarists Quentin Rowan and Jayson Blair, and includes a brief conversation with Turnitin CEO Chris Caren.
Quentin Rowan authored his first novel, “Assassin of Secrets” in 2011 and was found to largely be a mash-up of 20 different books including popular James Bond titles. “There are stretches that go for maybe 10-15 pages, where the only thing changed are the names,” Rowan said.
For Jayson Blair, at the time a reported for the New York Times, plagiarism was a slippery slope. He started off small and got away with—so he pressed. “Once you realize that you can get away with something, once you cross over that line, you somehow have to rationalize how I’m a good person and I did this,” said Blair in his interview. “So somehow this has to be okay. I’ve got to make this okay. So then it becomes a lot easier to do it.”
Watch the video segment which was featured on CBS Sunday Morning on October 21 here
The second was entitled Academic Integrity : It’s time to talk :
“Have you had a conversation with your students yet about Academic Integrity? What about proper source integration? If you haven’t yet, perhaps it’s time for a talk.
November is the month that Originality Check sees the most matching content in student papers. It is the month where submissions to Turnitin is highest for the year. It is the month where students are writing the most, likely across several classes.
Integrity, ethics, and morality will likely be tested in even the best of students. Whether or not you’ve talked to your classes about academic integrity, take a few minutes and remind them with a brief discussion about the importance of integrity and what constitutes dishonesty.
The webcast can be viewed here
I have been working in the Educational Technology field within Higher Education for eleven years. A big part of my job is finding new and innovative ways of integrating technology into current teaching and learning methodology. This can include assisting academic staff with Virtual Learning Environments/Learning Management Systems (Blackboard), implementing specific software packages, maximising current technologies and championing new ones. I find this profession both riveting and rewarding. I really enjoy life on the cutting edge, but I also enjoy being able to help staff achieve small and meaningful efficiencies; sometimes that makes all the difference.
