The Internet, coupled with technology, has enabled institutions of higher learning to offer online distance education classes to a worldwide student body at an increasing rate. In the next 5 years it is estimated that nearly 90% of universities will offer online classes. Unfortunately, the news is not all that good. Students are now cheating at an…

Asal and Harwood explore how today's information technology is changing how teachers educate and are educated. Focusing on the United States, with useful insights from the classroom digital revolution in a few other places (the United Kingdom, Australia, and India), the authors investigate the impact of today's technologies on education--how they…

The primary benefit of providing out-of-class online quizzes in a face-to-face class is to gain more in-class time. A study designed to investigate this issue was conducted during the Spring 2006 and Spring 2007 semesters. Thirty-one and 34 Corporate Finance undergraduate students from each semester, and 33 and 36 Investments undergraduate…

Discusses the need for teacher supervision in distance learning classrooms based on experiences at three high schools in South Central New York. Highlights include teacher attention at the home site versus remote sites, student satisfaction with teacher help, the possibility of cheating, and student attitudes about the presence of teachers. (LRW)

The ease with which material may be "copied and pasted" from the Internet into written work is raising concern in educational institutions, and particularly in those disciplines that use online sources and methods in their curriculum. A case of "serial plagiarism" is discussed, in the work of a graduate student in an online distance education…

This paper reviews the literature relative to academic dishonesty in WBDE settings assuming the average class size to be 30-50 students with the instructor filling the role of facilitator, concept expert, grader and mentor when necessary. It shows that some common stereotypes about academic integrity and WBDE are unsubstantiated. In addition, it…

Urges professors to organize online courses in ways that prevent cheating and suggests such tactics as asking students for their sources of information, using a camera atop students' computers to send images, having exams monitored by a proctor, using the Internet to identify possible plagiarism, and getting to know individual students. (DB)

Online student assessment features in many distance-learning programs. The prevention of plagiarism has been the subject of much attention, but insufficient attention has been given to other problems of dishonesty in online assessment. We survey the types of problems that can occur and what can be done about them. We believe many educators are…

Academic dishonesty is a concern at any educational level. However, many faculty members feel uncomfortable with delivering courses in the online environment due to a concern that students may find it easier to participate in academic dishonesty than they would in a traditional classroom. This paper looks at factors that are considered to…

The application of emerging digital technologies such as e-mail, the World Wide Web and the Internet in the educational setting has received wide acceptance all over the world. Both corporate and academic agendas have recognized the potential advantages of e-learning; however, as a new field, e-learning courses comes with important issues that…

Detecting and combating plagiarism from Web-based sources is a concern for administrators and instructors involved in online distance education. In this paper, we quantify copy-and-paste plagiarism among adult learners in an online geography course offered through Penn State's World Campus Geographic Information Systems (GIS) certificate program.…

Discusses the Christopher Newport University (Virginia) [CNU] online program in which students can complete their general education required courses and earn four-year undergraduate degrees online. Addresses the effects of technology on students and the problems encountered in an online environment. Includes reactions by George Bredon and Howard…

Plagiarism by students is an increasing problem at higher education institutions. However, the development of academic misconduct policies has done little to reduce the incidence of plagiarism as many incidents result from ignorance and poor skill development rather than intentional misconduct. Our purpose in embarking on this research project was…

This report is a summary of research that was recently conducted with instructors of distance learning programs. Sixty-two professors from 10 categories of courses completed an e-mail survey. The advantages and disadvantages of assessments seemed to revolve around the key issues of time, synthesis or knowledge acquisition, subjective or objective…

Identifies the major principles of general assessment theory, examines how these principles can be applied to online environments for distance education, and describes assessment issues that have special significance in virtual classrooms. Discusses proctored testing, identity security, academic honesty, and use of online discussions for…