“Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education…The human mind is our fundamental resource” (Kennedy, 1961). If our mind is a fundamental resource as President Kennedy would suggest and our progress as a nation is tied to the progress in our education, does this mean that online education can enhance or even speed up our progress? Perception of online learning is a varied one, based on conversations with individuals at different social-economic levels. “Online delivery of courses have become increasing popular due to several advantages for both education institutions and the students in terms of flexibility in scheduling” (Lu, 2012, p. 963). The general perception is that the younger audience is more geared toward online learning, because they are more comfortable with new technologies. So, is an online classroom preferred to a face-to-face classroom? Are online courses gaining popularity because you can cheat more? Spaulding (2009) did research on the “Perceptions of Academic Honesty in Online vs. Face-to-Face Classrooms” (Spaulding, 2009) in an effort to give instructors a way to bring this topic up to the students and reduce academic dishonesty in online instruction format. His hypothesis is that in fact a student in an online environment will cheat more than the student in a face-to-face classroom. After conducting a survey of 103 students in both online and face-to-face classrooms, he found that his hypothesis was incorrect. No noticeable difference was found in cheating between the two formats of classrooms. One interesting fact that came up in the survey was that 29.1% of students either observed or they themselves submitted another’s material as one’s own for academic evaluation at leas... ... middle of paper ... ...ances in Health Sciences Education, 29(6), 963-973. doi:10.1007/s10459-012-9435-3 Southwell, M., Galassi, M., & McRobert, S. (2012, December). Fish Cam: An Online Tool for Introducing Shoaling Behavior to the Classroom. Zebrafish, 9(4), 242-245. doi:10.1089/zeb.2012.0755 Spaulding, M. (2009, Winter). Perceptions of Academic Honesty in Online vs. Face-to-Face Classrooms. Journal of Interactive Online Learning, 8(3), 183-198. Retrieved October 19, 2013, from http://www.ncolr.org/jiol/issues/pdf/8.3.1.pdf Szpunar, K. K., Moulton, S. T., & Schacter, D. T. (2013, August 1). Mind wandering and education: from the classroom to online learning. Frontiers in Psychology, 4(495), eCollection. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00495 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. (1998). Chickscope. Retrieved October 19, 2013, from Beckman Institute Web site: http://chickscope.beckman.uiuc.edu/
That stomach churning feeling of guilt for many seems to appear as a small price to pay when completing an act of academic dishonesty. Colleen Wenke wrote an essay on cheating eighteen years ago called “Too Much Pressure”. In the past fifty years, the number of students who admit to cheating has increased fifty to seventy percent(Gaffe). Many people wonder what leads the students to make this unjust decision. Today, the reason for a rise in cheaters is because of how easy it has become, leading many students to the false conclusion that they aren’t breaking any rules; It is simply viewed as a shortcut to success in the classroom and beyond.
Reading is a fundamental aspect of the educative process, however differences in comprehension are extensive and potentially impacted by mind wandering (McVay and ...
Many researchers have indicated that cheating is a serious problem on campuses (Bowers, 1964; Engler et al., 2008; Gallant, 2008; Leming, 1978; McCabe, Trevino, & Butterfield, 2001). Studies completed by Bowers (1964) and McCabe and Trevino (1996) revealed nearly identical results regarding student-cheating behavior despite the 30 year time span; both studies identified that approximately 70% of students have cheated. Recent findings, however, indicate that college students are cheating more often, in different ways (mostly because of advances in technology), while the perceived seriousness of cheating has decreased (McCabe & Trevino, 1996; Stephens, Young, & Calabrese, 2007).
... according to Dr. Jonathan Schooler, from the University of Santa Barbara in California's department of psychological and brain sciences, "Mind wandering seems to be very useful for planning and creative thought" (Gargiulo, 2013). In addition, Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman (professor of psychology at New York University) stated that problem solving, creativity, goal driven thought, future planning, seeing the perspective of another person need a space in our brain to occur. In support, in the article The Costs and Benefits of Mind-Wandering: A Review, there was a study conducted that reveals the crucial role of mind wandering in problem solving, planning, creativity (Mooneyham, 2013). In this article the author questions whether mind wandering is the real cause of big mistakes we do. It is clear that such phenomena as mind wandering deserves deeper analysis and studying.
How bad has cheating become over the years, the numbers in some cases are mind-boggling. In today’s day and age the amount of college students cheating is numbered to have maintain a steady figure of about 75 percent. (Lang, 2013) Cheating has been around since the beginning of time, some of the reasons behind most of the prolific cheaters are centered on what seems to be three main issues plaguing our society. Cheaters be it young or old, all seem to have what I call the “Big Three” in common. In my research on cheating, there were three things that continued to stick out, such as; procrastinating, the pressure to make the grade and it is easier to cheat rather then to do your own work. To the answer the question why college students cheat, we must first understand why, in order to find a solution on how to help avoid this continuing going forward. After reading this paper you will see that cheating has become prevalent in college, caused by a need to get better grades with less original work being done eventually the ends don't justify the means.
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) provides functional measures of the resting brain, helping to understand the nature of the brains networks. The fMRI illustrated the ‘default mode network’, where several structures of the brain showed more activity at rest than during externally directed cognitive tasks (McMillan et al., 2013). Although previously the difficulty to describe the inner experience of mind wandering in words may have contributed to the lack of research (Mooneyham and Schooler, 2013), this emerging evidence has generated a new wave of interest (McMillan et al., 2013). Mind wandering may be especially prevalent in the educational setting (Moulton et al 2013) and notwithstanding, cognitive and educational psychologists have become interested in applying principles of cognitive psychology to education. Subsequently, the findings from this new wave of research may directly influence the modelling of delivery methods in higher education, particularly online programs initially (Szpunar et al.,2013), and improve learning outcomes
Stevens, Jason M. Young, Michael F. & Calabrese, Thomas. "Does moral judgment go offline when students are online? A comparative analysis of undergraduates' beliefs and behaviors related to conventional and digital cheating.” Ethics and Behavior, 17(3), 233-254. 2007.
Academic dishonesty has been a big issue that many faculties have to deal with all the time in classrooms in today’s academic environment. In a report founded by Thomas & O’Reilly (2002), “74 percent of American students admit to cheating on an exam. So imagine how many really are. Forty percent of adolescents say they have stolen from a store and a whopping 93 percent say they lie.” With such a huge percentage of students cheating with the use of technology, it has become an epidemic that is spreading like wild fire. Since technology was introduced in the class environment, it has become the number one concern to some instructors because many students are not using it too learn, but instead students are using technology to cheat in assignments and other work that may involve school work.
Lang, James M. "How College Classes Encourage Cheating." BostonGlobe.com. N.p., 04 Aug. 2013. Web. 08 Nov. 2013.
Academic dishonesty, specifically cheating and plagiarism, recently has increased in popularity. Students often justify unethical academic behavior. Technological innovations, like the cellular telephone, have provided students with new methods of cheating. Plagiarism has also been influenced through technologies, specifically internet companies have emerged that provide unethical solutions to academic assignments.
Furthermore, some may suggest that online learning is benefiting our students in society. There has been a breakthrough in time and geographical limitations of education via online courses (Ho, 2009). Online education is cost-effective, efficient, and easily accessible (Schmeeckle, 2003). Online classes are used for individual and independent learning in which the student can learn at their own pace (Gonzalez, 2009). Not only is online education beneficial for breaking down barriers, online education has the potential to help students learn material more efficiently. Students are more likely to seek help from their instructors when the material is taught online (Whipp & Lorentz, 2009). Computer use in statistical classes could help decrease math anxiety (Gundy, Morton, Liu, & Kline, 2006). In a study that measured online students’ ability to achieve the same efficiency of course material as face-to-face students, at least 98% of students reported that they had, so one may be lead to believe that online learning is just as efficient as face-to-face courses (Liebowitz, 2003). With all of the positive aspects of online education, one may wonder why there is any debate as to whether or not online education is beneficial for
...nditions. Students taking online classes might find it easier to attend family gatherings, traveling, and attended to personal needs. An online class allows the students to work on their own time, to whereas the traditional classes they have to stick with a schedule.
Jones, D. R. (2011). Academic Dishonesty: Are More Students Cheating?. Business Communication Quarterly, 74(2), 141-150. Retrieved from EBSCOhost
Those who disagree with me think that online learning allows a student to learn at their own pace. Students are able to take the time to understand and figure out problems with the resources that are provided. The convenience of learning in an environment that is conducive to that particular students learning is provided by the student. If the student feels comfortable they are more apt
Is technology helping or hurting people learn? Technology is increasing every day, and is soon going to be a big part of everyday life. The change of teaching students on online class is way different to what they are used to, and will take awhile to get used to. There are disadvantages, advantages, opportunities, and challenges in the technology in education. The role that teachers play now will change in the future when the major demand for the use of technology hits. There is a big change in the way that students are learning with this new online learning. Technology is changing the learning of students in a big way. Some ways are positive, and some are negative but either way there is a big impact on the way students learn. Sometimes it just depends on the student’s way of learning. Those kind of students should have the choice of what they would rather use a book, or a computer. Students need to be able to decide the type of learning that they want to do to help them learn. Students need to know which way it is that they learn the best. Each person has to find out which way they learn the best to better themselves. Find out the best way that they learn so that it can benefit them in life.