Discussion Unit 3

After our reading this week, it's clear that plagiarism is a sticky ethical issue, ranging from
accidental infractions to outright theft of intellectual property. Review the Code of Academic
Integrity in the UoPeople Catalog (available on UoPeople's
website, https://www.uopeople.edu), and then write a reflection answering the following
questions:

1. Did any of the information in the Catalog - such as the consequences - surprise you? Why
or why not?
2. Given the potential consequences for plagiarizing, why do you think students engage in
plagiarism? Be sure to explore at least two possible reasons why students might plagiarize.
3. What strategies will you use to avoid plagiarism?

The majority of variations of fraud and deception, and the steps followed when
delivering disciplinary action which were mentioned were quite standard procedure.
The fact that the violations committed by anyone who is a part of the UoPeople
family are cumulative sounded fair enough to me, because this informs an individual
that they have to take the originality of their work seriously since once committed, the
university will not just let it slide. It also makes sense to fail the student upon
committing a third violation, because this would mean they’d have been previously
warned, and a student who is dedicated to their work and takes it frankly would have
resorted to the proper methods. Moreover, I agree how the applied sanctions may
differ depending on the past records denoting to the student’s discipline, because from
my point of view, previous academic and disciplinary records, which give an idea as
to the student’s general attitude towards the program, should also be taken into
consideration when determining the appropriate course of action to be followed in
penalising the student. The way the consequences get more intense as more violations
are committed is also a fair and just approach to go about the process, and the reason
for this is that although to err is human, repeating a mistake is evidence of not having
learned something, hence this method will discourage first time offenders from further
indulging. However, I was surprised by the awarding of a Fail(F)as compared to a
Withdrawal(W) upon the discovery of academic misconduct. This is a result of the
fact that I cannot pinpoint the distinction between the consequence of a fail from that
of a withdrawal as far as the student’s transcript is concerned. Moreover, I did not
understand how suspension from one particular module would still be carried out even
if it deterred the student from completing other courses which would have had
nothing to do with the violation committed. University of the People (n. d.).

There are a number of motives behind a student plagiarising. More often than not, the
offence is not driven by malicious intent but is fuelled by reasons that would
otherwise be logical only if they had been handled the proper way. One common
factor that drives students to resort to plagiarisation is panic. Students will be under
quite a lot of pressure from all angles, which is usually due to not scheduling their
time accurately and carefully well ahead of deadlines. If students are introduced to a
novel problem to be solved or task to be accomplished, they may estimate their
abilities in the wrong manner, and allocate the duration of the task wrongly. This
 motive usually grasps those newbies who are given a project which they have never
previously been tasked with. Instructors can deal with this through assisting the
students with tips on time management and templates on how the problem may be
solved. Another thing that causes student to plagiarize is that they believe that their
work must at all costs reflect what experts in the field have said, since they are not as
confident in their own. This is due to the false notion by students that learning is just a
passive experience whereby all they should do is get the required knowledge from
those who already have it, similar to not having to “re-invent the wheel”. This is
however a false notion that can be handled through asking the students to create a
hypothesis of their own, and then evaluating those pieces to correct them if need be,
teaching them to add their own opinions regardless of whether they are correct or not
(Cleary, 2017).

In order to avoid plagiarism, I will use a plagiarism checker. Using such software is
accurate relative to just using my own intuition and it also helps me to detect the areas
which I have to correct. In addition, I will ensure that I will keep detailed track of the
sources of each of the information pieces that I write. This helps me to leave no stone
unturned, as compared to attempting to cite my sources individually after completing
an entire document. I will also credit the original author of the information I am using
through in-text cautions and also further through including it in the reference list,
abiding by APA standards. After quoting a source, it is essential that I also add a
commentary from my own point of view and my own ideas in addition. (George,
2021).

University of the People (n. d.). UNDERGRADUATE CATALOG.

https://catalog.uopeople.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/TC-Clean-UG-New-
Catalog-AY-2021-2022-9.1.21.pdf

Cleary, M. N. (2017, November 27) Top 10 reasons students plagiarize & what
teachers can do about it (with apologies to David Letterman). Phi Delta Kappan.
https://kappanonline.org/cleary-top-10-reasons-students-plagiarize/

George, T. (2021, October 10). How to avoid plagiarism. Scribbr.

https://www.scribbr.com/plagiarism/how-to-avoid-plagiarism/

Learning Journal Unit 3

Reflection

Topic: Netiquette, peer assessment, and feedback

Please reflect and answer the following:

1. We know that using netiquette online is important, but why? What are the
consequences of bad netiquette in the classroom? In your response, be sure to reflect
on how it feels to be addressed with bad netiquette, and how you think others feel.
 2. How does netiquette relate to peer assessment? Why is it important to use good
manners when leaving feedback?
3. How do you feel about the feedback you received this week? What about the feedback
you gave?

Netiquette, which is a crafty concatenation of the words network and etiquette, can be defined
as the collection of regulations for acceptable behaviour of an individual when interacting
with other online (What is Netiquette?, n. d.).

Netiquette is required because unlike face to face interactions, online interactions vary from
those in person interactions, and therefore they require their own set of regulatory rules. It
harbours a range of merits, from improving the soft skills of students, to avoiding
miscommunication between students and also enlightening students on which approaches are
acceptable on a social scale while working together in an assortment of working
environments. (Hartsell, 2008; Kozik & Slivova, 2014; Shea, 1997 as cited in Lisa, n. d.).

Bad netiquette results in misinterpretation inside the classroom. This is the wrong
understanding of a particular topic. Moreover, it causes students to misunderstand each other,
which causes confusion. A considerable amount of hard feelings can also brew if some harsh
words are exchanged in the form of netiquette that has not been properly revised. These can
deter any further development and shift focus from the problem at hand towards the harsh
comments circulating. Another effect is hubris which is unnecessary and uncalled for
between students. This sense of pride is not ideal when one is trying to learn, especially from
each other (Osroth, 2021). Being addressed with bad netiquette would not only lower my
self-esteem, it would also make me doubt whether the course is worth taking the disrespect or
whatever form the mal-practised netiquette may come in. I also think others might begin to
shy away from contributing to group discussions due to bad netiquette, and they might also
feel like they are not part of a team, or less important than others.

Netiquette and peer assessment go hand in hand because it is essential for one to stay
respectful in the manner in which they assess a fellow student’s assignment. Even if one may
not agree with whatever opinion that would have been stated in the assignment or discussion
post, the feedback must be given in a constructive manner, so that the student can work on
the specific weakness and improve in the future. Good manners are essential because even
when the comment relates to an area where the student has not done so well, when the
comment is stated in a respectful manner, the student will not take it negatively or lose
confidence, but will try to improve in the specified area in the future (D’Souza, 2019).

I believe the feedback I received was fair, although I do believe some students did not
thoroughly go through the work they were reviewing. However, I feel like all in all it was a
great review and it was fair in all aspects, and my peers were impartial. When it comes to my
own feedback of others, I believe it was great. Although there is always room for
improvement, I tried my best to be fair and to detail every comment with respect to what I
was seeing and whether the given response met the required guidelines.

What is Netiquette? A Guide to Online Ethics and Etiquette. (n. d.). Webroot.
https://www.webroot.com/us/en/resources/tips-articles/netiquette-and-online-ethics-what-are-
they
Lisa, S. (n. d.) Netiquette. Instructional Resources.
https://blog.citl.mun.ca/instructionalresources/netiquette/

Osroth, E. (2021, April 26). We know that using netiquette online is important, but why?
What are the consequences of bad netiquette in the classroom? How does it feel to be
addressed with bad netiquette, and how do you think others would feel? Quora.
https://www.quora.com/We-know-that-using-netiquette-online-is-important-but-why-What-
are-the-consequences-of-bad-netiquette-in-the-classroom-How-does-it-feel-to-be-addressed-
with-bad-netiquette-and-how-do-you-think-others-would-feel
D’Souza, S. (2019, July 17). Netiquette in an online classroom. Medium.
https://medium.com/@shawnkdsouza/netiquette-in-an-online-classroom-495575e56d95

Your reflection part of the Learning Journal should have a minimum of 300 words, but not
more than 600 words.

APA Exercise

Every week in your learning journal for Online Education Strategies, you will practice APA
format. This week, you are going to learn how to cite a journal article. These are available in
the UoPeople library. Start by going to the library and find a journal article on a topic you’re
interested in find a journal article on a topic you’re interested in. Then, complete the
following exercise:

1. What is the title of the article?

2. Who is the author (or who are the authors)?
3. What year was the article published?
4. What is the title of the journal?
5. What is the Volume number, Issue number, and page numbers?
6. If the article has a DOI number, what is the DOI? If it does not, what is the URL of
the journal’s home page?
7. Using the information from #1-6, write the APA reference for the journal article you
found. The reference goes at the end of your work, after all of your writing is finished.
8. Now, let’s write the in-text citation, to use at the end of a sentence you are writing. In-
text citations are always (Author, Year). Using the information from #7, write the
APA in-text citation for the book you found.

Note: If you are struggling, try reviewing the UoPeople APA tutorials.

1. Towards Empirical Computer Science

2. Peter Wagner
3. 1999
4. The Monist
5. Volume Number 28, Issue number 1, Pages 58-108(51 pages)
6. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27903623
7. Wagner, P. (1999). Towards Empirical Computer Science. The Monist, 28(1), 58-108.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/27903623
8. Wagner (1999) introduces pragmatics as the general framework which extends the
logical models with a fixed syntax and the semantics which is linked to models that
harbour multiple interfaces, which in turn support the collective contribution between
clients sharing resources in common.