Experiment title: Use TurnItIn software to reduce academic misconduct and plagiarism in learner assessment evidence.
Intent: Plagiarism is an issue with some learners increasingly reliant on copying directly from the internet or other sources, and in doing so, do not demonstrate their own clear understanding of the topic. TurnItIn is the standard software used by most UK universities to deal with this issue.
Implementation: TurnItIn is integrated into the Canvas assignment so that at the point of (online) submission every learner is given a percentage score for plagiarism from a wide variety of sources including the internet and any educational institution using the software. There is also a report detailing the exact sources and sections of learner evidence to which each source is linked. Learners are shown the software at the beginning of the year and, invariably the software identifies those submissions that have relied too heavily on either the internet or other students.
Impact: Anecdotal evidence across numerous staff and departments strongly suggests that the use of TurnItIn has dramatically reduced the cases of copied work being submitted.
Next Steps: Investigate with Canvas whether the process of incorporating TurnItIn into Canvas can be simplified. At present TurnItIn is used by default for all HE assessment evidence, and some level 3 FE courses. However, there will be additional rollout to more of these level 3 programmes to prepare them for higher education and professional expectations.