Computer Assisted Language Learning

Plagiarism checker

rachid — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 14:10:52 +0000

The World Intellectual Property Organization defines intellectual property or IP as “creations of the mind: inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols, names, images, and designs used in commerce.” Each year, the United States Department of Justice handles hundreds of legal cases relating to violations of intellectual property. Needless to say, violating intellectual property is a crime that is punishable by law.

A similar reality is present in the world of academia, as colleges and universities throughout the world have strict rules against violating intellectual property. The term often used to describe it is academic plagiarism. According to the Center for Academic Integrity, 80% of college students admit to cheating at least once. A recent study done by the US News and World Report concluded that 90% of students believe that students that cheat are never caught or have not been appropriately disciplined.

Colleges in the U.S and throughout the world have different policies in regards to plagiarism. While some adopt very strict rules when dealing with plagiarism (which is the case in the U.S and Canada), others can be quite lenient or unclear about what is considered plagiarism. This is particularly confusing for international students who come to the U.S in order to continue their education and end by being expelled from their university because they failed to correctly reference their outside sources in an essay or research paper.

It is true that the Internet is one of the main culprits here, as it provides a plethora of resources and information that any student could simply copy/paste into his/her essay and claim ownership of it. This happens every hour of every day as students under the pressure to complete their assignments, either intentionally plagiarize or forget to reference information they got from outside sources. Things get even more complicated for international students who are already dealing with the linguistic challenges and often fail to recognize plagiarism in their writing. In general, these are the main reasons why students plagiarize:

1-Lack of academic research and library skills

2- Lack of linguistic competence to correctly paraphrase and cite sources: this particularly prevalent among non-native speakers.

3- The student has not been instructed on how to properly cite and reference outside sources

4- Student’s lack of confidence about his/her writing skills

5- Time pressure when dealing with deadlines and finals.

6- Cultural differences: borrowing others’ words and ideas without acknowledgment is an acceptable practice in many societies.

7- Lack of interest in the course itself.

How to deal with plagiarism

There is no magical solution for solving the problem of plagiarism, but a first step would be trying to understand the real causes behind it, which are often social in nature. Identifying plagiarism, however, is possible using the same technology that makes it quite widespread today: the Internet. Online services such as www.academicplagiarism.com allow you to scan your writing for plagiarism by comparing your text to billions of web pages, journal articles, magazine articles…etc. A plagiarism checker can be a powerful tool in the hands of high school and college instructors to scan their students’ work for plagiarism. On the other hand, students can also benefit from the use of an online plagiarism detector by scanning their own writing for accidental plagiarism. This is particularly helpful when doing a research paper: an arduous process that involves keeping track of multiple quotes and outside sources. Students often forget to acknowledge outside sources and end up being accused of plagiarism. It is therefore safer to scan one’s writing for plagiarism before submitting the work to an instructor for assessment.

When choosing a plagiarism checker, one has to take a few things into considerations:

1- Quality: A good plagiarism checker doesn’t have to cost you money. In fact, many of the hyped up plagiarism detectors are quite expensive, yet have serious limitations and not reliable.

2- Practicality: Many plagiarism detecting tools require you to download their software to your computer. This can be very frustrating for users on the go, who need continuous access to a plagiarism scanner. Opt for an online plagiarism checker that is available online and is accessible from anywhere and at any time.

Academicplagiarism.com offers a free and secure plagiarism detector that is available fully online and guarantees very accurate results.

Whether it is a corporation mimicking the logo of a competitor, or a student using the words/ideas of another author without acknowledging that those words/ideas belong to another person, the consequence could be very serious. As mentioned earlier, violating intellectual property is a crime, so it is critical to take all necessary measures to avoid it. Scanning one’s work for plagiarism can help.

Online Plagiarism Scanner

rachid — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 14:38:17 +0000

Well! I am back and with some exciting news. My new site www.academicplagiarism.com is finally up and running! What is academicplagiarism.com? Basically, it’s an affordable, and flexible alternative to the complicated corporate plagiarism detecting resources out there on the web. academicplagiarism.com offers free and premium memberships to students, instructors and writers in general to scan documents for potential instances of plagiarism. What makes academicplagiarism.com unique is its simplicity, flexibility and affordability. As soon as you open your free account, you can go ahead and scan your documents by pasting your text onto an online form and clicking scan! It’s that simple. In less than two minutes, an easy to read report is generated highlighting duplicate content as well as the source. For longer documents that require more time to scan and process, you have the option to upload your documents (compatible formats: .doc, .docx, .pdf, .txt, .rtf) and check back later to read your report (you also receive an email notification when your report is ready for viewing).

Who uses academicplagiarism.com?

Students: Whether it’s an essay or research paper, it’s always safe to scan one’s writing for accidental cases of plagiarism. Writing can be an overwhelming process, and students often forget to correctly cite outside sources on their papers. A simple scan will highlight duplicate content in your work by comparing your text to billions of web pages, books, periodicals, journals and our large collection of pre-written essays.

Instructors:

Check your students’ work for instances of plagiarism. Your time is valuable, so spend it helping your students instead of wasting hours Googling phrases and sentences. Generate detailed plagiarism reports in as little as 5 minutes. Just upload your students’ files and generate detailed plagiarism reports in minutes. Your reports are available to view on-line or as a PDF document that you can download and print.
Bloggers and writers:
Each time you post articles or blog entries on the web, you are at risk of being ripped off! Most people aren’t even aware that their writing is being plagiarized by others and republished word for word. There is an entire industry on the web that promotes website (SEO or search engine optimization) by providing what they claim are original promotional articles that link to the client’s site. In most cases, these articles are plagiarized content(with minor alterations) that have been stolen from other blogs and websites. If you have a blog or have published articles on the web, there is a strong possibility your work is being used by others without your permission. academicplagiarism.com will help catch those weasels!

Please check it out and open your free account. Of course your feedback is greatly appreciated!…and don’t forget to share this with your friends and colleagues!

www.academicplagiarism.com

Annotate for Word 2007 Review

rachid — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 19:39:02 +0000

Annotate for Word is a comment plug-in for Microsoft Office Word developed by 11trees.com. This simple, yet versatile add-on allows you to insert pre-designed comments to a Word document. In this review, I will be highlighting the different features of Annotate For Word, and I will also share my own experience using it this semester with one of my intensive English classes.

When I first stumbled upon Annotate, I questioned its purpose as it looks exactly like the built-in Office commenting feature, and it also does the same exact thing: inserts comment! Well, immediately after I installed it and opened a new Word document, I realized how interesting it was.

Annotate for Word comes in two flavors: A free version with limited features (and from my understanding, no pre-written comments), and a Pro version which provides pre-written comments organized by categories. This review will focus only on the Pro version.

Installation: The plug-in itself is a tiny file that installs in a few seconds. The next time you open an Office document, you will notice a new tab (Annotate) on the toolbar. Clicking on “Annotate” unveils a new menu consisting of 10 commenting categories, each with a drop-down menu offering further commenting options. The main commenting categories are: Argument, Evidence, Organization, Writing Style, and Grammar/Mechanics.

Usage: The first time I attempted to use Annotate, I was a bit confused, as I spent quite sometime figuring out the different commenting categories while searching for the needed comment. It took some time for me to understand the way comments were organized and the hierarchy under each category, especially since items under comment categories are not alphabetized.

One major drawback, however, is that you cannot modify your comments and categories by adding new ones to the Annotate menu. In other words, you are may only use Annotate’s comments and categories. To address this limitation, the developers of Annotate offer customized versions for schools and programs.

Comments: Comments are written in very clear, often generic language that most students are able to understand. Once the comment has been inserted, you have the option to edit/modify it, just as you would on a regular MS. Word comment. I rarely needed to modify any of the comments, but I did check to ensure that the hyperlinks still worked. Most comments include a hyperlink to details explanations on Purdue’s OWL website. In addition to regular comments, Annotate Pro provides praise type comments for positive reinforcement…nice touch!

Overall, Annotate simplified the process of correcting my students’ essays, but it was a bit frustrating when I couldn’t find the comment I was looking for and ended up creating a blank comment. Hopefully, the developers of Annotate will address this in future updates by allowing users to customize comments and categories on the toolbar.

To try Annotate for Word, visit http://www.11trees.com

Update: Annotate for Word 2007 now supports customization. I was able to add new tabs and fully tailor comments to my needs. It’s really great! AND, in addition to commenting, Annotate automatically crosses out words by simply using the backspace key and each time you add new text, it is entered in blue. This makes the process of editing papers a breeze!

Electronic Portfolios

rachid — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:23:12 +0000

Electronic portfolios, also known as e-portfolios or Webfolios, are a compilation of text and multimedia resources used as tools for assessment, learning and reflection. Over the last few years, schools and universities worldwide have been experimenting with digital versions of the paper-based portfolio. While the medium is fundamentally different, the process and the objectives remain the same. Students use electronic portfolios to document their educational gains, showcase their accomplishments and reflect on their overall learning experiences. The result is a web URL displaying multiple artifacts that include drafts of essays, summaries, personal reflections in text, audio, video or a combination of these components. In addition, students have the option to create blogs, share photos, link to Youtube videos and upload their resumes. More…

How to embed Youtube videos in Moodle

rachid — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 18:43:08 +0000

This video tutorial walks you through the steps of embedding videos directly on your main Moodle page using the “Label” feature. I prefer to embed videos directly as opposed to using links for two reasons.

1-To avoid distraction: Linking to the Youtube site can be very distracting as students are easily tempted to click on related videos instead of the assigned ones.

2- Practicality and efficiency: Placing external videos directly on the main Moodle page saves your students time and provide a practical space for follow-up activities such as Wikies and forums.

TESOL Virtual Seminars November 5, 2009

rachid — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 18:20:07 +0000

This seminar focuses on how teachers can maximize the benefit to students of using technology in the classroom while minimizing the burden on themselves. From the seemingly never-ending supply of useful applications, how can teachers select the best ones for our particular teaching context? How can teachers ensure that students gain maximum benefit from the applications that they select? Although highly motivated students may be able to use Internet applications effectively without the teacher’s help, what about the many who do not see English language learning as a priority? This seminar focuses on these students and provides some tried and true techniques for encouraging them to learn. Participants will also be introduced to Moodle, a learning management system that allows teachers to create discussion forums, digital materials, web links, and quizzes for students and to track their usage. Participants receive a user ID that will allow them to experiment with Moodle or even set up a working course for their students.

Learning Outcomes

Participants will learn

an enhanced understanding of the basic principles for effective computer-aided language learning (CALL)
information on specific applications that have proven useful
techniques for encouraging students to reach their full potential with digital resources
a basic understanding of the role that learning management systems can play when using web content and applications in the classroom

Target Audience

This seminar will be of interest to all types of English language teachers working with technology in the classroom.

Presenter

Thomas Robb, Ph.D., was an early adopter of digital technology, having started with student e-mail exchanges in the early 1990s followed by a number of student Web site projects, including the Famous Personages in Japan Project and the SL Project for email exchange. He has designed Web sites for Oxford University Press and Disney, coordinated the required computer literacy course for entering students at his university, and taught online courses on technology to teachers around the world. He has also served on the TESOL Board of Directors and has been chair of TESOL’s EFL Interest Section and CALL Interest Section, and he has recently stepped down as President of PacCALL, the Pacific Association for Computer Assisted Language Learning. His current interests including enhancing the functionality of Moodle for language learning and more effective approaches to professional development in technology.

more information: TESOL.org

Moodle’s Vocabulary Glossary

rachid — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 18:10:46 +0000

This semester I decided to experiment with Moodle’s Glossary block and so far, the results are great. Vocabulary development is an important component of both classes I’m teaching this semester (Integrated Skills and Listening/Speaking). Moodle’s glossary is a simple, practical and effective tool to help students acquire new vocabulary. Here’s how we do it:

The process involves two steps.

One week, each student is responsible for inputting 10 vocabulary items. They do so by adding a new vocabulary item that they recently learned( in any of their classes), providing a dictionary definition and by including an example using their own words.

On week two students are not required to add new vocabulary. Instead, they look up 5 vocabulary items in the Glossary (ones they are curious about), understand the meaning and provide a second example using the comment feature.

This process repeats every two weeks. The result is continuous and steady acquisition of new vocabulary with minimal intervention from the teacher. On occasions I intrude by making additional comments when correction is needed. My students enjoy the communal nature of this activity as it allows them to learn new words and interact at the same time. If you have used the glossary block before, please share your experience using the comment feature below.

Rosetta Stone Totale Review

rachid — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 16:03:35 +0000

Rosetta Stone, the world’s leading language software developer has launched a new language learning package called Rosetta Stone Totale. TOTALe is an online learning solution available through a yearly subscription of approximately $ 1000.00. Like the standard Rosetta Stone, TOTALe avoids memorization, drills and translation. Instead, it utilizes text, sounds and visuals in attempt to simulate the learning processes of L1.

TOTALe features:

Rosetta Course
- Skills: reading, listening and speaking
- Pedagogical approach: interactive immersion

Rosetta Studio

This new feature provides the opportunity for live online interaction with a tutor. The tutor is a native speaker of the language and serves as a “language coach” by providing assistance and feedback in a synchronous environment

Rosetta WORLD

Rosetta WORLD is an informal virtual learning environment where learners can interact and practice language skills through games and fun activities.

I think by including a synchronous human component to the learning environment, Rosetta Stone has reached a major milestone, isolating itself from other language learning platforms. However, since I haven’t yet tested TOTALe, I’m not in a position to confirm its effectiveness as a learning tool. Also, this new version of Rosetta Stone comes with a hefty price tag, so one should think carefully before “Totale” committing to Rosetta Stone Totale.

Available languages:

Arabic
Chinese (Mandarin)
Dutch Pashto
English (American)
English (British)
French (Parisian)
German
Greek
Hebrew
Hindi
Irish
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Polish
Persian (Iran)
Portuguese (Brazilian)
Russian
Spanish (Latin America)
Spanish (Spain)
Swedish
Tagalog (Filipino)
Turkish
Vietnamese

An Integrated Skills Course Using Moodle

rachid — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:16:25 +0000

It’s been a while since I last posted. Over the last 5 weeks, I’ve been very busy teaching a technology-enhanced integrated-skills course. As opposed to a hybrid course, students were required to physically attend all classes. It’s a small class of only 7 students, but it’s been quite demanding in terms of preparation and instructions. During the orientation session, students were informed that all course materials and assignments will be shared on the learning management system. Pratt Institutes uses Moodle, but they’re a few versions behind. The system, however, has been very stable, so we never encountered any technical issues while using the LMS. My overall impression of this technology-enhanced course is positive despite a few reservations here and there. Most importantly, my students found it to be quite useful from an organizational perspective. The appreciated the fact that activities, resources, important dates and announcement were all in one place and organized weekly. This format made communicating a lot easier compared to email or handouts. In other words, using Moodle helped students stay on task and ensured that assignments were submitted on time (I didn’t even have to use the prevent late submissions function).

Moodle supports a variety of course types and allows instructors to incorporate both resources and activities. The most used resource tool is ‘Link to a file or a website”. I used this function throughout the semester to provide links reading and listening materials, and also to communicate about upcoming field trips (directions, Google maps, museum urls…etc). Essays were submitted using the ” upload a single file” option, under “Add activities”. Summaries, on the other hand, were submitted directly using the “online text” feature. I had them do it this way because the focus was on more on summarizing and less on the mechanics of the language (I asked them not to copy/paste from Word).

Next semester I will be piloting an e-portfolio project with my class which is very exciting. Pratt chose Mahara as its official e-portfolio platform because it’s simple and integrates seamlessly with Moodle. I will be reporting regularly on my experience using Moodle/Mahara, so stay tuned! In the mean time, feel free to subscribe to my blog, post a comment or both!

Voicethread: Listening and Speaking

rachid — Thu, 14 May 2009 15:10:34 +0000

Voicethread is a wonderful resource to promote learner interaction in a collaborative environment. I discovered Voicethread through a colleague who used it in her speaking/listening class with intermediate students. Lindsey used Voicethread as a follow-up activity after a field trip to P.S.1. She uploaded 4 pictures of an exhibit and added audio prompts to each individual image. Students listened to the instructor’s prompt and posted their answers. Since this was a homework assignment, students were able to work at their own pace and practice their answers before sharing them with their instructor and classmates. According to Lindsey, the timing of the activity was important because it was the beginning of the semester, and the majority of her students were not yet comfortable expressing themselves in the classroom. This activity provided a safe environment for them to speak and hear each others ideas and perspectives. It was also a great opportunity for the instructor to assess students on fluency and accuracy. I can’t wait to try this with my own students in a few weeks!

For more examples on how voicethread is being used by ESL instructors worldwide, visit: http://voicethread4education.wikispaces.com/EFL+%26+ESL