Weds. June 24th FitFOL Webinar -- Online Activities and Assessments

# Weds. June 24th FitFOL Webinar -- Online Activities and Assessments --- **Agenda** 1. Presentation -- Discussion forums (10 min.) 2. Contract cheating introduction (10 min.) 3. Breakout rooms -- plans and pitfalls in planning online activities and assessments (20 min.) 4. Large group discussion (10 min.) 7. Q&A (5 min.) --- # 1. Discussion forums * Link to tutorial on [creating discussion forums in Moodle](http://moodleanswers.com/index.php/activities/using-moodle-forums-effectively/) * Small groups * portfolios --- # 2. Contract Cheating * **Definition** “Contract cheating occurs when a student submits work that has been completed for them by a third party, irrespective of the third party’s relationship with the student, and whether they are paid or unpaid.” Third party = • friend or family • fellow student or staff member • commercial service (Harper & Bretag et al, 2018) Compiled from our discussions and resources below: * **Massive problem** * Widespread -- not limited to any specific type of assignment * 'Authentic' assignments not a deterrent for contract cheating (Ellis et al., 2019) * **Reasons** * Not interested * Stressed * View education as a product over process * Don't understand differences between receiving extra tutoring support and using a professional or peer led cheating service * Everyone's doing it * Unclear assignment expectations * Belief that they won't get caught * Time management * Feeling dissatisfied with teaching and learning experience * **Solutions** * Educate students about academic integrity * Create clear lines of communication ("This is a poor choice -- I invite you to come talk to me if you're thinking about making it") * Provide detailed instructions for assignments * Ask students to engage in relective activities for part of assignments * Align assessments with learning outcomes * Discuss implications of cheating # 3. Breakout room discussion * Discuss the following questions in small groups (20 minutes) * Use this [link to a collaborative document where we can share our ideas](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JTrvMGX5SCnDaXfa2eAn6SgvQXyrAzjQjkZru4guS6w/edit) * **Part 1: Contract cheating discussion** * What are some of the reasons why students cheat? * What are some possible solutions to this problem or how are you planning to address the issue of contract cheating in your online course? * **Part 2: Thinking about assessments** * What are you planning for activities and/or assessments for your online course? * What are some possible pitfalls or challenges in creating and monitoring these activites and assessments? * What are some possible solutions? --- * **Resources:** * Link to Eric Gedajlovic's (Simon Fraser) comprehensive[ wiki on contract cheating](https://wiki.its.sfu.ca/personal/erg/index.php/Main_Page) * Link to Tracey Bretag's (U of Calgary) presentation on [contract cheating](https://prism.ucalgary.ca/bitstream/handle/1880/110279/Bretag%20Opening%20Keynote%20-%2017%20April%20final-compressed.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y) * Bretag, T. (2019). Contract Cheating Research: Implications for Canadian Universities. 1-29. http://hdl.handle.net/1880/110279 * Ellis, C., van Haeringen, K., Harper, R., Bretag, T., Zucker, I., McBride, S., . . . Saddiqui, S. (2019). Does authentic assessment assure academic integrity? Evidence from contract cheating data. Higher Education 3 Research & Development, 1-16. doi:10.1080/07294360.2019.1680956 * QAA (2020). Contracting to cheat in higher education: How to address essay mills and contract cheating. https://www.qaa.ac.uk/docs/qaa/guidance/contracting-to-cheat-in-higher- education-2nd-edition.pdf * Gedajlovic,E., Stoesz,B.M., Eaton,S.E., and Wielemaker, M. (2020) “Teaching Matters: Contracting Cheating – what is it, and what can we do about it?” (Presentation)