Digital Learning:
TurnItIn
Overview
TurnItIn is a tool to support academic integrity and to detect plagiarism. It is accessible from within Blackboard and, while a separate piece of software, is tightly integrated with Grade Center and Blackboard navigation. TurnItIn functions by scanning students' file submissions against the contents of the public internet (wikipedia, blogs, news sites, etc.) and against a database of previously submitted papers. The Originality Report, which is generated by this scan, can be made available to the student and is useful as a self-check and learning tool.
Teaching Spotlight
Marie-Line Jobin, Coordinator and Professor, Honours Bachelor of Behavioural Psychology – Kingston
"There has been a growing trend and awareness of the importance to support a culture of academic integrity at the College. In the fourth year of the Behavioural Psychology degree program, students conduct research and write a thesis. To develop students’ skills to maintain integrity of their research and academic writing, I have used Turnitin as a pedagogical tool to encourage original work and critical thinking. Students submit their paper and receive an originality report with a similarity percentage score. Citation mistakes with associated sources are identified for students to modify their work to capture previous knowledge with integrity and ensure authentic work. This skill will be essential in their future career and Turnitin is an effective tool available to support students and teachers for successful academic writing.”