Turnitin

Description

Turnitin is a web-based application that provides a number of functions that facilitate online assignment management including collection, marking, and feedback. It is also used to check electronic assignment submissions for 'originality'. It does this by comparing the text of a submitted assignment against text from a wide range of electronic material including journals, websites, and other students’ work, including work from many UK universities.

It seems that Turnitin is most commonly used to assist in the detection academic misconduct (such as plagiarism or collusion) in an assignment after it's been submitted. Turnitin can also be used formatively to help students learn about the importance of good academic practices and good referencing.

Evidence

I can now use Turnitin for the following purposes:

Use this web-based application for a number of functions that will facilitate online assignment management including collection, marking, and feedback.

Scan my own research publications to ensure correct referencing

Use Grademark, a set of tools within Turnitin, to electronically mark papers in a manner similar to hand marking

If need be assisting in the gathering of evidence to support a charge of academic misconduct via plagiarism or collusion

Help students check their own work for correct referencing

Reflection

Great tool for the Higher Education sector; i am suprised that more institutions and markers are not using it. If there is ever a need to check the originality of a work then this technology seems to be reliable with a large scope of publication and web search.

Moreover, it is free to create an adminstare account and create accounts for your 'class'. Then all one has to do is send an invitation for the participants to submit their work or submit the work for them once the assigments are gathered.

I think the only problem is that it is not connected to the institute so much so the instructer would need to create the accounts and manage the system. Also, it may be put off those who already have many web based tools with different accounts and creating a new one is a barden.