# data[].attributes.body
Use to ensure your citation is in the correct format

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
How to create an MLA website citation:

When citing a website, you're often actually citing a specific page on a website. You're not actually citing the entire website.

Here is the most common way to cite a page on a website:

Start the citation with the name of the author who wrote the information on the page. If there isn't an author listed, do not include this information in the citation. Start the citation with the title.

The title of the individual page is placed in quotation marks, followed by a period.

Next, place the name of the website in italics, followed by a comma.

If the name of the publisher matches the name of the author or the name of the title, do not include the publisher's information in the citation.

The date the page or website was published comes next.

End the citation with the URL or DOI. When including the URL, copy the URL directly from the address bar or link in your browser window.

Last name, First name of author. "Title of Web Page." Title of Website, Publisher, Date published, URL.

Rothfeld, Lindsay. "Smarter Education: The Rise of Big Data in the Classroom." Mashable, 3 Sept. 2014, mashable.com/2014/09/03/education-data-video/#hViqdPbFbgqH.

You can usually leave out http:// or https:// from URLs unless you want to hyperlink them. For DOIs, use http:// or https:// before the DOI: https://doi.org/xx.xxxx/xxx.xxxx.xxxx.

If you're still confused and feeling the urge to type "How to cite a website MLA" into Google, try out our free generator at the top of this page. Our citation generator MLA site is easy to use!

If the user's handle and real name are similar, you may include the real name and leave out the handle as long as a URL is also included. If the user's real name and handle are different, include the hand in brackets after the real name.
Tweets:
Gates, Melinda. "Today, Bill and I were deeply humbled to accept France's Legion of Honour award on behalf of all our foundation's partners and grantees." Twitter, 21 Apr. 2017, twitter.com/melindagates/status/855535625713459200.
Facebook:
Sandler, Adam. "California Strong celebrity softball game this Sunday at Pepperdine. All proceeds go to the victims of the wildfires and shooting in Thousand Oaks." Facebook, 11 Jan. 2019, www.facebook.com/Sandler/.
Instagram:
Mizuhara, Kiko [@I_am_kiko]. "@vivi_mag_official shot by my sis @ashley_yuka." Instagram, 25 June 2020, www.instagram.com/p/CB27SYahBpo.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Free Citing a Website in MLA | Citation Machine

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Cite websites effortlessly in MLA format with Citation Machine. Properly credit your sources and generate accurate citations for professional projects.

# data[].attributes.body
This resources determines the level of plagiarism in a 1000 words or less document

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
Plagiarism Checker - 100% Free to Check Plagiarism Online

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Free plagiarism checker for students, teachers, and content creators. Check plagiarism of upto 1000 words and get instant & accurate plagiarism results with percentages.

FREE PLAGIARISM CHECKER

In-depth Plagiarism Check

This tool performs a deep plagiarism check by evaluating each word in a 1000 word content and comparing it to billions of web pages on the Internet. Therefore, there is no way a plagiarized phrase or paragraph could dodge this best free plagiarism checker.

Accurate Results

Our online plagiarism checker doesn't perform any magic trick and displays accurate results with percentages of plagiarized and unique text. It also never tries to fool you by identifying illogical duplication from unique content.

Privacy Guaranteed

We respect the security and privacy of our users. Hence, you can use our plagiarism detector without having any privacy concerns because whatever type of text you enter, we vanish it from our database as soon as the plagiarism checking is done.

FEATURES OF OUR PLAGIARISM CHECKER

Our plagiarism checker for free offers top-notch features that help users to check the originality of the content. Some of the features include:

Upload File and URL

Our plagiarism detector allows you to upload content of around 1000 words from your computer or from the cloud or you can directly paste the URL of a webpage for a quick and free plagiarism check. It supports various file types such as doc, Docx, pdf, txt, etc.

Increased Word Count

There are a plethora of free plagiarism detection tools available online. However, we brag about it to be the best due to many reasons. Unlikely other free tools available online are offering a maximum limit of 500 to 800 words but we offer 1000 words. Our plagiarism checker 1000 words free helps you to check content in one go without cutting content into pieces. Furthermore, our tool displays instant results with percentages, which outweighs all other available plagiarism software.

Multi-Language Capability

This feature allows you to check for plagiarism for free in many languages Like 日本語, Deutsche, 中文, Français, Português, Español, русский, Italiano, Indonesian, Turkish, Romanian, Malay, CZECH, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Arabic, Polish, Dutch, Vietnamese.

Compare Duplicate Content

In the case of duplication, you will see links to the URL of the websites that contain a similar passage anchored by "Compare". You can check plagiarism to determine the cause of similarity in the detailed plagiarism test report.

Go beyond Plagiarism Check

After checking plagiarism make your content unique by clicking "Rewrite Plagiarized Content" this will take you to our free article rewriter. This is an additional feature that is available for you with this advanced plagiarism checker free. Repeat the process until you get your unique content.

Download and Share Reports

Our free online plagiarism checker can give you the option to download a detailed plagiarism test report for your content by clicking "Download Report". You can also share this report. Furthermore, click on "Start New Search" to perform a plagiarism check free for new content.

Quick and efficient plagiarism Detection

Our 100% free duplicate checker is specially designed to detect even the minutest of replication. It also provides you with a list of similar content pieces so you can take the appropriate action instantly. Our plagiarism detector is super easy to use and has featured far better than you hardly find in paid similar tools. No sign-up and no sign-in are required to detect plagiarism.

RAPID AND EXTENSIVE FEEDBACK

This plagiarism software conducts an in-depth plagiarism test on your entered text and provides you with extensive results, which include the following:

Highlighted Results

Once the plagiarism detection is completed, the tool will display your text by highlighting the unique and plagiarized portions. The text in green color represents uniqueness, while the red color demonstrates plagiarized chunks.

Comprehensive Plagiarism Score

Besides highlighting your text, our plagiarism tool also provides you with an accurate plagiarism score. What proportion of your text is unique and plagiarized? The plagiarism detector will give you the answer to this query by displaying the percentages of unique and plagiarized content.

Sentence and Document View

This plagiarism checker online allows its users to display results in two modes: sentence and document. In the sentence-wise mode, each sentence of your text is separated, allowing you to easily navigate the plagiarized phrases. Whereas the document view displays the whole content while highlighting the unique and plagiarized paragraphs or sentences.

Matched Sources

Our plagiarism tool will not only identify duplication but will also display the sources from where your text is matching. You can use these sources for citation purposes or to take action against plagiarists if you think they have copied your content.

HOW DOES OUR ONLINE PLAGIARISM CHECKER WORK?

Plagiarism checker by Searchenginereports.net is one of the best utilities to detect duplication in content around the web. Follow Simple steps to check plagiarism free:

1. Go to https://searchenginereports.net/plagiarism-checker.

2. Paste your content into the box provided.

3. Press the "Check Plagiarism" button to get instant and accurate results with percentages of unique and plagiarized content.

WHY IT IS IMPORTANT TO CHECK FOR PLAGIARISM?

We all are aware of the importance of textual content for a website. Without text, a website is just like a body without a soul. SEO and webmasters must check their content with a similarity checker to maintain text quality and uniqueness. Plagiarized content or information can harm a website, whereas unique content can help it thrive. Although plagiarism is a big hurdle between success.

Academic Repercussions

Duplication or copyright of assignments and documentation can ruin a student's career. Students should take a proactive approach to save themselves from unintentional duplication by using a copyright checker. Academic dishonesty refers to any sort of cheating in the classroom. Some institutes might only warn students while others can even suspend them from the place.

Performing a plagiarism test manually is almost an impossible task as you can't go through abundant information available all over the internet. Accordingly, a free plagiarism checker helps you check duplication in your papers and the location of instances of copied work within another document or web page.

WHO CAN BE BENEFITED FROM OUR PLAGIARISM DETECTOR?

Web Entrepreneurs/ Web Owners

The ultimate aim of web owners is to publish unique content on their websites. This task can be achieved if they check duplication by using this website plagiarism checker. Our tool will deeply analyze the text and match it with its directory to let you know if duplication exists or not.

Bloggers

A blogger has to come up with original ideas and text that help him/her flourish in the web world. If you are 100% sure that your content doesn't contain any sort of duplication and grammar errors, then you must check for plagiarism free to identify if any other source has used your text without permission. Also, ensure that your content is free of grammatical errors by utilizing a professional grammar check.

Freelance Content Writers

A freelance content writer cannot flourish without providing unique content. Among freelancers, the competition is quite severe for content writing jobs. Save your reputation and credibility in the freelance market by using our copyright checker. As it helps you assure content originality and plagiarism.

Students

Duplication is considered a crime in academics; therefore, students should check for plagiarism in their assignments with a free plagiarism checker for students before submitting them. This will help students in properly citing the sources from where they have taken assistance while creating an assignment.

Authors

Becoming a well-recognized author isn't a piece of cake, and a little mistake of duplication can drown an author's career. The copyright checker will help you in avoiding duplication from your work, as it will inform you even about unintentional plagiarism. Before publishing any of your work, make sure to conduct a plagiarism test.

Reporters and Journalists

The reporters and journalists should come up with original content to maintain their fame and respect among the audience. If your work is being published under someone else's name, it can hurt your career badly. Therefore, the similarity checker is the best way out of this nuisance. You can keep a regular check on your work's authenticity with the help of this online tool.

Professors and Teachers

As a professor or teacher, it's quite hectic to manage workload and deeply investigate students' work to detect plagiarism. The manual process can take hours to check a single copy; hence, you can take advantage of a plagiarism checker for teachers that provides you with comprehensive results within a matter of seconds.

COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS THAT LEAD TO DUPLICATION

Switching a couple of words in a text will remove duplication.

The citation should be done at the end of the writing process.

Paraphrasing will not be termed plagiarism.

All types of plagiarism are treated equally.

Even a little or accidental instance of duplication will lead to expulsion.

CONSEQUENCES OF PLAGIARISM

Plagiarism can result in various consequences, depending upon the nature of the offense. You can face the following issues due to the act of duplication.

Reputation

Your reputation in the market can seriously get affected due to copying. The audience will consider you a non-professional who just steals others' ideas and presents them as your own.

Damaged Career

A content writer might find it difficult to secure his/her job in the market after getting caught with plagiarized data. As a result, your years of hard work can go in vain, and you might not be able to find another job.

Legal Consequences

Depending upon the seriousness of replication you've committed, you can face legal issues because of duplication. For example, the original creator of the content might sue you, and as a result, you would have to pay compensation in monetary terms.

Lose website Traffic

If the text on your site's pages isn't giving any fresh material to visitors for reading, then they will eventually stop visiting your site. These days, people admire reading something that they haven't known before. However, the habit of similarity will prevail from attracting the audience towards your site. To prevent yourself from this nuisance use the best plagiarism checker.

Damaged SEO

An authoritative and unique content has a significant role in enhancing the SEO of a website, which eventually leads it towards the top ranking in SERP. However, if the content you've uploaded is plagiarized, then it would result in negative SEO. Plus, not only one webpage but the whole website will suffer from a downfall in Google ranking. Check the keywords ranking of any website by using a keyword rank checker.

FAQs

What is Plagiarism?

Plagiarism means to pass off as new and original an exact idea or product derived from an existing source with or without the consent of the original creator.

According to the Oxford Dictionary "plagiarize" means: "Presenting someone else's work or ideas as your own, with or without their consent"

Merriam-Webster says: "To use the words or ideas of another person as if they were your own words or ideas"

What Are the Most Common Types of Plagiarism?

The most common types of plagiarism include direct plagiarism, self-plagiarism, mosaic plagiarism, and accidental plagiarism.

Direct plagiarism happens when a writer duplicates another's work without acknowledging that the material came from another source.

Self-plagiarism occurs when someone recycles or reuses their own work from previously published texts as new writing

Unintentional or accidental plagiarism occurs when a writer fails to appropriately paraphrase, quote, or cite without intending to cheat

Mosaic plagiarism or patchwriting occurs when a person overuses quotes without crediting the original sources. This type of plagiarism may indicate a lack of research or proper understanding of the topic

How to check for plagiarism free?

Access this platform and start using Searchenginereports.net best free plagiarism checker.

Just paste your content and start using the duplicate checker for free.

How Do I Copy and Paste without Plagiarizing?

Paraphrasing is the technique you can rely on to accomplish this task. By copying a text and rewording it in your own words will allow you to steer clear of plagiarism. For this purpose, you can take the assistance of our paraphrasing tool.

How Can replication Be Avoided in an Assignment?

You can avoid duplication from your assignment by giving proper citations and references. The citations will give the similarity checker an idea of the source from where you have taken assistance to support your claims in the assignment.

What Percentage of Plagiarism is Acceptable?

In the web world, there is a zero percent tolerance for plagiarism. However, in academics, the institutes give relief to students up to a certain percentage, but it is not decided. The acceptable percentage varies from institute to institute.

Is Searchenginereports.net as Good as Quetext?

The plagiarism tool available on Searchenginereports.net is way more feasible for users as compared to Quetext, as it doesn't ask the users to get registered or log in to conduct plagiarism tests. Moreover, this tool allows you to check plagiarism as many times as you want without any restriction, unlike Quetext.

Is Plagiarized Content Bad for Search Engine Optimization?

Yes! Plagiarism can severely affect the SEO of your website. It can lead your website to face a downfall in rankings, or, in the worst-case scenario, your site can get de-indexed from search engine result pages.

Can I Check My Document for Plagiarism Multiple Times?

Yes, you can use our online plagiarism checker free for full document as many times as you want. Our web portal doesn't impose any restriction on its usage for any of the users.

How to check papers for plagiarism?

You can easily check your paper and essay for plagiarism by using our online plagiarism checker.

This service is free of cost for everyone. It provides effective and accurate results.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Plagiarism Checker - 100% Free to Check Plagiarism Online

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Plagiarism checker free for accurate results and reports. Deep scan to check plagiarism across billions of web pages online with our plagiarism detector.

# data[].attributes.body
Use this resource to practice identifying synonyms of words.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Meaning of Beep: Plagiarism - GameUp - BrainPOP.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In this free BrainPOP context clue game, students use grammar and vocabulary skills to fill in the blank and help Moby, our favorite robot, speak again!

# data[].attributes.body
Modern Language Association Format Guide

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
MLA Formatting and Style Guide - Purdue OWL® - Purdue University

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities. This resource, updated to reflect the MLA Handbook (9th ed.), offers examples for the general format of MLA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the Works Cited page.

# data[].attributes.body
American Psychological Association Format Guide

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
You can also watch our APA vidcast series on the Purdue OWL YouTube Channel .

General APA Guidelines

Your essay should be typed and double-spaced on standard-sized paper (8.5" x 11"), with 1" margins on all sides. Include a page header (also known as the " running head") at the top of every page. For a professional paper, this includes your paper title and the page number. For a student paper, this only includes the page number. To create a page header/running head, insert page numbers flush right. Then type "TITLE OF YOUR PAPER" in the header flush left using all capital letters. The running head is a shortened version of your paper's title and cannot exceed 50 characters including spacing and punctuation.

Font

The 7th edition of the APA Publication Manual requires that the chosen font be accessible (i.e., legible) to all readers and that it be used consistently throughout the paper. It acknowledges that many font choices are legitimate, and it advises writers to check with their publishers, instructors, or institutions for guidance in cases of uncertainty.

While the APA Manual does not specify a single font or set of fonts for professional writing, it does recommend a few fonts that are widely available. These include sans serif fonts such as 11-point Calibri, 11-point Arial, and 10-point Lucida Sans Unicode as well as serif fonts such as 12-point Times New Roman, 11-point Georgia, 10-point Computer Modern.

Major Paper Sections

Your essay should include four major sections: the Title Page, Abstract, Main Body, and References.

Title Page

Note: APA 7 provides slightly different directions for formatting the title pages of professional papers (e.g., those intended for scholarly publication) and student papers (e.g., those turned in for credit in a high school or college course).

The title page should contain the title of the paper, the author's name, and the institutional affiliation. A professional paper should also include the author note. A student paper should also include the course number and name, instructor name, and assignment due date.

Type your title in upper and lowercase letters centered in the upper half of the page. The title should be centered and written in boldface. APA recommends that your title be focused and succinct and that it should not contain abbreviations or words that serve no purpose. Your title may take up one or two lines. All text on the title page, and throughout your paper, should be double-spaced.

Beneath the title, type the author's name: first name, middle initial(s), and last name. Do not use titles (Dr.) or degrees (PhD).

Beneath the author's name, type the institutional affiliation, which should indicate the location where the author(s) conducted the research.

A professional paper should include the author note beneath the institutional affiliation, in the bottom half of the title page. This should be divided up into several paragraphs, with any paragraphs that are not relevant omitted. The first paragraph should include the author's name, the symbol for the ORCID iD, and the URL for the ORCID iD. Any authors who do not have an ORCID iD should be omitted. The second paragraph should show any change in affiliation or any deaths of the authors. The third paragraph should include any disclosures or acknowledgements, such as study registration, open practices and data sharing, disclosure of related reports and conflicts of interest, and acknowledgement of financial support and other assistance. The fourth paragraph should include contact information for the corresponding author.

A student paper should not include an author note.

Note again that page headers/page numbers (described above for professional and student papers) also appear at the top of the title page. In other words, a professional paper's title page will include the title of the paper flush left in all capitals and the page number flush right, while a student paper will only contain the page number flush right.
Student APA title page

Professional paper APA title page

Abstract

Begin a new page. Your abstract page should already include the page header (described above). On the first line of the abstract page, center and bold the word "Abstract" (no italics, underlining, or quotation marks).

Beginning with the next line, write a concise summary of the key points of your research. (Do not indent.) Your abstract should contain at least your research topic, research questions, participants, methods, results, data analysis, and conclusions. You may also include possible implications of your research and future work you see connected with your findings. Your abstract should be a single paragraph, double-spaced. Your abstract should typically be no more than 250 words.

You may also want to list keywords from your paper in your abstract. To do this, indent as you would if you were starting a new paragraph, type Keywords: (italicized), and then list your keywords. Listing your keywords will help researchers find your work in databases.

Abstracts are common in scholarly journal articles and are not typically required for student papers unless advised by an instructor. If you are unsure whether or not your work requires an abstract, consult your instructor for further guidance.

APA Abstract Page

Please see our Sample APA Paper resource to see an example of an APA paper. You may also visit our Additional Resources page for more examples of APA papers.

How to Cite the Purdue OWL in APA

Individual Resources

The page template for the new OWL site does not include contributors' names or the page's last edited date. However, select pages still include this information.

In the absence of contributor/edit date information, treat the page as a source with a group author and use the abbreviation "n.d." for "no date":

Purdue Online Writing Lab. (n.d.). Title of resource. Purdue Online Writing Lab. http://Web address for OWL resource

Purdue Online Writing Lab. (n.d.). General Writing FAQs. Purdue Online Writing Lab. https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/general_writing_faqs.html

The generic APA citation for OWL pages, which includes author/edit date information, is this:

Contributors' names. (Last edited date). Title of resource. Site Name. http://Web address for OWL resource

Note: This page reflects the latest version of the APA Publication Manual (i.e., APA 7), which released in October 2019. The equivalent resource for the older APA 6 style can be found here.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
You can also watch our APA vidcast series on the Purdue OWL YouTube Channel . General APA Guidelines Your essay should be typed and double-spaced on standard-sized paper (8.5" x 11"), with 1" margins on all sides. Include a page header (also known as the " running head") at the top of every page.

# data[].attributes.body
https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2009/09/21/the-best-online-resources-to-teach-about-plagiarism/

# data[].attributes.headline
Review the BrainPop- Plaigiarism video clip

# data[].attributes.subject
Review the BrainPop- Plaigiarism video clip

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In this educational animated movie about English learn about copyright, sources, stealing, citations, bibliographies, footnotes, and endnotes.

# data[].attributes.body
There are several ways to plagiarize. Use the resource below to determine the different ways you may have plagiarized in your academic past.

10 ways to Plagiarize- link provided by Dr. Jones                          (FRIT 7234 - M4 Resources)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Plagiarism Spectrum identifies 10 types of plagiarism based on findings from a worldwide survey of nearly 900 secondary and higher education instructors.

# data[].attributes.body
Use your understanding of Plagiarism to advance through this game
(http://www.lycoming.edu/library/instruction/tutorials/plagiarismGame.aspx)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
This site works best with JavaScript enabled.

We use cookies on this site to enhance your user experience. To accept cookies click the "Ok, I agree" button, or view our privacy statement for more information.

You are here:

Goblins left in this room:

START

Joey is good at taking tests, but does not write papers very well. He does a lot of research, decides to rely heavily on quotations and does an exemplary job of citing his sources. Is this plagiarism?

AWhile not dishonest, an important part of writing papers is demonstrating the ability to synthesize and create new information.

BNo, he cited all information properly

Incorrect! Overusing quotations is not good writing even when cited properly.

Incorrect! A parenthetical and works cited reference are needed.

Greg uses information from his geology lab workbook in his lab report. Does he need to cite it?

Incorrect! Even lab manuals and workbooks need to be cited.

Paraphrasing involves re-writing a statement in your own words. Try again.

Mary wrote a paper in freshman composition which she could now use in her sophomore-level sociology course. She should...

Use it but change a few words

Not use it because it was already turned in for credit

Discuss its use with the professor

Use it because she's the original author

You should always talk to your professor before reusing a paper, or simply don't reuse it. Try again.

How can Sheila use information from an uncopyrighted Internet source such as Wikipedia

not copyrighted, can use any way she wants

She can quote or paraphrase online sources, but must always cite the source. Try again.

Hmmm, it's dark in here!

You must always cite someone else's ideas, words, images, and other intellectual creations. Try again.

What are the penalties when/if you get caught plagiarizing your work?

could get expelled from school

must pay fine to the college

unpleasant chat w/ prof or dean

library privileges revoked

You can fail the assignment or class and will likely have an uncomfortable conversation with your professor. On your second offense, you could get kicked out of school. Lycoming does not fine students for plagiarism or revoke library privileges. Try again.

He must give an in-text citation and include the work in his bibliography. Try again.

The following text is part of an example research paper. Click on the text that tells you where the writer got his or her information from.

The recent literature on plagiarism is plentiful, but incomplete. The issue is very complex, and it is difficult to find a standard definition of plagiarism among faculty and administrators, let alone one that is understood by students. Most cases of plagiarism appear to be "accidental," stemming not from a deceive, but from an honest ignorance or confusion (Maurer, 2006). Students have a good reason to be confused...

The citation looks like this: (Maurer 2006). Try again.

Asking for help is always the best way to be sure. Try again.

"John is a particularly heartbreaking character, full of bluster as he tries to make sense of his abandonment by his abusive father and his well-meaning but immature mother."
Which of the following are acceptable ways to use this text in your paper?

AJohn is a very heartbreaking character, full of emotion as he tries to understand his abandonment by his father (Hynes, 2006).

BJohn's weakness is demonstrated by his obsession with the poor treatment from his father and mother (Hynes, 2006).

The first example is too close to the original and would be considered plagiarism.

Patrick took a paper he wrote for his his Education class and handed in the same paper for his Psychology class. This is considered plagiarism.

Not knowing the rules about plagiarism excuses Penny from the consequences if and when she is caught plagiarizing.

Julie states in her essay that carrots contain Vitamin A. She does not need to cite this information because it is common knowledge.

What is "patch writing"?

APiecing together copied words from several papers into a paper of your own

BPutting parenthetical citations into your paper, i.e. (Williams,34).

CWriting a paper with parenthetical citations, but no works cited page.

If Watson takes a direct quote from his research, he should...

CPut quotation marks around the words taken

Credits

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Plagiarism Game - Snowden Library | Lycoming College

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This site works best with JavaScript enabled. We use cookies on this site to enhance your user experience. To accept cookies click the "Ok, I agree" button, or view our privacy statement for more information. You are here: Goblins left in this room: START Joey is good at taking tests, but does not write papers very well.

# data[].attributes.headline
Video Clip: The effects of Plagiarism on a Middle Schooler

# data[].attributes.subject
Video Clip: The effects of Plagiarism on a Middle Schooler

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Busted! I Got Caught Plagiarizing My Homework

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech055.shtml

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Everyone knows someone who has commited a cyber crime. Perhaps you downloaded a song you shouldn't have or maybe somebody else's research was a little more helpful than it should have been. Students are no different and the temptation to commit cyber crimes exists in every school. Are our schools filled with budding cyber criminals unaware of the consequences of their online activities? Should educators scramble to institute a formal cyber ethics curriculum? Or should schools ban the use of the Internet? Read what one expert says! Included: Ten guidelines of computer ethics, online resources for teaching ethics and Internet safety, and eight tips for establishing a "culture of proper use" of technology in the classroom.
Read all about it ...

High School Student Arrested for Online Investment Fraud
A 14-year-old recently purchased inexpensive stocks, lied about their potential value in an investment chat room, and reaped hundreds of thousands of dollars when other investors bought his lies -- and the stocks!

Poll Reveals Kids Think Hacking Is OK!
Nearly half the elementary and middle school students who responded to a recent poll conducted by Scholastic, Inc., said they don't believe hacking is a crime.

Cyber Ethics Conference Convened in Maryland!
In 2000, the Cyber Citizen Partnership, a joint effort of the U.S. Department of Justice and the Technology Association of America, sponsored the first-ever national conference on cyber ethics.

FBI Calls for Cyber Ethics Curriculum!
At the conclusion of the recent cyber ethics conference, the FBI called on educators to institute programs to teach cyber ethics in schools.

Is cyber crime an epidemic? Are our schools filled with budding cyber criminals unaware of, or unconcerned with, the consequences of their online activities? Should educators scramble to institute a formal cyber ethics curriculum? Or should schools simply ban the use of the Internet?

1. Thou shalt not use a computer to harm other people.

2. Thou shalt not interfere with other people's computer work.

3. Thou shalt not snoop around in other people's files.

4. Thou shalt not use a computer to steal.

5. Thou shalt not use a computer to bear false witness.

6. Thou shalt not copy or use proprietary software for which you have not paid.

7. Thou shalt not use other people's computer resources without authorization or proper compensation.

8. Thou shalt not appropriate other people's intellectual output.

9. Thou shalt think about the social consequences of the program you write or the system you design.

10. Thou shalt use a computer in ways that show consideration of and respect for your fellow humans.

Copyright: Computer Ethics Institute Author: Dr. Ramon C. Barquin

The answer to all those questions is no, according to Jerry Crystal, technology coordinator at Carmen Arace Middle School in Bloomfield, Connecticut. Educators do need to address cyber ethics, Crystal told Education World, but they can address it in the context of their current curriculum and incorporate the lessons into ongoing programs.

Crystal should know. At Carmen Arace, a school with a minority population of nearly 90 percent, every one of the school's students is provided with a laptop with Internet access at the beginning of the school year -- and every teacher is expected to integrate technology into the curriculum.

"Every teacher at the school teaches technology," Crystal told Education World, "and every instructional team at the school has a regular tech time each week. During that time, teachers learn to deal with all sorts of technology issues, including cyber ethics."

For more information about the Carmen Arace laptop program, see the Education World story Laptops Change Curriculum -- and Students.

CYBER ETHICS ISSUES IN THE SCHOOL

What are the cyber ethics issues Carmen Arace teachers must deal with?

According to Crystal, the most common problem isn't hacking (illegally accessing Web sites) or cracking (vandalizing Web sites); It's the unauthorized downloading of games and software.

"We deal with those cases by making students aware that how technology is used is as much an ethical issue as hacking or cracking," Crystal said. "If everyone does whatever they want on a network, it uses up a ton of space and interferes with other users. ... If they download a virus along with the software, they risk destroying the entire system -- incurring a tremendous financial loss."

Another ethical issue that educators at Carmen Arace, and most other schools, deal with is the misuse of intellectual property, or copyright violations.

"In those cases, we make the issue personally relevant," Crystal said. "We put student work on our Web site to help get across the point that they are creators of online intellectual property. Then we discuss how they would feel if their work was copied by someone else without their permission."

The use of inappropriate Web sites is a problem that has received a great deal of press. At Carmen Arace, where students frequently use the Internet as textbooks, most research involves directed searches at sites provided by the teacher.

Students also surf the Web, but that's much less of a problem than you might expect. The school uses a filtering program, but "for the most part, our kids don't want to go to porno places," Crystal noted. "They're more interested in sports, music, and game sites. We've found that a better protector against inappropriate Web sites is establishing a culture of proper use of the technology."

ESTABLISHING A CULTURE OF PROPER USE

The best time to begin establishing a culture of proper use is the first day you introduce your students to technology, Crystal said, pointing out that teaching good practices is much easier than eliminating bad ones. If technology is already an established part of your students' educational experience, however, he recommends starting over with a clean slate.

"Develop a detailed universal plan for technology use and lay it out for everyone at once," said Crystal. "Hold training sessions for parents and kids together. Show videos and discuss the issues. Make it clear to everyone that the ethical rules they live by also apply to technology."

"Above all," Crystal said, "don't separate the online world and the offline world. Try to blend them together. It's the same world online and off. Just because there's a sense of anonymity online doesn't mean the rules change."

The middle school is the ideal place to focus on cyber ethics, Crystal believes, because that is where kids begin to develop their awareness of ethical behavior. "If we provide positive images and effectively communicate ethical values in all areas of their lives, those values will be reflected in the technological environment as well. How we teach kids to view themselves and their use of technology at this level is what they will carry with them into adulthood," he said.

INCORPORATING CYBER ETHICS INTO YOUR CULTURE

Crystal offers these suggestions for incorporating cyber ethics into the classroom culture:

Draw parallels between the real world and the electronic world. Make direct comparisons between what students do on the Internet and how they behave in their daily lives.

Involve students in constructive activities. Ask them to develop ten rules for a classroom acceptable use policy, for example.

Post a written acceptable use policy in your classroom, and include the consequences for violating it.

Reinforce proper behavior. Treat offenses as mistakes rather than "crimes," especially in the beginning.

Assign students to work with technology buddies, other students who have already worked with technology and will set a good example. Peers can help sell a point that students might not accept from adults. In addition, kids who are working together are less likely to get off task.

Take advantage of every teachable moment. You can't overstate the issue.

Don't model inappropriate behavior.

Instill a sense of responsibility, point out the real costs of misusing technology, and express a belief in students' ability to handle technology properly. Students will live up to or down to your expectations.

BAN THE INTERNET?

Wouldn't it be easier to simply ban Internet use in the classroom, or at least limit its use to areas where strict supervision can be provided? Crystal doesn't think so.

"Since we've begun providing students with laptops, the school has seen a dramatic decrease in discipline problems," he told Education World. "In- and out-of-school suspensions are way down, as are student and teacher absenteeism. Connecticut Mastery Test scores -- especially reading scores -- have risen, and our media center director says that more books are checked out every year. Kids are more actively involved in research through project-based activities, teachers are more active, and students are less bored. Intelligent use of technology gives kids groundwork and framework -- and provides the opportunity to reinforce the value of ethical behavior in all areas of their lives.

"The Internet," Crystal said, "has often been compared to Pandora's box, which when opened released a multitude of evils -- and only a single good quality -- into the world. The difference between Pandora's box and the Internet is that the Internet provides kids with an overwhelming amount of good information and opportunities for positive use. We can protect kids against the few evils that emerge by teaching them how to use technology in positive and ethical ways."

The following Web sites provide information and activities you can use to teach kids about the ethical use of technology.

Linda Starr
Education World®
Copyright © 2000 Education World

Related Articles from Education World

Article by Linda Starr
Education World®
Copyright © 2003 Education World

Updated 07/14/2011

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Everyone knows someone who has commited a cyber crime. Perhaps you downloaded a song you shouldn't have or maybe somebody else's research was a little more helpful than it should have been. Students are no different and the temptation to commit cyber crimes exists in every school.

# data[].attributes.body
Color coded information required in a MLA or APA citation

# data[].attributes.body
Book Citation

# data[].attributes.body
In text citation