Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1291735
he becomes suspicious. "If you don't see any struggle, that is a big sign," says Quintanilla, an Imperial Valley Teachers Association member. "One of the ways I assess knowledge of major concepts is by giving a timed quiz, and have them submit their answers to each question, one at a time, almost immediately. Also, I include a Quizzizz activity [a fast-paced, interactive game] where they need to perform the skills learned in a lesson. In addition, no pun intended, I have them submit their notes for a lesson. And I give timed quizzes, where they only have a short time for each question — and no time to look it up." Suzi e P ri eb e, a hi stor y t each er at Am eli a Earhart Middle School, asks students to write about things th ey are know ledgeable about on the first day of class so she can hear their "voice" and get a "flavor" of how they write. She compares their tone to essay questions later, to determine authenticity. She also asks them interpretive questions on histor y, such as " What do you think is the most important thing about the Bill of Rights and why?" "In history, it's not as important to memorize, because you look up things on Google, such as when the Declaration of Inde- pendence was signed. But knowing why it was signed and being able to explain that is just better." Other ideas to prevent cheating online: • Mix it up, with tests having a variety of multiple-choice, true/false and open-ended questions. It's more difficult for students to share answers when they must explain concepts. • Have every student start the exam at the same time and set a time limit. e key is having enough time for students who know the information to respond, but not enough time for students who don't know the mate- rial to search online for answers. • Only show one question at a time, so stu- dents can't be searching ahead on Google. • Change test question sequence, so that all students do not have the same question at one time, to avoid screen sharing. • Give students different versions of the same test to thwart screen sharing. • Give students their scores all at the same time, so that students who finish early don't confirm answers for those still working. • Increase points for class participation. • Talk about integrity, and have students sign an "academic integrity" agreement. Encourage students to be honest Talking to students about integrity, trust and doing the right thing also prevents cheating. "I let my students know that once you are labeled a cheat, it's very hard to regain trust," says Strode. "I tell students I'd rather they not turn in an assignment than turn in work they didn't do. ey don't realize that they sometimes put more time and effort into cheating than it would take to just do the assignment. Maggie Strode Suzie Priebe " I give timed quizzes, where they only have a short time for each question — and no time to look it up." — PEDRO QUINTANILLA, Imperial Valley Teachers Association 50 cta.org Teaching & Learning