Technical Strategies to Promote Academic Integrity

Technological strategies to prevent cheating in online assessments come in three basic forms:

1. Plagiarism detection software for written assignments
2. Maximizing quiz security settings for Canvas Quizzes
3. Using proctoring software to monitor students taking Canvas Quizzes

Plagiarism Detection Software

Plagiarism detection software detects plagiarism by comparing a learner's work against a database of other learners' work and against a search of internet sources. If the work submitted by a learner has passages that match writing in the database or web sources, the software will flag the similarity in a report to the instructor and learner.

The University of Washington is transitioning to SimCheck, a plagiarism detection tool. The Faculty Council on Academic Standards and Faculty Council on Teaching and Learning guidelines require that faculty "notify their students in advance that they may be using a plagiarism detection service."

In addition, UW IT notes that "Instructors may not submit papers prepared by UW students to other Internet services to evaluate plagiarism. Plagiarism detection should be conducted only through services that have an approved contractual relationship with the UW."

In Canvas, SimCheck can be enabled on any assignment that involves submitting text or a document. See the How to Use SimCheck (Formally Vericite) Plagiarism Detection page for more directions.

Maximizing Canvas Quiz Security

For administering Canvas Quizzes, most faculty, including some who previously required proctoring software, find that simply setting their quiz up securely works well, without the added technical challenges—or security and data privacy concerns—of proctoring systems.

The "Quiz Settings to Maximize Security" Links to an external site. Canvas Guide covers these options in detail.

Using Proctoring Software

Exam proctoring tools use various authentication methods, browser lockdowns, and webcam surveillance to watch learners as they are taking exams remotely. The University of Washington currently contracts with Proctorio for remote online proctoring. For information on when and how to use Proctorio, visit the UW's "Online Exam Proctoring" page.    

Concerns about Proctoring and Anti-Plagiarism Systems

University administrators and faculty are increasingly concerned Links to an external site. about the impact anti-cheating software and services have on learners' data privacy. Many anti-plagiarism tools use learner data and learner-generated essays without clear consent from the learners themselves, raising questions about data privacy and intellectual property. Additionally, some researchers Links to an external site.wonder whether the facial recognition/comparison and behavioral tracking used by some educational technologies Links to an external site. are contributing to the rise of a culture of surveillance in higher education. 

Additionally, anti-cheating software isn't free. Proctoring services raise the cost of instruction. 

Finally, anti-cheating software also can seemingly raise the stakes of an assignment, exacerbating one of the mindsets that prompts learners to cheat in the first place.

Please, choose proctoring or anti-plagiarism software with great care.