A class 10 student in my class submitted his physics assignment. I did not even have to scroll to the second page of the five-page assignment to tell that it was straight up copied from the internet. I chided the student and asked “Why did you copy it from the internet?” The student responded with sheer innocence “because the answers are easily available. Why bother with the hard work?”. Many teachers must have had similar experiences with their students. Unfortunately, the simple cut, copy, paste from the web has become a hindrance in the development of the analytical & reasoning skills of children.
Students copying from the internet and completing assignments has become the new thing to do. What we gather from the way students in school & college write their assignments is that, using the web to write an essay or finishing a difficult question has become the easy way out for the students.
What students fail to realise is that the cut, copy & paste practice from the internet will not be good for them in the long run. The question which we need to ponder over is, how far can teachers let this practice continue & turn a blind eye to the whole process. We as teachers have to worry about the deep impact this process is going to have on the students, who are following the practice right from the time they learn to use the digital devices like their computers, smart phones etc. Considering the availability of these devices in every home, the age in which students learn to use these devices has come down to even 6 or 7.
Many teachers at e-Tuitions have shared their accounts of grading students’ assignments, which are clearly copied from the internet. Ms. Purvi, chemistry teacher at our online tuition platform, shared her account of coming across such assignments daily. She gives online classes of chemistry to students of Class 10-12 on our website. She says, “I do not mind students taking help from google. What I do mind is that students do not even bother to change the answers even a little bit. The pandemic has worsened the situation. Because there is easy availability of digital devices to the students.”
After speaking to few of the teachers at our platform for online tuitions for school & college students, we present few points which parents & teachers must know. Reading the following points will help you and the students understand why copying from the internet is a bad practice & what can be done to stop it from becoming a habit.
1. Why do students copy from the internet
Students copy off the internet because they lack the confidence to write an assignment all by themselves. Generally, the students are not aware that turning in an assignment, written by themselves independently is much better than a perfect assignment which they have copied. Teachers & parents must encourage the students to write the assignments themselves. It’s crucial to let the students know that it’s alright to make a few mistakes and submit an average homework.
2. Do not rebuke the students for being lazy
Yes, it’s true that many times students copy assignments because of laziness. But constant rebuking is not the solution. We must let the students know of the consequences of simply copying from google searches or their peers. Teachers must come with questions & topics for assignments which are impossible to copy from the web. If a student is still found copying, then a teacher or parent can give an individual session to the student. We need to make the students feel the sense of accomplishment, which they will achieve, once they stop with the internet usage for their homework.
3. Changing the grading method
In our education system, there is a grading pattern followed by all schools & teachers. We ought to change it. The grades are what scare the students. Receiving a bad grade on a paper is what makes students resort to picking material from the internet. They feel that if they copy from the perfect answers available on the web, then they will receive good grades. The schools & teachers must come up with a grading system, where a student receives grades based on their hard work & relative to their previous assignments. This will go a long way in letting the students know that their hard work is acknowledged.
4. Make students understand the difference between taking reference & copying
Often students fail to understand that taking help from Wikipedia links & copying from these entries are completely different things. We have to let the students understand that reading & going through various links on the internet is alright. It’s ok to read the material available on the internet. It will provide them with the help they seek & might as well add to their knowledge. The students must be taught to solve the problems by themselves after going through the material they find on their favourite google.