Due to the recent technological improvements, cheating has become easier for students. This is often commented on by teachers. One of the teachers at Wayne Valley, Amy Nazarko also  thinks that, “[cheating] has become a lot easier.” The discussion of cheating tends to be sensitive between students and staff, each with their own opinion. However, both parties cannot deny the obvious, that cheating has become excessive and easier.  Cheating includes methods like plagiarism and using devices during class (for answers).

First, plagiarism been occurring way more frequently than before. This increase of plagiarism is of course due to the abundance of resources that the internet provides. An example of this would be if a person compared a paper written by a student now with a paper written a decade ago, there would be more plagiarized in the recent one. And quite frankly this it all because of laziness and the internet. Kids now have multiple articles and books at their fingertips while in the past if people plagiarized they had to find a book and read the articles within it, which required a lot more work.  Likewise, Raymond Schroth author of “The Plagiarism Plague” states that, “the underlying reason students cheat is that they have not committed themselves to the level of work they are obliged to do [in school]”(15). Therefore, showing that she too sees that the laziness of students is what ultimately results in students plagiarizing.

Not only is plagiarism a main source of cheating but also the use of devices. Many know that in the past couple decades telephones have constantly been improving, but were never that powerful. Now they have become a mini-computer in your pocket! These powerful tools allow students to send assignments to one another via messaging and also to collaborate on everything they do. For example, if a person was in one class and the other person in another class had the same essay prompt they could both write half and then submit the piece as their own and teacher would think that it was original.  Another common form of cheating is the use of a device is during testing. Students typically hide their phones (which have all the correct answers) and then quickly take a peek and then write down the correct answer. This type of cheating would have been impossible, in the past. Thus proving that cheating has become easier and way less detectable. An article titled, “Cell Should Not Be Allowed in Schools” also believes that cell phones, “allow for a student to take an exam, and take a photo of an exam and send the picture to someone else for the purposes of cheating”(Lee 3).

To conclude, there are some possible ways to decrease this amount of cheating. One solution is for every class to have pockets or a designed area where each student can place their phone before the period starts. If they do not comply then they will be sent to the principal’s office, and other disciplinary action will be taken if necessary. To combat the “plagiarism plague”, some schools have already invested in tools like turnitin to check for plagiarism. However, there is no definite solution that will stop plagiarism. Unfortunately, it will take teachers’ diligence and patience to keep an eye out for anything unoriginal.  

For more information and research visit:

SCHROTH, RAYMOND A. “The Plagiarism Plague.” America, vol. 206, no. 16, May 2012, p. 12. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=pwh&AN=75125263&site=pov-live.

Lee, Deborah, and Maureen McMahon. “Point: Cell Phones Should Not Be Allowed in Schools.” Points of View: Cell Phones in School, Jan. 2017, p. 2. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=pwh&AN=23235758&site=pov-live.