August 2019 E-News

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August 2019 

Online Monthly E-News 

Hello Online Instructors! 

Where has summer gone? Before we realize it fall is just around the 
corner.  

Here are some reminders for you to consider:  

Prior to starting a new course, please go into your course and preview making sure the 
assignment instructions and Rubrics align along with all links to ensure they are 
functioning. You do not need to go through the entire course in one day but rather look 
at a couple of Learning Plans each week to make this more manageable. We have been 
experiencing an increase in curriculum content and functionality issues lately and would 
like to have these issues addressed as soon as possible. Should your course begin on the 
day of the new term, please check 48 hours for access. On the other hand, a course that 
starts in the middle of the term, try attempting access 1 week prior. 

Another reminder involves consistency across all courses when grading assignments for 
academic integrity. Please be sure to enable Turnitin for your course. When all instructors 
are enforcing proper writing style skills, a clear message regarding academic integrity is 
sent out to all students. This then significantly reduces any gray area in the student body 
not knowing expectations from one instructor to another.   

Please remember the College’s policy regarding ​a 24-hour response time for emails, and 
grading of assignments within a 48-hour period after the assigned due date. 

Finally, should you notice that a student is not handing assignments or discussion on the 
due date, please reach out to them and attempt to determine the cause and reasoning 
behind the submissions not getting in on time. Send out a couple of communications to 
the individual and should you not hear back, connect with their student advisor. By 
following this procedure we can correct the situation sooner rather than later before it 
becomes unmanageable.  

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DATES TO REMEMBER 
● Next intake of students: August 26 

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PICK OF THE MONTH:​ ​How to Turn a Check for Plagiarism Into a Teachable Moment 

By: Amel Ben Abdesslem, PhD

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I started teaching economics in higher education almost a decade ago, and yet the 
memory of the first time I asked a student to meet with me to talk about plagiarism is still 
painful. Rather than resolve anything, in the middle of our conversation he abruptly stood 
up and walked out, slamming the door behind ​him.Throughout my career from my 
bachelor’s degree to my PhD, I had been warned about plagiarism. We learned the dos 
and don’ts in my undergraduate work and during graduate school when writing research 
articles for peer-reviewed journals. I remember wondering why anyone would risk his or 
her reputation. And yet thinking back to that first student plagiarist, the problem made 
me realize that plagiarism is more complex than simple laziness. 
I actually still wonder if this student knew what plagiarism meant, but I never got the 
time to explain. Unfortunately, this was not the only case in my teaching career. I think it 
is safe to assume that students don’t exactly know the rules. Consequently, I have started 
giving a short refresher to my students at the beginning of each term. It has helped a 
little, but perhaps not as much as one would expect. 
I’ve taught about 1,500 students—from the young adult who just graduated from high 
school, to the adult learner who already has extensive work experience. I have taught at 
the University of Bordeaux in France, Stratford University (VA), George Mason University 
(VA), Southern New Hampshire University (online), and Marymount University (VA). In 
each of these institutions I have encountered at least one case of plagiarism, from 
copying an entire essay that was submitted years before by another student, to “just” 
forgetting to write down references. 

In all interactions, I stress my role as a helper, not a police officer.

It used to be that for every essay assigned, I had to spend a good amount of time 
checking for plagiarism. By hand. If the originality of a section was suspect, I pasted it into 
a Google search. Time consuming? Yes. At that time, I was a PhD student as well as an 
instructor, reading research papers daily, collecting data, attending research conferences, 
and meeting with my PhD supervisor. Needless to say, I didn’t have time for this. 
When in the U.S., I still found cases of suspected plagiarism, but thankfully I had more 
tools to detect and prevent it. There were more cases of plagiarism with my online 
classes. Few students apparently read (or heeded) my post on plagiarism in the LMS. In 
face-to-face classes, they had no choice but to listen to me. Yet despite my efforts, I still 
had to approach several online students suspected of plagiarizing. Some understood the 
issue quickly and learned from their mistakes. Others were a bit more reluctant to admit 
to fault. 
Throughout all this, there is a system which works well for me that saves me time while 
not diminishing the importance of my personal relationship with students. I’ve found that 
Turnitin Feedback Studio​ for online submissions is a tremendous help. Rather than rely 
on my own instincts, I check the similarity score of submitted papers and investigate in 
more detail if the score is too high. 
My first step is to send a personalized email to the student, explain the issue, and remind 
them about references and paraphrasing, and the nuances of intellectual property. I then 
offer them a chance to resubmit. It is quite common—I’d venture to say that 90 percent 
of the time—that the mistake is a simple oversight or act of laziness. In all interactions, I 

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stress my role as a helper, not a police officer. Rarely do such mistakes happen twice; 
Students become much more meticulous in subsequent assignments. 
I’ve found that a similarity score of over 40 percent is the threshold for getting 
concerned. My students get their similarity report to review before they turn in their final 
paper—make sure this feature is turned on for your students—so they can edit and 
resubmit if they think their similarity score approaches the number of concerns. 
Sometimes, my students don’t make changes but instead, they can explain the reason for 
the high similarity score. There are often very logical reasons for the high numbers. If their 
reasoning is sound, then I am fine with that. 
When the final piece still has too high of a score, I send that student a detailed report 
showing the actual areas of concern with a personalized email. I want these students to 
see what I see because the whole point of college is to learn something, right? We’ve all 
cut corners or make mistakes. The similarity report is simply generated by a computer. It 
isn’t my personal opinion. It is a place to start a conversation, not assign a grade or point 
fingers. This report lays out the facts, and I’ve found that seeing it in black and white does 
two things: 

1. It separates the action from the person and gives us a “thing” to talk about rather 
than what they did intentionally or unintentionally. 

2. There is a benefit to seeing how easily and thoroughly tools like Turnitin are in 
finding content matches. 

I wish I had this kind of tool when I first started to teach. It would have strengthened and 
supported my pedagogy sooner, and made my job easier and my relationship with the 
students stronger. Thanks to the transparent and unbiased reports, I can now address 
plagiarism without it being a punitive moment. It has helped me to realize where 
knowledge gaps are, and it has helped my students to feel empowered rather than 
defeated. 
Amel Ben Abdesslem is an adjunct professor at George Mason University in the School of 
Business and also at Marymount University. She is also a research associate at the 
University of Bordeaux, France and an adjunct professor of online courses for Southern 
New Hampshire University. She holds a PhD in International Economics from the 
University of Bordeaux. She has published numerous scholarly articles on business and 
economics, speaks four languages, and in 2018, was the winner of the Excellence in 
Academic Integrity Award. 
Here are a couple of responses to the article that was posted in the discussion forum: 
 

BLT​ ​•​ ​an hour ago 

Based on my experience with plagiarism checkers (including Turnitin) the similarity 
percentage on those reports is an indicator of originality more than plagiarism (and those 
are two different things). A paper could have a similarity percentage of 80%, not because 
the student plagiarized, but because the paper is filled with properly cited quotes from 
outside sources. Therefore, the high percentage is not an indicator of plagiarism at all. 

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A similarity report is simply showing how much of the paper matches what the checker is 
comparing it with, which is the internet and other papers already submitted to its 
checking service. 

The report should have a way for teachers to see a breakdown of the similarity 
percentage into various categories, such as quoted text. I find it very helpful to look at the 
quoted text portion of the similarity report so I can make sure that quoted material was 
properly cited. If it was properly cited, but has a high similarity score, then the 
conversation with students is not about plagiarism. 

Bottom line: The similarity percentage is telling you how much of the paper is original 
with the student. Sometimes it means there was plagiarism, but often it does not. There 
is no certain percentage threshold that indicates when plagiarism has or hasn't occurred. 
A paper could have a similarity percentage of 10% and contain plagiarized content, but a 
paper could also have a similarity percentage of 40% and not contain any plagiarized 
content. 

I find it better to approach students about what is actually in their papers, rather than 
about what their similarity percentage is. 
 

Laura Shulman​ ​ BLT​ ​•​ a​ n hour ago​ ​•​ ​edited 

BLT, I remember a well cited paper that was almost all quoted material! I had a talk with 
the student about overuse of quotes and proper use of research. I expected improvement 
of originality on future papers. She tried, though it was slow going for her to gradually 
reduce percent of quoted (and cited) material. I am guessing students do this because 
they do not trust themselves to express their own thoughts about something. 

Another reason for high similarity report is due to bibliography. I have seen 25% reports 
and it was mostly in the bibliography. Also statements of fact and common knowledge 
will be picked up in these reports. When those statements are short phrases they can 
easily be ignored as reasonable coincidence. 
 
Do you agree or disagree with the comments posted in the discussion forum? 
 
 
 

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ANDRAGOGY: Adult Learning video 

Please take a look at this YouTube video presentation on Andragogy (Adult Learning) 
based on Malcolm Knowles’ theory of adult learning.   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLoPiHUZbEw&t=2s 

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INSTRUCTOR PROFILE:​ ​FRANCINE PROCTOR 

In our July newsletter we got to know Chris Stucker from out Technology 
Program. In this month's edition we are pleased to present to you 
Francine Proctor​. Francine instructs in our Business Program 
specializing in the Legal Assistant program. 

I have had the privilege of being an online instructor with Robertson 
College Online for three years. It is amazing that I can be engaging with learners from 
various parts of Canada from my home on the West Coast, in Victoria, BC.  

I have a background in both education and law. I obtained a Bachelor of Education from 
the University of British Columbia and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Victoria. I 
teach in the Legal Assistant Program and have taught all of the substantive legal courses 
and some of the skills-based courses. In addition to teaching online, I work full-time at 
the University of Victoria as the Law Co-op Coordinator - a position I have thoroughly 
enjoyed since 2008. In this role, I mentor law students while they are obtaining practical 
work experience during co-op work terms with legal employers. Before this, I worked in 
private legal practice and for the BC government. I also worked as an Elementary School 
Teacher for a few years before attending law school. I am passionate about having a 
career that combines my backgrounds in both education and law.  

As an instructor, I am constantly impressed by the resilience of my students. Many are 
working other jobs, have parenting responsibilities, and are otherwise working flat-out to 
obtain an education and career. I have corresponded with students who are submitting 
assignments late at night after completing a double-shift at work or putting a sick child 
to bed. Not only does this student dedication enhance my commitment as an online 
instructor, but I carry it with me in other aspects of my life.   

I strongly believe in online and experiential education so I appreciate when students 
share their personal experiences with each other, thus making their learning more 
grounded and practical. Online learning enhances accessibility to training and education, 
and I love being a part of each student’s experience.  

I would describe a strategy that I find effective for engaging learners as “inspiring 
confidence”. Often when a student asks me a question, I respond with a question and 

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encourage them to take another look at the issue. I might also add a comment like “I 
believe you can do this”. Students sure feel great when they realize that they are bright 
and capable. I also remind students that learning is a lifelong and continuous process. I 
encourage students to have a curious mind and to take advantage of their classmates, 
particularly in the discussion posts, as we all have so much to learn from each other. In 
the legal profession, the law is always evolving and students will become valued 
members of a team of legal professionals working to provide excellent client service. The 
time spent in the Legal Assistant Program is a great opportunity to work on those 
teamwork and communication competencies. 

When I am not working, I enjoy spending time with my ten-year-old son and our three 
cats, and my partner. We love getting outdoors – hiking, bike riding, hitting one of many 
of our local beaches. I have done a few sprint distance triathlons and plan to start curling 
again this winter. I am also learning how to be a passenger on a Harley Davidson 
motorcycle – yes, there are actually skills involved, lol. You see – learning really is lifelong! 

I’m proud to be part of the Robertson College team. I hope everyone is having a great 
summer.  

Thank you, Francine, for your contribution to this month’s newsletter. Robertson College 
is very thankful to have you and all the other instructors as part of the team providing the 
students with the knowledge and skills necessary to be successful upon graduation. 

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QUOTE FOR THE MONTH: 

“Education needs not only to develop our intelligence but also to support the 
basic human values of warm-heartedness and compassion”.  
(Dalai Lama) 

Source:​http://mindfultibet.com/14-quotes-on-education-and-knowledge-by-his-holiness-dalai-lama/

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FACULTY CORNER: TECHNOLOGY TRENDS IN EDUCATION 

There have been many technological advances since 2000. Some of 
the changes are as follows. A noticeable growing trend is the rate at 
which personal computers are now being replaced by hand-held 
devices in both sales and personal use. Although not universal, access 
to the internet continues to reach out to Canadians in remote areas 
allowing more people the ability to increase their knowledge capacity, allowing for 
greater access to various forms of information, services and technical support. With a 
greater availability to internet access, online learning an option to obtaining a higher 
education has also seen an increase in enrollments in online programs. Findings have 
shown that approximately 1.5 million online courses for credit are being taken by students 

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across the country each year. By 2030, further changes will be noticeable in the following 
areas. 

1. Assessing and supporting students will be done using Artificial Intelligence and 
Machine intelligence. 

2. Enhanced simulations and games using augmented reality (a simple combination 
of real and virtual (computer-generated) worlds so as to permit life-like labs in 
science, engineering, music and art just to name a few disciplines. 

3. Far more extensive use of open education resources by both learners and their 
instructors, both because of the ease of access and cost, but also because of quality 
assurance being attached to such resources. 

  
Technology will continue to develop in such a way as to make learning more accessible, 
affordable and personal for students of tomorrow. As technology develops, institutions 
will need to respond and incorporate these developments to keep aligned with student 
behavior. 
  

Source: 
https://contactnorth.ca/sites/default/files/pdf/external-presentations/future_of_higher_education_and_learn
ing_0.pdf 

All the best in your courses this month. Until next time from your Management team… 
Tiffany, Michael, Amanda, Caitlin and Greg 

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