4 ms·

How much "cheating" was actually done here? Was it simply that people's answers looked similar? On a take-home test with open book, open Internet, you'd expect

How much "cheating" was actually done here? Was it simply that people's answers looked similar? On a take-home test with open book, open Internet, you'd expect that everyone would probably Google the same sources. I'm also suspicious of people who claim that sharing notes is in violation of some cheating rule. I posted the source code to most of my school projects on GitHub. If people want to crib off my code that's not my problem -- I did the work, whether or not they want to is their problem.

holograham 14y ago
I did this back in H.S. comp sci class (posted my projects to my personal website). I was punished by getting a D in AP comp sci (though aced the AP exam). Definitely was not approved at my school...aided and abetted in cheating apparently.
- Lewisham 14y ago
  Computer Science is sort of odd in that respect, and it does vary from department to department. For example, my undergrad school was very clear that everyone's home directories were set to being publicly readable, and that it was expected that there would be times that you would want to see someone else's source. This was essentially asynchronous lab work: we could always talk though problems together, but we were never able to cut and paste code (the detection system looked for things like whitespace to detect cut-and-paste vs hand-typed). When there were two matching submissions, both students would be pulled up and then the administration had to figure out who copied who. What I heard on the grapevine was that usually it was really obvious: students that had been struggling were the ones most likely to cheat, and even when they matched in ability, the guilty party would crack pretty quickly and own up. Personally, I think there are better ways of doing computer science assignments anyway: I tend to TA classes where students work on self-defined projects rather than doing the same rote exercise, so cut-and-paste is no help anyway.
wisty 14y ago
> I did the work, whether or not they want to is their problem. And the problem of the mediocre students who don't cheat, but get graded below the cheaters; and employers, who will tend to hire less honest and less capable graduates.
- Locke1689 14y ago
  Well, maybe, but I was never one to care too much about grades. More often than not copying off me was a bad idea for most of the students because the professors knew that the level of work was too high for the cheater.
cbhl 14y ago
> I posted the source code to most of my school projects on GitHub. If people want to crib off my code that's not my problem -- I did the work, whether or not they want to is their problem. This is not true at all post-secondary institutions. For example, the University of Waterloo's Policy 71 - Student Discipline[0] explicitly puts the burden on you to prevent others from cribbing your work: "Students are responsible for demonstrating behaviour that is honest and ethical in their academic work. Such behaviour includes: <snip> * Preventing their work from being used by others, e.g. not lending assignments to others, protecting access to computer files." [0] https://uwaterloo.ca/secretariat/policies-procedures-guidelines/policy-71 https://uwaterloo.ca/secretariat/policies-procedures-guideli...
- Locke1689 14y ago
  My school does not have this policy. It appears ludicrous on its face. If I leave my house unlocked and someone steals all my things, what ethical boundary have I violated? No criminal is an agent of my will. Not locking my doors does not make me complicit in my own robbery.

holograham 14y ago

I did this back in H.S. comp sci class (posted my projects to my personal website). I was punished by getting a D in AP comp sci (though aced the AP exam). Definitely was not approved at my school...aided and abetted in cheating apparently.

Lewisham 14y ago
Computer Science is sort of odd in that respect, and it does vary from department to department. For example, my undergrad school was very clear that everyone's home directories were set to being publicly readable, and that it was expected that there would be times that you would want to see someone else's source. This was essentially asynchronous lab work: we could always talk though problems together, but we were never able to cut and paste code (the detection system looked for things like whitespace to detect cut-and-paste vs hand-typed). When there were two matching submissions, both students would be pulled up and then the administration had to figure out who copied who. What I heard on the grapevine was that usually it was really obvious: students that had been struggling were the ones most likely to cheat, and even when they matched in ability, the guilty party would crack pretty quickly and own up. Personally, I think there are better ways of doing computer science assignments anyway: I tend to TA classes where students work on self-defined projects rather than doing the same rote exercise, so cut-and-paste is no help anyway.

wisty 14y ago

> I did the work, whether or not they want to is their problem. And the problem of the mediocre students who don't cheat, but get graded below the cheaters; and employers, who will tend to hire less honest and less capable graduates.

Locke1689 14y ago
Well, maybe, but I was never one to care too much about grades. More often than not copying off me was a bad idea for most of the students because the professors knew that the level of work was too high for the cheater.

cbhl 14y ago

> I posted the source code to most of my school projects on GitHub. If people want to crib off my code that's not my problem -- I did the work, whether or not they want to is their problem. This is not true at all post-secondary institutions. For example, the University of Waterloo's Policy 71 - Student Discipline[0] explicitly puts the burden on you to prevent others from cribbing your work: "Students are responsible for demonstrating behaviour that is honest and ethical in their academic work. Such behaviour includes: <snip> * Preventing their work from being used by others, e.g. not lending assignments to others, protecting access to computer files." [0] https://uwaterloo.ca/secretariat/policies-procedures-guidelines/policy-71 https://uwaterloo.ca/secretariat/policies-procedures-guideli...

Locke1689 14y ago
My school does not have this policy. It appears ludicrous on its face. If I leave my house unlocked and someone steals all my things, what ethical boundary have I violated? No criminal is an agent of my will. Not locking my doors does not make me complicit in my own robbery.