Plagiarism Detection and Prevention

According to Jocoy and DiBiase (2006), “Plagiarism occurs when a writer deliberately uses someone else’s language, ideas, or other original materials without acknowledging its source”. It is characterized as dishonesty and is described as “cheating” (Jocoy, C., & DiBiase, D., p. 2. 2006). Researchers have identified different forms of plagiarism such as copying word-for-word or poor paraphrasing.  There are many software available for instructors to identify plagiarism such as Turnitin, Grammarly, and Essay Verification Engine to compare student’s  papers to Web documents and/or to essay databases to find and report instances of matching text (Jocoy, C., & DiBiase, D. 2006).

Dr. Palloff and Dr, Pratt (Laureate Edu., Inc. 2012), states “many students are not aware that they are plagiarizing”.  They also emphasize on how important it is educate learning on plagiarism to prevent this action. I believe this statement is factual because I wasn’t aware of self-plagiarism.  I did not know re-using (your) materials from a previous is considered as plagiarism.  I assumed since it was my work I could reuse it. Therefore, it is vital for instructors to educate learners about copyright, plagiarism, and cheating because of many learners as not aware.  To prevent plagiarism, Dr. Palloff suggests instructors design assessments to incorporate collaboration and discourage cheating; as well as relates to real life expectations.  Personally, I do not think learners intentionally plagiarize.  I believe the lack of knowledge of not knowing how to paraphrase and cite sources appropriately increases plagiarism.

References

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2012). Plagiarism and cheating. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Jocoy, C., & DiBiase, D. (2006). Plagiarism by adult learners online: A case study in detection and remediation. International Review of Research in Open & Distance Learning, 7(1), 1–15.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases. 

 

Impact of Technology on Adult Learners

In this day and time, technology is a pretty much a necessity!  I believe it is a major impact for adult learners, especially online learners.  Due to the lack of physical presence, we must demonstrate social presence; which is more demanding and challenging. I believe technically is an essential tool to utilize for effective collaboration because it allows learns to communicate with each other; as well as promotes engagement.   I strongly believe that adult learners must get out of our comfort zone and emerge in learning and practicing something new because the 21^st century revolves and functions around technology.   Therefore, instructors must stay current with the latest trends of technology to motivate students to participate as active learners.   The online teaching survival guide provided suggestions on what instructors should consider before incorporating technology.

As I analyzed the guidelines, there were two that captured my attention which are guidelines (2) keep it simple, and guideline (3) involve learners in choices and use of digital tools resources (Boettcher, J. V., & Conrad, R. 2016).  In the media segment Enhancing the online experience, Dr. Palloff suggests instructors give students the freedom to use different technologies when working collaboratively; give students choices and options to choose from (Laureate Edu., Inc., 2016).   I relate “keep it simple” to the KISS method which is KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID!  I believe this guideline is beneficial for both instructor and learner because it develops a clear understanding.  I believe it is important to implement technologies that ensure accessibility and usability for adult learners.

There are several techniques I would incorporate such as PowerPoint presentations, YouTube, Zoom, Skype, and social media.  I would present each technology and allow students to make a selection of their choice to ensure comfort.  I think these selections would motivate learners to become actively involved within the group.  The most powerful tool I believe every learner will enjoy is creating a group on social media where students can communicate and collaborate on discussions; as well as sharing of resources.   According to research “More than 1.2 million people use Facebook regularly.  Educators are utilizing social media to share news resources, as professional communities of practice, as learning communities, and as a platform to share interesting stories about topics students are studying in class” (Higher Edu., 2014, p. 8).   I think it is important to incorporate technologies that are beneficial and interesting for every learner and Many people enjoy using social media as entertainment.  Therefore, I believe when someone enjoys something, they are more interested and involved; in results of effective group collaboration.

References

Boettcher, J. V., & Conrad, R. (2016). The online teaching survival guide: Simple and practical pedagogical tips (2nd ed.) San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2012). Enhancing the online experience. Baltimore, MD: Author.

New Media Consortium and EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative. (2014).

The horizon report: 2014 edition. Retrieved from http://www.nmc.org/publication/nmc-horizon-report-2016-higher-education-edition/

Internet-Based Multimedia Resources for Online Learning

In the today’s society, basically everything operates through the use of technology and it is excelling rapidly.  I believe that it is important that adult educators incorporate technology into the curriculum designs to meet the needs of adult learners in effective learning.  The two technologies I found very interesting for learners are the Wiki tool.enhance and Gamification.

According to Ten Emerging Technologies for Higher, Education, (2015), gamification is based on the theory that students will be more engaged with the learning process and will ultimately achieve greater academic success if learning is based on gaming concepts such as competition, incentives, and goal attainment.  Wikispaces Classroom is a social writing platform for education; where educators can create a classroom environment to communicate and engage with an online community effectively.

Both of these tools are modern, fun, and convenient! However, there are pros and cons in every situation.  My only concern is the platforms are open to the public.  Overall, I think that both technologies are beneficial for both learners and instructors and I believe they will increase adult learners thinking skills and engagement.

References

Ahalt, S. & Fecho, K. (2015): Ten Emerging Technologies for Higher Education.

RENCI, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.7921/G0PN93HQ

Wikibooks (2017). Change issues in curriculum and instruction/wikis in the classroom. Retrieved from https://en.wikibooks.org

Zunos (2018).  Gamified learning. Gamifying learning to engage your staff.

Retrieved from https://www.zunos.com/gamified-learning

 

Setting Up Effective Online Learning Experiences

In this week resources, we focused on techniques for creating an effective online environment and the importance of developing a positive learning experience.  I believe the best practice to utilize for an online course is “presence”.  “Social presence is “achieved in the community of inquiry model by the faculty and students projecting their personal characteristics into the discussion so they become ‘real people’” (Boettcher, J. V., & Conrad, R. 2016).  As we know, an online and a traditional environment is a totally different experience.  Due to the no face-to-face communication online, it can be quite difficult to connect and interact with the online community, which is the way I believe “presence” is vital.  I believe to make yourself presence is like putting your face on an invisible person.  I would say, more like a blind person, “You can’t see the person but you place an image of them through their presence and characteristics.”

In the video segment “Launching the Online Learning Experience,” Dr. Rena Palloff and Dr. Keith Pratt shared some essential strategies for presenting “presence” such as get to know your students in the through bios and intros, refer to students bios throughout the course to make informed comments and responses, use students’ names in comments and responses to them as soon as possible (Laureate Education, Inc., 2012).  I believe that these practices are relevant to implement because it gives the learners the sense of “they know me”, which promotes self-confidence and acknowledgment.

I believe it is necessary to communicate clear expectations to online learners to prepare students of what is expected from the learners and instructor; in results of gaining a clear understanding from both parties.  “Clear and unambiguous guidelines about what is expected of learners and what they can expect from an instructor make a significant contribution to ensuring understanding and satisfaction (Boettcher, J. V., & Conrad, R. 2016).

An additional consideration I believe instructors should take into account when setting up an online experience is “patience”.  Considering many factors such as older adult learners, first time online learners, and life challenges.  Therefore, patience must be practiced.  I believe that it is important for instructors to be patient and considerate of learner’s needs and show learners their concern and most importantly “they care!”

References

Boettcher, J. V., & Conrad, R. (2016). The online teaching survival guide: Simple and practical pedagogical tips (2nd ed.) San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2012). Launching the online learning experience.Baltimore, MD: Author.

Online Learning Communities

In this week’s reading resource, we had the opportunity to explore strategies for building effective online learning communities.   In the media segment, Dr. Rena Palloff and Dr. Keith Pratt define “online learning communities” and highlight the benefits of creating a learning community for facilitators of online learning experiences.  Dr. Rena Palloff defines an online community as a community of students and faculty who explore content together to construct meaning and knowledge.  She stated “the power of learning communities is learner-to-learner engagement” where learners can support, challenge, empower and engage with one another to create meaning (Laureate Education, Inc., 2012).

Dr. Rena Palloff and Dr. Keith Pratt also explained and emphasized the essential element of online learning which are people, purpose, and process.  People must be involved to make the community and their purpose to the community is the process of the way the course is delivered.  The people in the community must be able to interact, engage, connect, communicate, and develop a social presence.  The benefits of the learning community are student satisfaction, the perception of learning, feeling part of something larger, and social pressure to succeed (Laureate Ed., Inc., 2012).  I believe that the key objective of an effective online learning experience is developing a relationship with the community.  I believe it is important to build a relationship with both colleagues and instructors to develop a sense comfort, equality, and trust.

Our text provides Ten Leaning Principles in which principle 9 relates to my perspective.  Principle 9:  Everything else being equal, more time on task equals more learning.  “It is basically the time-on-task principle: that learners spend more time interacting with, creating, and using knowledge and skills, the more facile, accomplished, and confident they will be.  Time on task is what is required for learners to make knowledge their own, creating structures, links, and connections,  within their own knowledge structure” (Boettcher, J. V., & Conrad, R., 2016, p.39).  Therefore, I believe that an effective online community consists of support and engagement from both peers and faculty.  I  believe that everyone should feel valued, respected, and accepted to confidently share perspectives and gain knowledge from others.

References

Boettcher, J. V., & Conrad, R. (2016). The online teaching survival guide: Simple and practical pedagogical tips (2nd ed.) San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2012). Online learning communities. Baltimore, MD: Author.

 

Profile of a Volunteer

“Volunteers are people who donate their time and energy to help individuals, organizations, and causes without expectation of monetary reward” (Knieff, 2009, p. 187). In this week’s assignment we had the-opportunity to honor volunteers.  The two ladies in the picture above are the most faithful volunteers I know!  They sacrifice and dedicate their time daily.  I meet these two wonderful ladies at my job (Head Start) in which they work as volunteers.  They came to volunteer their service everyday single day in the classroom working with the children.  They have no transportation but they made a sacrifice to ride the bus each day to volunteer their service.  My job honored them for their faithfulness and they are truly admired by many. 

They made a positive impact in life and I am proud to call them my own!  When I started my non-profit organization they were the first two people I called and I had no doubt about them; because they have proven themselves worthy.  It was a privilege to have these God sent women in our mist!  We are blessed to have many supporter and volunteers but nothing can compare to these ladies!  They volunteered their service every day without any complaints.  They valued our mission and served faithfully without cost.  We are so thankful for these ladies; they taught us so much.  They taught us the true meaning of being a servant in “serving others”.   They influence my life in such a GREAT way.  They taught me how to serve others with a genuine heart and for that “I humbly consider myself as a servant!”

Reference

Kieff, J. (2009). Informed advocacy in early childhood care and education. 

Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

 

Using Social Media to Get Connected

According to research, more than 1.2 million people use social media such as Facebook, Twitter and blog sites regularly for entertainment, marketing, and social contact (Higher Edu., 2014).  For years I have used Facebook to connect with friends and family; as well as entertainment.  Presently, I utilized social media to promote my non-profit organization to reach the public and similar organizations.   Social media is a great tool to advertise, campaign advocacy work and build awareness.   I use Facebook to post my organization’s story and daily activities to keep people engaged and inspired.  When people see my post, they are likely to comment, like, and share it with others.

The more likes and shares you receive, the more visible your page will be the public which can help people remember your organization and be inspired to give when you launch a fundraising campaign.   I will share my first campaign utilizing social media as an example.  For our first fundraiser project, we campaigned on GoFundMe and we shared it on Facebook.  Each time someone donated, it appeared on my post and it encouraged others to donate.  Each donor shared our campaign on their page and the awareness rapidly traveled at a fast pace.  In less than two weeks we raised over 3,500 dollars and our organization became very known to public!   Many other local agencies and small business have contributed to us through social medial.  My experience with social media has been very effective in my advocacy work through awareness, promoting supporters, and fundraiser campaigns.   I think social media is the most effective tool to use to promote advocacy work and I highly recommend my colleagues to utilize social media to promote advocacy efforts.

I suggest my colleagues to visit this website on using social media as a tool to promote advocacy efforts  https://nonprofits.fb.com/topic/strengthen-relationships/

 

References:

New Media Consortium and EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative. (2014). The horizon report: 2014 edition. Retrieved from http://www.nmc.org/publication/nmc-horizon-report-2016-higher-education-edition/

Facebook for non-profits. (2016).  Retrieved from https://nonprofits.fb.com/

 

 

 

 

 

 

ADVOCACY MESSAGE

“Be More Than Just a Bystander”

The Ad Council started this PSA campaign on behalf of federal government, non-profit, media and corporate communities; to empower parents to encourage their children not to be a bystander or eyewitness of bulling (Ad Council, 2016).  This ad really captured my attention entitled “You’re Worthless” because it best deserves what a person is if they allow bulling in their presence.  I believe if a person witness bullying of any form and not address the issue by making someone in authority aware of it, then they are just as guilty than the person that is bulling.  As a teacher and a parent, I know the negative impact of a child, even an adult being bullied!  I have seen how bulling impact an individual self-esteem to point they feel as if their irrelevant and worthless.  I encourage my students and community not to stand by allow bulling.  Instead be the victim hero by informing someone about the situation because you just might save someone’s life.

“Stop the Texts, Stop the Wrecks”

“Americans are highly aware of and concerned about the issue. More than nine in ten Americans believe sending (94%) and reading (91%) texts while driving is dangerous. This campaign targets drivers ages 16 – 34 and seeks to hit home the idea that even though people feel impervious to the dangers of texting and driving” (Ad Council, 2016).  When I looked at this picture, I saw myself because I am guilty of texting and driving.  Although I do be at a stop sign or light, it is still dangerous.  This campaign is so necessary because texting and selfies is the new trend that I believe causes many accidents!  I have encountered so many drivers (including myself) being distracted at a light/traffic because their texting or snapping a picture.  I have a personal testimony concerning this issue I want to share in hopes of encouragement.  I pick up my 3-year-old nephew every day for school.  One morning I received a text; I picked up my phone to read the text (while driving) and my nephew said “Tee Tee, please don’t kill me!” I said “WHAT!”  He said “Tee tee, my teacher said if you pick up your phone while driving you can kill someone and yourself! It is not safe to be on the phone driving!”  When he said that I felt so guilty and ashamed that I didn’t value his life nor my own in attempting to text and drive.  From that day forward, I have not pick up my phone while diving.  I set my phone on Bluetooth to answer my phone to avoid having it in my hands; allowing my hands to be the wheel ONLY!

Reference

Ad Council (2016). Stop the texts, stop the wrecks.  Retrieved from

http://www.adcouncil.org/Our-Campaigns/Safety/Texting-and-Driving-Prevention

Ad Council (2016). Be more than just a bystander.  Retrieved from http://www.adcouncil.org/Our-Campaigns/Safety/Bullying-Prevention

 

 

 

“My Own Capacity.”

My challenge for social change is creating more opportunities for families living in poverty to provide their children with a high-quality education.  It is my intentions to advocate and impact the lives of children and families of poverty in my community. I believe the solution to resolving this issue is providing more job opportunities, an increase of federal budget in existing programs, pay increase and ensure children’s basic needs are met, the nation could reduce child poverty (Children’s Defense Fund, 2011).    I am aware that I cannot achieve this mission alone; it consists of the whole community such as parents, staff, administrators, other professions, community members, organizations, local agencies, and etc., to collaborate on strategies on how to resolve this issue.

In order to resolve this issue, we must collaborate and work effectively with the community, government, local agencies, and national organizations.  We must inform the nation of how poverty around the world affects the lives of our children.  The community and stakeholders must petition for equality for the families who lives are impacted by this challenge.  My advocacy is to defeat or minimize poverty which will benefit the well-being children and their families; as well as permitting them an opportunity to experience a bright future!

References

Children’s Defense Fund. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.childrensdefense.org/

 

 

 

My Role as an Advocate

I believe it is every parent desire to provide the very best for their children which are exactly what motivated me to start advocating for very young children.  When I became a parent, I realized that I was her voice.  Although my family was educators and advocates for young children; I was my daughter’s strongest and most relevant voice.  I acknowledged that voice was powerful and effective for positive change.  Just as I want the best for my child, my passion extended for every child because they deserve it; they are our future.

I believe it is essential to acknowledge and foster advocacy efforts at the micro as well the macro level because advocacy requires both government resources and knowledge of the economy level to understand and measure the need; in results of resolving the issue.  Brian Spicker stated “The core of being a community leader is having the passion for an issue (www.zerotothree.org).  I believe an effective community leader should be passionate and dedicated to motivating others to believe and support their mission.

The resources required to be a state leader on early childhood issues is collaborating with state, local government, local agencies, and money. Funding usually comes from state and local governments; as well as local agencies that work on early childhood education issues (www.zerotothree.org).  The strategies I would use to mobilize others is community awareness in early childhood.  I would meet and work together with teachers, parents, small business owners, childcare providers, and childcare advocates to promote and enhance the advocacy.   “Educating the community is a critical piece of moving an early childhood agenda forward” (www.zerotothree.com).   I would advise anyone that is considering taking the leadership role as in advocating for young children to collaborate and build a strong relationship with the state, local government and relate agencies; as well as the community to achieve their advocacy goals.  I believe by working together with others that share the same mission develops strength, and accomplish goals; in results of effective advocacy.

Reference

Zero to Three Policy Center. (2008). Advocacy strategies to improve outcomes for very young children: Interviews with leaders at the state and community levels. Retrieved from http://centralpt.com/upload/356/7624_AdvocacyLeaders_final.pdf