As with any other major decision or investment, you are wise to be cautious. On the other hand, more information exists to help you successfully navigate the path to graduation than you may realize. A recent example is this infographic from Civitas Learning entitled, “The Complex Path to Graduation” (2013) which highlights many of the most common pitfalls for students. Although the data shared by the visual may seem frightening or insignificant, you can actually use them to chart your own safe passage to a degree.

For example, here’s how the statistics shared by Civitas Learning in this infographic can be flipped to help you navigate the path to graduation.

Planning

The Civitas Learning infographic sets up the context for the modern edventurer nicely in its preface. Never before have there been so many options to further your education and job opportunities globally; yet, the downside of this is the potential for more places for students to fall through the cracks (2013). For example, completion rates remain too low and student debt remains at an all time high. The Civitas Learning admonition that students get a reality check before setting off to pursue higher education should be taken seriously (“The Complex Path to Graduation,” 2013).

Moreover, statistics such as these should be used by students as a springboard to take advantage of their seemingly limitless academic and career opportunities. The first step involves careful planning. As the infographic shares: 60% of students switch schools; 67% of students switch majors; and 37% of graduates wish they had picked a different major (2013).

This exploration of what’s available is certainly a logical stage in a person’s development; however, careful planning before students come to college must be done if a student is to avoid some of the problems that result from all of this switching. Beyond the regret a third of graduates feel about their chosen profession, switching schools and majors is a large contributor to students not finishing their degrees on time or at all and to student debt.

Consider that the average student takes 16-19 unnecessary credits, which contributes to the $27,000 in average college debt (“The Complex Path to Graduation,” 2013) because those extra classes equate to more than $2,000 wasted dollars for community college students; over $5,800 for those at a public four-year school; and roughly $19,000 or more at private institutions (“College Costs: FAQs.” The College Board. 2013). Add to this the additional time spent in school with related expenses, such as housing and/or transportation fees, and it’s easy to see how someone could quickly run up their education tab.

As a potential student, you must plan better to avoid the realities described by the above statistics. Civitas Learning asks on this infographic, “what if students could:

• View best-fit schools and programs based on instructional match and workload.

• View choices based on credits, interests, and past performance.

• Choose degrees that match career goals and job outlook.”

These areas can and must be looked into before you begin your academic pursuits to ensure a successful edventure. The exploration and planning are not easy, but by pursuing some self-discovery to awaken your own unique goals and interests; then matching these to programs and schools that can meet them, you can increase your chances of success and decrease the potential for wasting time and money. Please see my guides Finding the Best Online College for You, and Financial Aid Made Easy for more detailed assistance with planning your edventure.

Attending

In the past, the tradition was that students would attend college full-time so they could completely devote themselves to their studies without external distractions. Today’s student demographics have changed, especially online. The average e-learner is 34 with job and family responsibilities (See “Online Student Demographics INFOGRAPHIC.” Classes and Careers. 2013).

Additionally, the Civitas Learning infographic shows that only 23% of full-time students drop out their first year, but nearly twice as many (57%) part-time students do. While many of us have argued for ending the time designations for the completion of a college degree and attending part-time may allow a better life balance for today’s e-learner, there is a clear message in this statistic for all would-be students: In addition to careful planning, you must take your studies seriously, be engaged, and be committed. Assembling a “e-learning pit crew” will also help you attend school successfully. This group basically consists of family, friends, and others who will assist you along the way, encouraging your success.

Civitas Learning also shares that 30% of students who complete remedial courses do not start their degree- level courses within the next two years. “Taking a break” sounds like a good idea, but this will cause you to fall behind in the skills (e.g., math and writing) that you just refreshed. Remember the adage to “use it or lose it” and continue your education from any remedial courses directly to program level courses.

Finally, the infographic statistics also show that your chance of taking a class online is excellent. Notice that 86% of postsecondary schools offer online courses; that by 2016, out of 26.8 million students, 19.7 million will combine face-to-face (F2F) with virtual courses, while only 4.1 million will study solely online and 3.0 million only in F2F classes. Simply stated, your chances of studying online are about 90%. You should be prepared for not only F2F education, but also e-learning. See my post, “7 Steps Students Must Take to Prepare for Online Class Success,” (5 October, 2013) for further assistance.

Civitas Learning provides three recommendations for attending college:

• View best-fit courses based on degree requirements and performance.

• Choose the best course mode: online, on-ground, or blended.

• Know the ideal course sequence and combinations.

You can accomplish these three objectives by carefully reviewing what courses you need each semester to complete your degree; considering what the best mode of delivery for each particular course is for you (e.g., Would you rather take a math class online or F2F?); and following a logical and balanced sequence. For example, if you complete freshman composition 101 during the fall semester, take freshman composition 102 in the next spring so that your skills and knowledge are current. Similarly, don’t combine four heavy writing courses in one term or try to get three of the most difficult classes in one term. Think of this more as scaffolding or a series of stairs, one course making it easier for you to step up to the next.

Succeeding

When it comes to student success, note on the infographic that on average, 50% of online students are successful while 70% of ground campus students are. As a career educator who has worked and studied in both modalities, my suggestion for balancing this discrepancy would be to prepare for e-learning. There are some easy ways to do this:

• Some schools and sites (e.g., Test Drive College ) offer you the chance to preview or even complete an online course in a way that includes an orientation to e-learning.

• Ground campus courses, both F2F and blended, provide a good option for getting your virtual feet wet as most professors will utilize the Learning Management System to supplement their in-person instruction with some additional, virtual activities.

• Orientation sessions are often offered to students, so do attend one and pay close attention to all suggestions made for success.

A couple of other statistics on the Civitas Learning infographic are worthy of consideration: 42% of bachelor degree students do not graduate compared to 72% of those pursuing associate degrees, and 75% who are part-time do not complete their degree. Those students who do graduate are the ones who plan and attend as described above. However, there are a few other characteristics that tend to help students succeed.

Civitas Learning suggests students:

• Identify the best resources to maximize learning gains.

• Know how to budget study time.

• Use data to flag challenges and get back on track.

As prospective students, you should be aware that free resources to help you follow these three tips exist at most institutions and that you should take full advantage. See my list of “8 University Resources Students Should Be Using,” (5 December 2012) for additional guidance.

By taking steps to plan, attend, and succeed in the manner described above, and fully utilizing the suggestions and statistics such as those provided by Civitas Learning, I concur that students could,

• Graduate on time [though I would add “on time” by the students own personal schedule and goals].

• Spend less for a degree.

• Be ready for jobs in demand. [Did you see on the infographic that 42% of the workforce has a postsecondary credential, but 62% of jobs require a postsecondary credential?]

(“The Complex Path to Graduation,” 2013)

There has never been a more exciting time to begin your academic and career pursuits. The world right outside your door and the road map to success is in your hands with analytics such as those provided by Civitas Learning. Seize your edventure.

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The post A Clear-Cut Way to Navigate the Path to College Graduation appeared first on Best Colleges Online.

Clearly, leadership is a new trend in hiring, and graduates about to enter the workforce must be prepared to develop and demonstrate that they have this talent. But what is meant by “leadership skills,” and how do students, especially e-learners, attain and document that they have such abilities? To help guide you, here is an explanation of what employers are looking for and ways you can show them you have leadership skills.

Leadership Defined

Most experts agree that leadership can be a bit difficult to define. Therefore, David Mielach of Business News Daily went right to the source, the leaders of business and industry, to discover, “10 Ways to Define Leadership” (27 December 2012). The answer that stands out most of all is the definition offered by business consultant, Kendra Coleman:

Leadership is an act — a decision to take a stand, or step, in order to encourage, inspire or motivate others to move with you. What’s more, the most effective leaders do not rely on their title, or positional power, to lead. Rather, their ability to use their own personal power combined with their use of strategic influence are what make them effective” (qtd. in Mielach. 27 December 2012).

Most see leadership as the ability to take proactive, preventative, results-producing action. This has no connection to a job title or position. Rather, the group of experts Mielach interviewed sees leadership as an inner strength that inspires outward results, a sense of vision that envelops others and guides a team to further success.

There are a few additional traits that are often mentioned.

Additional Characteristics

Some additional attributes of leadership should also be kept in mind. Good leaders are:

• Flexible with people and situations: According to author and expert trainer, Ken Blanchard, leadership involves the understanding of when to direct, coach, support, and/or delegate to co-workers as a supervisor or team member based on the context.

• Entrepreneurial/Intrapreneurial: They have the creativity and dynamism to operate outside the box to problem solve and get things done whether you are owning and operating your own business (entrepreneur) or working within an organization (intrapreneur ).

• Communicative: They possess the ability to get a message across to others and to guide the exchange of ideas verbally or electronically.

Note that some of these attributes are broken down separately on lists of skills employers look for in employees.

Ways to Gain Leadership Skills

There are quite a few ways that students, online or on-ground, can gain leadership experience. You may even be doing some of these already.

• Stand out favorably in class and obtain letters of recommendation from professors, collect relevant feedback (e.g., on assignments from faculty and other students), and save copies of your best work.

• Lead group projects and document what you did and why; be careful to do this in accordance with the characteristics described above rather than in a pushy way.

• Take specific courses related to leadership, and if possible, take some independent study classes that would allow you to work with a professor on a topic specifically related to leadership development in your field.

• Obtain certifications related to leadership by checking what is offered by your school (e.g., See these offerings by Villanova University ) or respected external, career/employer specific programs (e.g., See the U.S. Office of Personnel Management ).

• Participate in organizations, such as Keith Hawkins’s Real Inspiration, Inc. which provides opportunities to train and get involved in leadership from middle school through college.

• Seek out positions of leadership in student organizations at your school. Most will list these on their websites as Aurora University does, or consider starting your own group. Some groups, such as The National Society of Collegiate Scholars (NSCS) have special leadership development programs and chapters at online universities (e.g., Kaplan University).

• Consider entry-level jobs, internships/externships, and volunteer positions in which you may develop and increasingly demonstrate leadership skills. Your department and/or school should be able to assist you with finding a suitable position.

How to Document Leadership for Employers

Now that you understand what leadership is and have some ways to gain skills in this area, it’s also time to think about how you will demonstrate this to employers. Here are some suggestions to get you started.

• Most application processes still rely on the traditional cover letter and resume with transcripts, though often this is presented via an online application site. Follow a functional resume format that will highlight what you can do, and be sure to add a specific (sub)heading for “Leadership Skills.”

• Online applications will often allow you to attach transcripts, additional documents, and/or electronic links. Take full advantage of these options to add scanned copies of certifications, screen shots of your work, letters of recommendation, sample projects—anything you have done or are currently involved with that shows you are a leader.

• Software options exist that will also help you demonstrate your leadership skills to potential employers. Consider using Live Binders, Zotero, or screen capture software to assemble a professional overview of your work; then share a link with prospective employers on your resume or in your cover letter.

• Social media is a powerful tool, and hiring managers are increasingly consulting the digital footprint of job candidates. Carefully brand yourself as an up and coming leader in your field within social media sites, such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Share links to these sites with prospective employers within your application.

Pursuing, documenting, and demonstrating that you have leadership skills can take time; however, the knowledge that employers are increasingly looking for talent in this area, especially in some of the top career fields, should motivate you to take action. You also do not need to accomplish all of the above steps at once. Rather, try to focus on one or two ways each semester and gradually build an impressive portfolio for employers and online presence that brands you clearly as a leader.

If you have any additional tips or suggestions, please share them in the dialog box below or via Twitter.

Please join Michael on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook.

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The post How to Gain the Leadership Experience Employers Want appeared first on Best Colleges Online.

Winner of Best Colleges Online’s 2012 Online College Professor of the Year contest LeAnne Prenovost will be blogging for Edventure Calling throughout the school year on issues that new online students face.

It has been a huge honor to have been voted and received the award as the 2012 Online College Professor of the Year. Last week, another diligent professor was given the rights to this award – David Britt of Charleston Southern University.

I can truthfully say that being an online college professor is not an easy job. It involves numerous hours, nearly 24/7 availability, always having access to technology where ever you go, and dropping everything for a student in distress. In fact, the other night my husband and I were out to eat when my phone rang, I answered the call just to say that I would call then back after dinner. However, I had a student in tears on the other end so I stepped out of the restaurant and spoke with her.

After listening to her, I told her about the time in my first online class that I lost my paper on my computer. Discouraged, I laid down on the floor in the fetal position crying until my kids came home from school and helped me set up a Word document to start over (they also taught me how to save my work). I find that by sharing my own experiences and humanizing myself, I can help students relate to me as someone who is trying to help them achieve their goals and dreams.

I had tried for many years to go back to school. It never worked because I was always too busy; I was working too much, had a planned vacation coming up, didn’t have a babysitter for classes, my car wasn’t working, and so on. When I started to consider online education, many of these barriers to obtaining a college degree were removed because I had greater time flexibility with online classes. I didn’t need a car (just a good working computer), I didn’t need childcare for my children while I was at class, and I didn’t have to change my work schedule to accommodate class schedules.

Yet, I still found reasons and barriers. When I did some serious soul searching, I was shocked to find out that there was only one obstacle that remained. There was one common denominator in all of my excuses and reasons I found to not go to online college, and it was me. Once I realized this, I knew the only thing I needed to change was myself.

I had also realized how badly I wanted this college degree. Once I was 100% determined that my college degree was something that I could not live without, I had to change myself and make this work. Today, I have the life that I only dreamed about for years and years.

So for those currently attending college online, considering a college education, or have dropped out before, I suggest that you do some serious soul searching to determine what really stands in the way of obtaining your college degree. You may be surprised at what you find. Sometimes you just have to take a different road to find your purpose, destiny, and dreams. My final parting to you is something I found and continually read while I was in college reinventing myself.

The Road

I walk down the road. There is a hole in the road. I do not see the hole. I fall in the hole. It is very deep, and at the bottom where I lay broken, it is dark and cold. I can’t get out.

I walk down the road. There is a hole in the road. I see the hole as I am walking down the road. I fall down the hole. It’s familiar and quite cozy. I can’t get out.

I walk down the road. There is a hole in the road. I see the hole as I am walking down the road. I fall down the hole. I want to get out.

I walk down the road. There is a hole in the road. I see the hole as I am walking down the road. I dread falling down the hole. I fall down the hole. And I look up and decide to get out.

I walk down the road. There is a hole in the road. I see the hole as I walk down the road. I think, “oh, ha ha, no, no, I’m not falling for that again!”. I fall down the hole. I start climbing out.

I walk down the road. There is a hole in the road. I see the hole as I walk down the road. I try not to, but I fall in the hole again. I get back out straight away.

I walk down the road. There is a hole in the road. I see the hole as I walk down the road. My foot slides and I fall in the hole again, but I do not hit the bottom. I cling on to the side and get out of the hole.

I walk down the road. There is a hole in the road. I step over the hole. I do not fall into the hole.

Today I walk down a different road.

- Author Unknown

I encourage you to all follow the road to the success of your college education. If I can do it, anyone can!

Hear more from Professor Prenovost on the Edventure Calling Blog!

• The Price of an Education: Making the Decision to Go to an Online College
• The New Online Student: After the Honeymoon Phase
• Using Your Time Wisely: How to Manage Your Personal and Educational Priorities During the School Week
• Surviving the Season: Getting Through the Holidays Without Sacrificing Your Grades
• A New Year, A New You: Health Tips for the Online Student
• Searching for Academic Resources: The Importance of Learning Your University’s Online Library
• Written Communication: A Beginner’s Guide to College Writing Assignments
• Learning to Learn: Identifying My Learning Style

The post The Road: The Journey to a College Education appeared first on Best Colleges Online.

I met Abhishek in 2012. He is a smart kid, but he struggled both with his personal statement and with his SAT. While it took many months to perfect his strategy, increase his knowledge, and master his pacing, he did raise his score from an initial 1340 to 2010. 

Success in testing and test preparation, like many things in life,  is not “hard.” That is, there is no super-secret method to do well. Instead, you identify your weaknesses, fix those weakness with strategy and practice, and then do enough problems to perfect your pacing. Working with Abhishek was no different; we used smart work and plenty of time to identify and fix his weaknesses.

In this post, I will explain the 4 steps Abhi and I took to get his 2010 SAT score so you can follow our lead with your students or during your self-study.

1. We asked the right questions

Many people start their SAT prep with the opposite approach than what is necessary. Instead of asking, “How many hours of study do I get?” Abhishek asked, “How many hours of study do I need?”

See, Abhi cares about results. I knew immediately that Abhi did not care about his SAT; rather, he cared about getting a good enough score to be competitive and to ensure his own personal success. He wanted to go to NYU. To get into NYU, in addition to being an awesome person, Abhi needed a high SAT score.

Whenever we found a knowledge gap — for Abhi it was in recognizing comparisons in error identification questions — we would try to understand why Abhi found it so difficult. For example:

Unlike Lebron, Kobe Bryant’s achilles tendon is torn. 

As you should know, this sentence creates an impossible comparison (Person (Lebron) versus Body Part(KB’s Achilles tendon). Even explaining that to Abhi, he continuously made the same mistakes. After some exploration and tough questions, I realized Abhi was only using his grammar knowledge when his ears failed him (when it ‘sounded’ funny.)

Despite that being an elementary mistake, it took asking some pointed questions to realize he was not using the appropriate strategy.

2. We filled small knowledge gaps

Because we focused on results instead of hours, Abhishek started our process by taking a practice SAT test. After he took his first practice SAT, we learned exactly what he did not know. We did not focus exclusively on strategies, play with “tricks” or try to “hack the test.” Instead, we identified Abhi specific areas of academic weakness and spent three weeks re-learning what he needed to learn. While this might take longer than you want, it ensures that you do not have to hope for a “lucky” day because you make your own luck by perfecting your areas of weakness.

When you start your SAT training, you must identify and fill in your knowledge gaps. This is actually NOT that hard to do because the SAT covers a very small range of academic topics. By learning to paraphrase, add fractions and avoid misplaced modifiers, among other things, you’ll ensure an academic advantage on your test.

3. We gave ourselves enough time for success

Abhishek’s parents were clever enough to start the university admissions process early. While students should focus on academics and experience during the first two years of school, by the third year they should look towards the future. Because we started two years before university, we were able to slowly and steadily fix academic weaknesses, identify new universities to apply to and fill in extra curricular activities with really exciting experiences.

In fact, throughout our time together, Abhi realized he was really interested in computer programming. Because we started so early, when I suggested he read Anonymous, he not only got involved in the book, he got involved in the principle. During the summer before his final year of high school he spent time in London interning with an information security start-up.

4. We set realistic expectations

Abhi was not looking to score 2300, he was looking to earn high enough to reasonably apply to USC and NYU. His initial score was very low, and scoring >1800 seemed unrealistic at first, but with enough time and enough smart planning, we were able to achieve his goals

The best thing you can do to help yourself move towards your goal is to identify the schools you’d like to apply to and take a practice test. If you want, I put together an admissions workbook and guide, as well as an SAT intro course. If you read it, you will be able to target your dream universities. Once you have some targets and a score, you can identify your knowledge gaps and start working towards your goals.

The post Memoir Monday: How Abhishek Aced His SAT appeared first on Best Colleges Online.

Here’s a basic tutorial from Isaac A. Wardle on one popular example of screen and video capture software Jing.

Note that the free version of Jing allows you to take a snapshot of your entire computer screen or one portion that you can easily select. If you do subscribe to the pro version, you can also record video of what you’re doing on your computer. After utilizing these options, you can then share a link to the image or clip if you wish or save it in your own files. Tech Smith also offers more advanced software options at reasonable prices (e.g., for editing) on their site, so feel free to experiment and develop your screen capture and video skills.

What value does this have for you as an online student? Here are five main ways you can use screen and video capture software to become a more successful student.

#1: Introductions

One of the most important characteristics an online class needs in order for students to succeed is a sense of community. The virtual world can easily make people feel disconnected. Students may lose interest or may not take full advantage of the opportunities e-learning provides for networking, another key factor in your academic and career success. A couple of months ago, I suggested that making a video of introducing yourself to the class to post into the “introductions” discussion most online courses have would be a fun and personable way to say hello to your professor and classmates.

However, there are other options with screen capture software. You could, for example, assemble a creative image or slideshow that illustrates who you are and what your goals may be for your edventure. You could also create a video overview of some of your achievements thus far.

Whatever you decide to share, screen capture software makes a great way to say hello and to help establish a solid online learning community.

#2: Studying

Another way screen capture software can help you do well is to use it as a tool for studying. If you’re like me, for example, you may jot down notes and then have trouble reading your own handwriting later. With screen capture software, however, you can take snapshots of relevant information you may want to review later or even re-record parts of videos shared in the class so you can edit them down to the pieces of information you need to review most. You can then share a link to your video with yourself or even a classmate.

In most college courses, you will have to do research, and Tech Smith explains that with its more advanced product, Snagit (and other screen capture software), you can record video as you search for sites, scroll through them, and grab visuals such as graphs. These can be organized with a specific keyword to help you remember the term you used or to help you find the information later.

If you weren’t blessed with a photographic memory, screen capture software can be a great tool for studying.

#3: Projects

A third way screen capture software can be helpful is on projects, especially group work which requires collaboration with classmates. For example, if your team is writing an academic paper or creating a slide presentation, you could record and share images or a video of the draft stages. You could provide peer feedback by copying, highlighting, editing, and adding notes as needed. You could also record yourself explaining what you see as a strength in the project and where, perhaps, you have some additional suggestions to improve it.

By using a digital camera, your group members could also conduct and record short interviews or other types of primary research that could be uploaded and added to the presentation. Overall, the use of screen capture software is only limited by the creativity of you and your classmates.

#4: Documentation

One of the fears that online students have can also be alleviated by using screen capture software. Sometimes e-learners worry that an email, discussion post, or grades will be lost by the system. They are concerned that a major project submitted may not have gone through to the professor for grading. Other students may simply need or want to keep track of their grades and progress in the course for an employer’s tuition reimbursement or for their own records.

Consider using screen capture software to take snapshots of your communications, submissions, grades, and any other such information that is important to you. Then save those in a file in case you ever need them.

#5: Troubleshooting

Finally, one of the biggest fears students have about online education is technology and what they will do if something goes wrong. This is when screen capture software can be very valuable. For example, let’s say you’re trying to upload an assignment to your course’s dropbox, but the document doesn’t seem to be going through. You could take screen shots or video to show what you are doing; then you could share this with your professor or technical support at your school with a request for assistance. Don’t forget that you could also do a voice over, explaining what you are doing and what you see as not working.

Doing this will serve a dual purpose in that the recording will show your professor that you were trying to submit the assignment on time as well as helping your instructor and/or technical support understand what may be happening. Often when students have shared a recording such as this with me, I’ve been able to offer a quick solution.

In general, screen capture software, such as Jing, can help you succeed. This is especially true in your online classes in which you may not be able to communicate with your professor and others face-to-face. Most programs are user-friendly, and basic programs are typically free.

Have you used screen capture software as a student? Please share any ideas or tips you may have with us in the dialog box below or via Twitter.

Please join Michael on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook.

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The post 5 Ways Screen Capture Can Help Online Students Succeed appeared first on Best Colleges Online.

Rest assured that this does not mean the avoidance of staring out a window or doodling pictures in the margins of your paper. Mindfulness also does not mean anything unpleasant. Basically, it refers to ways people can relax and become more attentive to the task at hand, in this case, your education.

Here are three ways to improve your mindfulness so that you can be a more successful student.

#1: Meditation

A new study, “Meditation in the Higher-Education Classroom: Meditation Training Improves Student Knowledge Retention during Lectures,” by University of Illinois doctoral candidate, Jared T. Ramsburg and George Mason University professor Robert J. Youmans (Mindfulness. March 2013) shows that a simple, pleasant activity such as focusing your mind through meditation before a class starts can help you improve your academic performance.

Author Annie Murphy Paul recently summarized the study in a post titled, “Just A Few Minutes of Mindful Reflection Can Do Wonders.” She explained that students at a university in California were provided with about six minutes of instruction on meditation and allowed a brief time to meditate before a class lecture. At the end of the lecture, a quiz was given, and this group of mindful students performed better than the control group that did not receive the instruction. According to the study, the technique was especially effective for freshmen who are susceptible to higher rates of stress than upper classmen and that the researchers believe with a bit more training about meditation, students could do even better (11 April 2013).

The study shows that by being more relaxed and focused, students can do better.

#2: Metacognition

Another strategy is to use metacognitive techniques. This is a fancy term for “thinking deeply about one’s own thinking.” In general, students must become increasingly self-aware of their own attitudes, perceptions, communication style (internally and externally), and other such learning processes in order to approach them as attentively as possible. This isn’t as difficult as it sounds. Purdue University at Calumet provides some concise information about metacognitive skills as they apply to learners:

• “Metamemory. This refers to the learners’ awareness of and knowledge about their own memory systems and strategies for using their memories effectively. Metamemory includes (a) awareness of different memory strategies, (b) knowledge of which strategy to use for a particular memory task, and (c) knowledge of how to use a given memory strategy most effectively.”

A classroom example would be taking the time to think about how you best could memorize some vocabulary or facts. For some students, this may mean repeating the terms or facts over and over again. Others may decide they need to write them on flash cards for practice. Still other students may need to create a game, act out the terms, or have someone to discuss the terms with them.

• “Metacomprehension. This term refers to the learners’ ability to monitor the degree to which they understand information being communicated to them, to recognize failures to comprehend, and to employ repair strategies when failures are identified.”

All of us have probably read a chapter from a textbook only to realize we didn’t fully understand what it said. This can also occur with lectures and other classroom information. The goal here is to become more self-aware about what aspects you truly comprehend and which ones you do not. Then you need to discover techniques for getting assistance in understanding the information that did not sink in. This may mean meeting with your professor during office hours to ask direct questions about concepts or working with a learning center tutor.

• “Self-Regulation. This term refers to the learners’ ability to make adjustments in their own learning processes in response to their perception of feedback regarding their current status of learning.”

This type of metacognition involves more long range reflection. As you think back on your education, what were the areas and types of activities that seemed to come naturally to you? Which ones were more difficult? What attitudes and perceptions did you hold toward these throughout the years? What strategies worked well for you? What techniques could you try in the future? Maybe you struggled with math and felt you hated it, but you loved writing and literature. Perhaps over time, you began to see some similarities: the formulas in math and academic writing; the need to go through a process to succeed with each; and the benefits mastering each could bring to you as a student and professional. These realizations may have helpful you do better in Math.

Terms like ‘metacognition’ are intimidating, but simply taking the time for self-reflection and inner dialog about how you think and learn can prove valuable to your success as a student (c.f. Coutinho, S.A., ““The Relationship between Goals, Metacognition, and Academic Success,” Education. 7.1, 2007).

#3: Motion

Embedded within both mindfulness and metacognition is action. In some way, shape, or form, getting yourself moving can help you become a better student. Youmans hinted in his study on meditation, for instance, that prayer, long walks, or consciously planning what you need to do may have the same positive results as meditation did in his study (qtd. in Paul, A.M., 11 April 2013).

In fact, as CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Mo posted, there is a link between exercise and learning (12 April 2010). She explained that people often think of the physical benefits of exercise for the heart and one’s appearance; rarely, however, does anyone consider the positive effect activity has on the brain. She goes on to share one study. Wendy Suzuki, associate professor of neuroscience at the Center for Neural Science at New York University, one class of students completed an hour of aerobics followed by an hour of lecture. These students performed better than a control group of learners who did not have the aerobics component to their course.

Part of the explanation may be that both learning and exercise stimulate the same part of the human brain, specifically the dentate gyrus, a region of the hippocampus. Motion also helps your brain increase the release of endorphins, a chemical that helps you feel good naturally. Lastly, exercise is yet another good way to become more self-aware as you focus on the activity.

Keep in mind that motion need not be weight lifting or running a marathon. Talking and laughing with a friend before class, for example, can provide similar benefits to students.

Like it or not, it turns out that the adults who used to tell us to pay attention in school when we were kids were right. Mindfulness can help students succeed.

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]]> http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/blog/2013/04/25/three-ways-mindfulness-helps-students-succeed/feed/ 0 http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/blog/2013/04/23/a-brief-student-guide-to-turnitin/ http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/blog/2013/04/23/a-brief-student-guide-to-turnitin/#comments Tue, 23 Apr 2013 11:30:56 +0000 Michael Keathley http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/?p=24266 This week is Plagiarism Education Week, and its host, Turnitin is a familiar name to many, especially in higher education. With current statistics showing up to one-half million student papers submitted on peak days and a presence in 126 countries, the value of this resource can not be denied. Like any other good resource, however, [...]

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]]> This week is Plagiarism Education Week, and its host, Turnitin is a familiar name to many, especially in higher education. With current statistics showing up to one-half million student papers submitted on peak days and a presence in 126 countries, the value of this resource can not be denied.

Like any other good resource, however, students should be provided with guidance on how to use Turnitin in order to make sure it serves as the learning tool it is intended to be. Here, then, is a short student guide for using Turnitin.

Plagiarism Potential Checker
Before even using the service, it is important to understand that Turnitin is a plagiarism potential detection service. As the company states on its website, the goal is “plagiarism prevention” rather than detection and punishment. To use this program effectively, students should see it as a chance to check where there may be weaknesses in the integration and documentation in their writing so that these may be corrected before the final submission of their paper.

How you submit your writing to Turnitin will help you utilize the service to its full benefit for helping you to see potential areas of concern.

Submission Guidelines
Now that a basic understanding of the philosophy behind Turnitin is understood, it’s important to look at how papers are submitted. Keep in mind that there are some options. Some online classes will have student assignments automatically run through Turnitin at submission. This may include discussion board responses, short writing assignments, and perhaps most commonly, larger academic papers. Therefore, the first step in preventing plagiarism is to be proactive and diligent in using and citing sources correctly. Please see my previous posts: “A Simple Guide to Correct Documentation,” (10 December 2012) and “How to Use Citation Generators Effectively,” (14 March 2013) for some additional help.

If your school is set up to have students submit their own work to Turnitin, here, from the Turnitin Academy, is a series of four short video clips explaining how the process works.

If your college or university does not offer the Turnitin option, but you would like to take advantage of this feature, you can purchase an individual subscription at reasonable rates depending upon your needs. This feature, known as WriteCheck offers some additional beneficial assistance, including an auto-generated grammar check, links to helpful resources for additional review or information, and a connection to Pearson’s tutoring services. This video demonstrates the difference between the individual vs. the institutional subscription.

Whatever the submission method may be, do remember a few tips. Be sure that assignments are properly labeled, the entire text is uploaded in a format that Turnitin accepts (e.g., Word, .rtf, and .pdf files) and that submission options are carefully selected. For example, I always suggest students submit a first complete draft of a paper, meaning one that is ready to turn in rather than a “rough” or incomplete version. This will enable you to get feedback and guidance at the critical final stage of the writing process with time to make corrections before the final submission. Be sure to select “draft” submission if you will be submitting the same paper more than once to help prevent self-plagiarism being detected. I would encourage you to not filter out bibliographic references (the citations) or direct quotes as not selecting these options will help you review if they are correctly cited.

Do make sure you see the message that “Your submission was successful” so that you know your paper is being checked. Although you may also see a message that it make take 24 hours for the process and you should be prepared to submit far enough in advance, my experience has been that papers are checked much more quickly. In fact, I would suggest simply leaving your browser open so you can refresh the page while you work on other assignments. You will most likely seem that your final report is ready for your review in less than ten minutes.

Interpretation of Report
Once your report is ready to view, simply click on the “view report” link and scan the results; review the fourth video clip linked above from the Turnitin Academy as a refresher of what you will see. Resist the tendency to focus on the percentage. Instead, review what is highlighted in the paper carefully.

Clicking each source one at a time will show you what material in your paper needs your attention. You may see some key sentences or phrases that are direct quotations from a source. Even if a correct in-text citation is provided, you will need to either 1) place these direct quotations within quotation marks; or 2) paraphrase or summarize them, leaving the citation in place because this information is someone else’s idea. Another common issue is that you may have correctly placed the material within quotation marks; however, a proper citation needs to be inserted.

You may discover that there is nothing wrong with what you’ve done. For instance, the information from a secondary source may be directly quoted, placed within quotation marks, and properly cited. You may just be seeing that someone else chose this same passage for support in a paper and the same documentation style (e.g., APA). See this as confirmation that you are correctly integrating source material into your paper. You do not need to make any changes.

The bottom line is that the report shows “similarity” to other works in order to help you prevent plagiarism, so review the results one item at a time, make any needed adjustments, and finalize a draft that is plagiarism free.

Additional Uses of Results
A few other tips for using Turnitin’s reports:

• Download a copy of the initial report and record common weaknesses, such as missing direct quotation marks or citation issues. Keep track of these so you can learn to look for them and avoid them before submitting a draft for a plagiarism potential check.

• Consider reviewing the report with your instructor and/or an academic skills center tutor, especially if you are confused by the results or if you would like additional explanation. Electronic resources are nice, but often a conversation with a live person can quickly alleviate confusion.

• Don’t panic if it takes you some time to master the integration and documentation of source information. Tools such as Turnitin and the support provided by your institution can be very helpful.

During this Plagiarism Education Week, remember the message frequently given in Edventure Calling that as a student, you must be proactive in taking charge of your education, including the prevention of plagiarism. If you have additional tips to help other students, feel free to share them in the “Comments” box below or with me in Twitter.

Please join Michael on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook.

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]]> http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/blog/2013/04/23/a-brief-student-guide-to-turnitin/feed/ 0 http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/blog/2013/04/23/heard-it-all-before-a-new-age-of-lectures/ http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/blog/2013/04/23/heard-it-all-before-a-new-age-of-lectures/#comments Tue, 23 Apr 2013 11:30:14 +0000 Staff Writers http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/?p=24239 New forms of lectures are emerging to make sure students get the most benefit out of their class time.

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Table of Contents

• Why Lectures?
• Lectures in the Digital Era
• How to Keep Your Lectures Alive


“A lecture is much more of a dialogue than many of you probably realize.” — Harvard University professor George Wald

“Before I came here I was confused about this subject. Having listened to your lecture I am still confused. But on a higher level.” — University of Chicago professor Enrico Fermi

If there’s one thing you can say about universities, it’s that they love tradition. They love it so much that when a system takes root, it takes years and years to uproot it. For example, it took 700 years or so before the first coed college came into being. When it comes to the college lecture, we’re still waiting for a successor to appear.

Enter any given classroom at any given campus across the country on any given weekday, and odds are better than 50/50 that you’ll see anywhere from two to 200 young learners facing a somewhat older speaker, the former scribbling while the latter soliloquizes. But the chances are growing that you’ll encounter something else: a professor with a fresh take on the lecture, or one who has nearly abandoned it altogether. Even though some of the “new” techniques these men and women are using were first iterated as early as the 1980s or before, real change to the structure of the college classroom is finally making the slow march from the fringes to the mainstream.

Why Lectures?



The roots of lectures harken back to a time when mentioning the prospect of a machine that could mass produce books would have been branded witchcraft talk. In those medieval days beginning in the 11th century, universities were strictly the business of the Catholic Church and were thus closely tied to the development of Christian thought. The professors or magistrorum would present oral arguments applying Christian theology to the works of Aristotle. Handwritten books being rare and the professor being the only one with a copy, the students would take notes.

If that sounds more than a little familiar, it’s because the basic format for the majority of college classes hasn’t changed much. The chalkboard arose then gave way to the whiteboard, the personal slate to the digital tablet, the transparency to overhead projectors beaming bulleted PowerPoint slides. Note-taking still consumes most of students’ in-class time, and the industry that caters to them with apps, software, and tech tools to help them jot down spoken info continues humming right along.

Despite their persistence, the shortcomings of lectures are many. Students become passive receptacles, prone to boredom and mind wandering, instead of active participants in their education. Professors too can become passive readers-aloud rather than dynamic knowledge awakeners. Even the most dedicated students cannot pay attention for the entirety of a 90-minute lecture, nor can they retain everything they hear. What they do retain skews closer to rote memorization rather than critical understanding of concepts.

Nevertheless, lectures have survived for several reasons. A live, experienced instructor can word a difficult concept in multiple ways until students understand a fact, something a static textbook cannot do. It’s also a low-cost way to transmit information to large audiences. The massive freshmen and sophomore courses are frequently presented in the large lecture hall setting. Assuming there is one, the question and answer component of lectures is invaluable, providing both a feedback and assessment aspect that is an integral part of the new lecture.

Lectures in the Digital Era



Here are the high-tech tools and revolutionary methods college professors and other teachers are using to give updated lectures in the digital age.

• Real-time feedback and assessment: Providing students the means of submitting questions, answers, or comments while a lecture is underway is one of the hottest ways to revitalize the college classroom experience. “Clickers” — simple handheld devices that allow students to wirelessly submit answers to multiple choice questions from their desks — have been in use around the country since the early 2000s and could be found in the palms of as many as half a million college students in 2010, according to The New York Times.

  With the prevalence of smartphones, some profs are finding it easier to use students’ own mobile devices for the same purpose. At the National University of Singapore, assistant professor Adrian Roellin uses software called questionSMS to poll students via text message before and after a lecture to gauge what they know coming in, what they learned, and how they felt about the lecture itself (too slow or too fast).

  Some profs are harnessing social media to ramp up the dialogue between them and their audiences. In 2009, a history professor at the University of Texas at Dallas began requesting questions and comments via live Tweets during class, which she then projected on the screen at the front of the class as discussion prompts. Some teachers are taking to Google Moderator to not only take live questions from students during a lecture, but allow them to vote up those that they most want to see answered.

• Peer instruction: One of the oldest proponents of the “new” lecture is Harvard’s Eric Mazur. One day, frustrated over his inability to get his students to understand a point, the physics professor offered to let them discuss it with each other. In three minutes, they had it figured out. Thus was born what Mazur calls his “guide on the side” teaching style that he’s been promoting and practicing since the release of his 1997 book, Peer Instruction.

  Today Mazur has effectively ditched the lecture, speaking at the front of the class only “a few minutes” to introduce a student-raised subject and polling the students for an answer. Mazur told us he uses assessment software called Learning Catalytics to compile the answers, which allows students to respond via laptop, smartphone, or tablet. If there is not a clear consensus on the question, Mazur turns things over to the students, who are charged with finding a classmate with a differing opinion and arguing their case.

  Because his is the only Physics 11 section at Harvard, comparison with similar classes is not possible. But Mazur told us exam performance increased significantly as a result of his introducing peer instruction. More importantly, students’ understanding of concepts improved, instead of their ability to pass tests with the “bag of tricks” they had picked up. Mazur says on the Force Concept Inventory — an assessment test for Newtonian physics — the normalize gain for his students tripled after he switched to peer instruction.

• Restructured setting: Any effort to shift the focus of a class away from the lecture should really begin by adjusting the environment; you can’t very well expect anything other than a lecture in a lecture hall. For the University of Minnesota’s Rochester campus, officials opted to ditchthose halls entirely.

  Rooms don’t have fronts. Instead they have wheeled furniture so students can collaborate in small groups. The notes they jot on their dry erase boards can be easily photographed by cameras hanging from the ceiling and saved to a laptop for future reference. The class is flipped, meaning students are expected to come to class having read the material already, because any lecture they will get will be brief. Perhaps most important of all, the school has changed the teaching environment by making learning research a requirement for promotion and tenure.

How to Keep Your Lectures Alive



Whether you choose to make use of high tech or keep it old school, let these suggestions for remixing your lectures guide you.

• Make it relevant to students: Even preachers today recognize that effectively getting your message across means connecting with your audience “where they’re at.” Paradise Valley Community College creative writing professor Lois Roma-Deeley uses this technique to make 449-year-old Shakespeare relatable to 21-year-old college students. When teaching Sonnet 116, Roma-Deeley tells them to picture the setting as two guys having a beer in a bar at 2 a.m. in the hopes of tying their imaginations to the course content.

  It’s not just the content that needs to be relevant to 19- and 20-year-olds but the medium. An estimated 90% of college students will own smartphones by 2016, and of those who already own them, 92% are using them during class (partly because they’re bored and partly because they’re literally addicted).

  Instead of fighting them by taking points off their final grade for using iDevices in class, find ways to integrate them into the lecture. At Howard University, English professor Ada Vilageliu-Diaz invites students to call up online books on their smartphones. At Harvard, Mazur has his students submit the answers to their mini-quizzes via smartphone.

• Keep it brief and quiz often: A recent study out of Harvard University about curtailing mind wandering in online students could have much light to shed on the issue of keeping students in brick-and-mortar classrooms engaged. Cognitive psychologists found that students who watched a 21-minute video lecture and were tested at the end of each five-minute break took more notes, reported daydreaming less, and did better on the final than students who took breaks with no test.

  Postdoctoral fellow Karl Szpunar led the research. We asked him if he thought these results would apply in a face-to-face lecture class. He told us he suspected the results would be similar, if not even more pronounced.

  “In the classroom, students are often surrounded by familiar classmates, their laptops, smart phones, and so on,” said Szpunar. “Basically, there are more possibilities for distractions to pull their attention away from the lecture.”

  Szpunar added that it’s also important to note that tests may not necessarily be the only or even best way to keep students engaged. He offered as an example the possibility of students generating questions about lecture content that would subsequently be graded by the lecturer. “Whatever the task, I think that an evaluative component will be important in giving the students incentive to pay attention,” he said.

• Give them something to look at: There’s a reason infographics have become so popular: people appreciate having boring text presented in a way that’s visually stimulating and memorable. In fact, they more than appreciate it; they need it that way, as 65% of the population are visual learners. By definition, the lecture is an auditory experience, so a professor who wants to give a well-rounded lecture needs to incorporate plenty of visual elements.

  Carnegie Mellon University’s Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence and Educational Innovation offers a great rundown of information visualization tools that can help you spice up the driest of data deliveries. Gapminder.com, for instance, can take info from the World Bank on agricultural land as a percentage of land area by country and turn it into a vivid, interactive work of modern art.

  At Harvard, professor of music Thomas Forrest Kelly has traded in textbooks for multimedia in his lectures on The Rite of Spring in his Literature and the Arts course. He plays for the students recordings of composer Igor Stravinsky ruminating on the 1913 premier performance, shows them paintings and photographs of the man, the dancers, the conductor, the score and costumes, and the play’s set. He even uses a laser pointer to guide his pupils through the score.

  Before he made the jump to online courses, well-known UCLA biology professor Bob Goldberg was “very skeptical” of the new medium’s ability to provide high-caliber instruction. But when he learned that the format would allow him the ability to demonstrate concepts with hand-drawn illustrations, filmed experiments, and two-way video and audio correspondence with his students, he was won over completely.

Even with developments like massive online courses, the lecture continues to be the agreed-upon instrument for delivering information to learners. Come robot instructors or hologram video tutorials, there will never be a replacement for a brilliant lecture from a fun, passionate, energetic teacher. Make that your ideal, professors, and supplement with peer instruction or dazzling audio and video displays, and you’ll be set for another thousand years.

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]]> http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/blog/2013/04/23/heard-it-all-before-a-new-age-of-lectures/feed/ 0 http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/blog/2013/04/22/learning-to-learn-identifying-my-learning-style/ http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/blog/2013/04/22/learning-to-learn-identifying-my-learning-style/#comments Mon, 22 Apr 2013 15:10:54 +0000 Staff Writers http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/?p=24238 Winner of Best Colleges Online’s 2012 Online College Professor of the Year contest LeAnne Prenovost will be blogging for Edventure Calling throughout the school year on issues that new online students face. I attended a brick-and-mortar campus for nursing school and most of classroom learning and subsequent studying involved memorization of diseases, medications, and medical [...]

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Winner of Best Colleges Online’s 2012 Online College Professor of the Year contest LeAnne Prenovost will be blogging for Edventure Calling throughout the school year on issues that new online students face.

I attended a brick-and-mortar campus for nursing school and most of classroom learning and subsequent studying involved memorization of diseases, medications, and medical terms for tests – information that was practically spoon fed to me by my professors.

Twenty years later when I went back to college as an online student, I was at a loss regarding how to learn and study as I was so used to being spoon fed information. Forced to learn how to “feed myself”, I set about learning how to learn through a process of trial and error (mostly error), in which I spent more time trying to figure out how to study than I actually did on learning class content., All changed the day I came across the website VARK – A Guide to learning styles.

An established assessment tool used since 1987, the idea behind VARK is to help a person identify their “preferred” learning style or styles – exactly what I was looking for! Reading further I discovered what VARK stood for:

Visual – identifies those with a preference for visual learning
Aural – used to assess those with a preferred auditory style of learning
Read/Write – to detect those who prefer to learn via reading and writing
Kinesthetic – used to isolate those who preferred to learn using a hand’s on approach

Most people (approximately 60%) have more than one preferred learning style or multiple learning preferences, according to the site, Curious, I completed the VARK questionnaire to discover what mine were and was very surprised by the results. I scored very high as an auditory learner and very low in all other preferred learning areas. As an online student, a lot of my work involved reading and writing, which I actually scored a zero in. So, it’s no wonder I was struggling with learning solely through reading and note taking. I immediately researched and implemented the recommended study strategies for the auditory learner.

Realizing there were multiple ways to learn and identifying my preferred learning style revolutionized my online college experience. I was able to start working “smarter not harder” when I studied.

Personalize Study Techniques

I had a preference for information spoken or heard, so I capitalized on the discussion forums as writing in a conversational style was like talking for me. I loved logging in to the discussion forum and “talking to my classmates”, which taught me a lot. In fact, many studies indicate that a majority of the real learning online comes in the discussions between and amongst classmates and the instructor.



I found that my course eBooks had an audio function, as did many scholarly, peer reviewed journal articles in the online library, and began listening to them. I also began discussing what I was learning at work with my friends and at home with my husband, and as I spoke aloud, I was able to hardwire the content. I would even talk though my papers and always proofread them out prior to submission. I had to read and write in short time spans, and more frequently.

I was able to build a personalized way of studying and learning that worked for me as an online student and I encourage all online students to do the same. I’ll never forget one student who was doing poorly in class. He told me that in high school he had difficulties learning and was told that he was hyperactive and most had a learning disability. His VARK assessment indicated that he was a strong kinesthetic learner – no wonder he did not have success in high school. A kinesthetic learner does not learn well sitting in classroom all day.

We created a list of ideas for him to try as he studied, such as tapping his foot or squeezing a ball when he read in short chunks. He liked to be “busy” while on the computer rather than just staying on one page, so research and navigating the online library ended up being one of his strengths. He also started using real life examples in his discussion questions and calling me to discuss what he read or was learning. Along with some other ideas, this student built his own personalized learning plan based on the unique way he learned. As he began to understand the material better, he participated more in class and his grades climbed. He developed confidence and self-esteem and for once in his life, he actually wanted to learn because it felt good to.

Take Charge of How You Learn

Traditional classroom education is typically instructed in a one-size-fits-all approach, most commonly in the read/write learning style, which does not “fit” the majority of students. I’ve had many students afraid of online learning because in their past learning experiences they were square pegs trying to fit into a round hole.

Online students need to realize past failures do not have to determine future success. You can learn and grow in an online educational setting once you realize, understand, and use the method or methods of learning that work best for you. One tremendous benefit of online education is that each individual student is in charge; they are the captain of their ship and the controller of their educational destiny, including controlling and directing how they learn and earn their college degree. So leave the past behind; you have the choice in how you learn, so learn how you best learn and you will learn better.

Hear more from Professor Prenovost!

• The Price of an Education: Making the Decision to Go to an Online College
• The New Online Student: After the Honeymoon Phase
• Using Your Time Wisely: How to Manage Your Personal and Educational Priorities During the School Week
• Surviving the Season: Getting Through the Holidays Without Sacrificing Your Grades
• A New Year, A New You: Health Tips for the Online Student
• Searching for Academic Resources: The Importance of Learning Your University’s Online Library
• Written Communication: A Beginner’s Guide to College Writing Assignments

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]]> http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/blog/2013/04/22/learning-to-learn-identifying-my-learning-style/feed/ 0 http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/blog/2013/04/18/3-ways-students-must-celebrate-plagiarism-education-week/ http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/blog/2013/04/18/3-ways-students-must-celebrate-plagiarism-education-week/#comments Thu, 18 Apr 2013 11:30:07 +0000 Michael Keathley http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/?p=24224 Just knowing that next week, April 22-26, is Plagiarism Education Week is enough to send ripples of goose bumps across your skin and add a few extra beats to your heart. And who could blame you for being excited? You are well aware as a student that this year’s theme, “Originality Matters,” is good reason [...]

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]]> Just knowing that next week, April 22-26, is Plagiarism Education Week is enough to send ripples of goose bumps across your skin and add a few extra beats to your heart. And who could blame you for being excited?

You are well aware as a student that this year’s theme, “Originality Matters,” is good reason for excitement. We’ve all experienced the thrill of hearing an idea we haven’t heard before or seeing already known concepts from experts applied in new ways. Everyone has probably experienced being complimented for a job well done, too. We all like to get credit when credit is due, right?

Increasing awareness of the importance of proactively preventing plagiarism and learning how to deal with it when it does occur in its various forms is what Plagiarism Education Week is all about. Sponsors Turnitin, The International Center for Academic Integrity, Plagiarism Today, and The School for Ethical Education want you to get involved to foster a great sense of understanding.

In order to help you prepare for next week, today’s post will share three ways you must celebrate Plagiarism Education Week.

#1: Create

Remember how fun it was when you were a kid to color a picture, build a house out of blocks, or act out your favorite television or movie scene? Surrender to your inner child and do something creative!

One way you can celebrate Plagiarism Education Week artistically is to enter Turnitin’s poster contest. The rules are simple: Basically anyone 14-years-old and older can design a poster that uses the “Originality Matters” theme. Your design must be 11” wide and 17” high and be uploaded to the contest website. You can submit multiple entries. If you win, you’ll have $1,000 to spend, which sounds fun to me!

But don’t stop there. Think about other creative things you can do with classmates, friends, and family members. Heck, invite your enemies to join in, too! For instance, have you ever seen an edible book contest in which contests must somehow represent their favorite book with food? Why not do something similar with plagiarism? Most people are aware that plagiarism involves stealing someone else’s idea and presenting it as your own. Why not cook up a dish that looks like one food item but is made from another? To get your creative energy flowing, take a look at these cupcakes made to look like hamburgers or mashed potatoes and gravy.

Online classes could share recipes and photos; ground courses could share samples to enjoy. Students could also discuss how plagiarism makes readers feel when it’s discovered or how the original author may feel about having their work misrepresented as someone else’s.

#2: Play

Games are fun at any age, and some of those childhood classics take on a whole new dimension of entertainment value the older we get. Why not connect those good feelings with Plagiarism Education Week? Here are some ideas to get you thinking:

• Hang Out with Friends: While you’re shopping, eating out, or doing whatever you normally do with your buddies, insert famous quotations into the conversation or repeat stuff they’ve said as if they were your own words. Then see how your friends react.

• Blind Taste Test: Take two brands of the same food item, blindfold your friends, and see if they can taste the difference. Then read famous literary selections inserting your own words and phrases randomly to see if your friends can tell the difference.

• Pin the Citation: For a plagiarism-themed version of Pin the Tail on the Donkey, create a poster with a famous quotation on it and various pieces of information needed to construct a correct citation written on sticky notes. You could either blindfold your friends and have them try to construct the appropriate citation, or you could race in teams to complete the documentation, each team member having one of the pieces needed to complete the task.

• Scavenger Hunt: Hide plagiarized passages in course materials; then reward those who can find and properly cite them.

Whichever game(s) you choose, have fun, and be sure to discuss how the misrepresentation of ideas makes readers and the original authors feel.

#3: Entertain

No matter what your age may be, you probably enjoy getting together with others. Therefore, invite some of your closest friends over for an entertaining evening of Plagiarism Education Week celebrating! Here are two ideas to get you started.

First, consider hosting a masquerade party with a theme. Each guest must dress up like their favorite famous plagiarist. Think this is impossible? Share a list of famous plagiarists, such as this one from Jonathan Bailey of Plagiarism Today (31 March 2009). The list may surprise you. Another variation on this idea is to have guests come representing other cultures; they could then share how their society regards plagiarism. The various views may be surprising, and a lively party discussion should result.

If you’re a bit hesitant to hold a large party, consider a special evening with the one you love. Cook his or her favorite dinner, uncork a classic wine, light some candles, and then curl up together before your favorite electronic device to join Turnitin for one of its free Plagiarism Education Week webinars. If you’re a bit shy or dating someone new, there will be no awkward silence as you are given thought-provoking topics to discuss, such as next Monday’s “Students and Plagiarism: Exploring the Disconnect Between Morals and Behavior,” as presented by Jason Stephens, Educational Psychologist at University of Connecticut. You could even hold hands while sharing in the typing of responses in the chat window with your free hands. Any date who does not share your concern for academic integrity is not worth having in your life.

If none of these ideas interest you and you’re having trouble thinking of some others on your own, consider checking with your professors or schools. What do they have planned to celebrate Plagiarism Education Week? If you do have some ideas, please share them with the rest of us in the “Comments” window below or with me on Twitter.

Please join Michael on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook.

Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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