TVO ILC values academic honesty. Students must complete their own work and demonstrate their own abilities in their assessments. Please follow the guidelines on academic integrity below
What is the student’s role in adhering to academic integrity?
Students are responsible for ensuring their work maintains academic integrity. Students must ensure all submitted work is completed independently, and the work reflects their own ideas and wording. We recognize that technology is an important learning tool in a digital learning environment, however students must maintain the appropriate use of technology throughout the course.
What is “unoriginal material”?
Unoriginal material is defined as presenting somebody else’s material as your own. This can include:
- using a peer’s work
- work from an outside source
- computer generated material
- prior submissions from previous courses or different iterations of the same course
What should I do if I want to use someone else’s idea?
When collecting research, ideas might be drawn from websites, books or articles. This includes sentences, phrases, charts or equations. Ideas from other sources or quotations should be properly cited both in-text and in the bibliography.
Representing someone else’s ideas as your own is considered plagiarism. When you find a sentence or chart you wish to include in your work, you must use quotation marks and/or proper citation to show the source. You can also paraphrase to carry the idea into your work, as long as you cite the source.
When should I use quotations and when should I use paraphrasing?
· Use a quote when your quotation is the topic of discussion. For example: A quotation from a play or novel is a good idea when you are discussing what a character said or how the writer writes.
· Quoting from a science or history textbook is unnecessary because you are likely just sharing the facts and not focused on the actual wording. In those cases, paraphrasing is preferable because it demonstrates that you understand the facts and can communicate them in your own words.
· Remember that whether you are quoting or paraphrasing someone else’s work, appropriate in-text and bibliographic citations must be included
How can I avoid unintentional plagiarism?
Unintentional plagiarism is often a product of having your sources in front of you while you write. This makes it very easy to copy a sentence or phrase by mistake. Try making notes in your own words while doing research, while recording quotations and citing sources as you go.
Can I work with other students?
It is okay to ask questions of your peers and seek help. However, it is the responsibility of each student to fully understand the concepts in the course and produce authentic work that reflects their understanding. That means each student’s submission should be different than any other and written in their own words. Anything written entirely or in part by another student (past or present) is not permissible and considered plagiarism.
Can I use AI for research?
You are permitted to use AI applications as a beginning point in your research process or to brainstorm ideas. However, AI language models or chat bots should never be used as an academic source since it can produce misleading or false information. It is best practice to corroborate all information from AI with reputable and verified academic sources. Always ensure your research is based on credible and verified material and sources.
Can I use AI to review concepts or check answers from the course?
Yes, you can use AI models to help explain and review concepts as you work through the Learning Activity. However, please note that AI models may not always provide correct, current or accurate information. Therefore, it is important to corroborate any answers with course materials to ensure their accuracy.
Please note that submitted assignments for grading and feedback, as well as final test answers must be entirely original.
Can I use AI for image or audio generation?
No.
Please note that all components of submitted assignments for grading and feedback including images and audio must be entirely original.
Can I use Grammarly, QuillBot, or other grammar checkers to edit my work?
No, all writing in your submitted assignments must be entirely original and in your own words. Tools like Grammarly, QuillBot or other grammar checkers and paraphrasing applications cannot be used to generate or alter your work because this would result in material that is no longer in your own words. Please know that software which restructures, or re-phrases text is also detected by Turnitin and is prohibited.
Instead, we recommend students use spell check, and manual editing strategies to ensure their work meets submission criteria.
What will happen if I use AI generated material in my work?
We use Turnitin’s Similarity Report and AI Writing Detection to ensure academic integrity in students’ submissions. If an assignment does not meet the academic integrity standards, the assignment is reviewed by OCT-certified teachers.
If it is determined that unoriginal material is present in submitted work, we follow a four-step academic integrity process.
1st occurrence: The student is given an opportunity to resubmit their work with original material.
2nd occurrence: The student is awarded a zero on the unoriginal components of the assignment.
3rd occurrence: The student is awarded a zero on the entire assignment.
4th occurrence: The student is removed from the course.
I received feedback stating that unoriginal material was detected in my work. What do I do?
Please review the feedback provided by your teacher marker who will advise you on the next steps. This is an opportunity to review your assignment creation process, including reviewing browser extensions and grammar checkers and paraphrasers that edit the composition of your work.
Can I use AI language models in mark appeals?
AI language models should not be used for mark appeals and in correspondence with the ILC. The mark appeal process is designed for students to engage thoroughly with their own learning, and to closely review the assignments rubric, success criteria and their teacher marker’s feedback. Students who submit a mark appeal that contains unoriginal writing will be asked to resubmit the mark appeal form.
If I re-enroll into the same course, can I resubmit my assignments?
If a student re-enrolls into the same course, submitting the exact same assignments in the new enrollment is considered self-plagiarism. Assignments should reflect new learnings and insights as a result of taking the course for the second time. The submissions should not be identical but rather showcase an evolved understanding and demonstration of learnings.
Self-plagiarism is treated the same as plagiarism under TVO ILC Academic Integrity guidelines.