Can Blackboard Detect Plagiarism, Paraphrasing, And Googling Answers

Most modern learning management systems (LMSs) provide some form of integration with plagiarism checkers to ensure students comply with academic integrity policies. Blackboard is no exception as it remains a popular learning management system leveraged by some of the largest educational institutions worldwide.

With online learning continuing to grow in popularity, educational institutions are leveraging a wide range of tools in an attempt to reduce any forms of academic dishonesty in student submissions and any other academic deliverables.

While proctoring tools like Honorlock, Proctorio, and ProctorU are being used by these institutions to deter student real-time cheating during remote tests, similarity detectors are being used by these institutions to identify similarities on submission.

Blackboard is no different as it leverages SafeAssign plagiarism checker to identify similarities by comparing submitted content with Blackboard’s global reference database of volunteered student submissions, the institution’s internal database of student submissions, internet, and ProQuest.

SafeAssign is integrated into Blackboard facilitating easier similarity checks and detection. Teachers can also make originality reports accessible to students enabling them to make changes and resubmit assignments if multiple attempts are allowed.

Like most plagiarism checkers, SafeAssign’s originality report doesn’t definitively prove plagiarism but only reports similarities that should be reviewed by an instructor to determine plagiarism.

Does Blackboard Catch Plagiarism

Yes, Blackboard uses the integrated SafeAssign plagiarism checker to find similarities between student submissions and Blackboard’s global database of student submissions, the internet, and ProQuest.

While the choice to enable SafeAssign plagiarism checker may be dependent on the instructor, most educational institutions recommend the use of the tool in order to reduce any forms of academic dishonesty.

That said, plagiarism checkers aren’t perfect as they’re unable to identify well-paraphrased content. Content paraphrased with tools like QuillBot cannot be easily detected by these plagiarism checkers.

This is due to the fact that QuillBot uses artificial intelligence to substitute words with synonyms and change the order of sentences and paragraphs, making it difficult for plagiarism checkers to identify similarities.

Can Blackboard Detect Paraphrasing

Blackboard leverages SafeAssign plagiarism checker to help educational institutions enforce academic dishonesty policies. SafeAssign leverages Blackboard’s huge database of student submissions both from within and outside the institution as well as internet sources and ProQuest’s database to identify similarities in student submissions.

That said, properly paraphrased content becomes difficult to detect as plagiarism checkers simply compare comparable phrases and sentence patterns to identify similarities. Content paraphrased with QuillBot cannot be easily detected as QuillBot’s AI is able to substitute words with synonyms and also rearrange phrase and paragraph sequences.

It is however advisable that students refrain from simply paraphrasing other people’s work without citing their sources as it constitutes Mosaic plagiarism.

Can Blackboard Detect Googling Answers

One of the challenges with online learning is that students are easily tempted to search for solutions online. During online tests, students are more likely to search online for solutions to their answers than they are to try cheating in an offline learning environment.

This has led to the development and growth of proctoring tools like LockDown Browsers, ProctorU, Proctorio, and Honorlock. Blackboard leverages LockDown Browser or Respondus Monitor also called Respondus LockDown Browser to monitor student activities during online tests.

The LockDown Browser is a custom browser that locks the testing environment within learning management systems. It prevents students from cheating by locking down various activities on a user’s computer or tablet during test-taking.

LockDown Browser restricts actions like copy-pasting, keyboard shortcuts, opening other applications, printing, or even switching to another browser. Students would be unable to search on Google for answers as the LockDown Browser restricts such activities on the student computer.

While this may restrict student activities on the testing computer, it doesn’t restrict activities on the student’s phone making it possible for them to search on Google for answers.

Fortunately, Blackboard is able to leverage the Respondus Monitor which is also referred to as Respondus LockDown Browser for remote proctoring.

Respondus Monitor is a fully-automated proctoring solution built on top of Blackboard’s LockDown Browser for remote proctoring. Like most remote proctoring tools, Respondus Monitor uses the computer’s webcam and microphone to record student activities and environment during test-taking.

Not only does Respondus Monitor record the student’s examination environment using the webcam and microphone, but it also records the student’s computer screen during test-taking.

Yes. However, students would be unable to Google answers as Blackboard leverages Respondus LockDown Browser during proctored tests which restricts computer actions like switching tabs or windows, copy-pasting, printing, and also uses the computer camera and microphone to identify and flag any suspicious activities at the student’s testing environment.

It’s worth noting that this is only the case when your educational institution opts to leverage the LockDown Browser without which students could easily copy-paste content from Google although this would be detected by SafeAssign on submission.

Once tests have been submitted, Blackboard’s SafeAssign plagiarism checker is able to identify copy-pasted content from Google as the plagiarism checker checks submitted content against Google’s index, ProQuest, and Blackboard’s database of student submissions across multiple institutions.

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