
Why I will never pursue cheating again (2011) - mrdrozdov
http://chris.improbable.org/2011/7/18/why-i-will-never-pursue-cheating-again/
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vijayr
_Almost all cheating happened within groups with cultural ties._

 _I did not even want to think of being in my office behind closed doors with
a female undergraduate student who is crying loudly._

 _More than 45 hours in completely unproductive discussions, when the total
lecture time for the course was just 32 hours_

That was painful to read. Why would any sane person want to become a teacher?
:(

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Amir6
This is wrong on so many levels I cant even count! This is probably one of the
main reasons that traditional teaching/learning is going away and I'm very
happy to see it gone ASAP.

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xlm1717
It is so wrong. The author alludes to the way the system is set up as the main
reason why it is so dysfunctional:

>The Nash equilibrium is to let the students cheat and “perform well”; in
exchange, I get back great evaluations.

This is so obviously the way it is set up, but few professors and higher-ups
in college and university are willing to admit it.

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pflanze
Previous discussion (2011):
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2774254](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2774254)

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thefastlane
i'm not sure what i think about the central role this "Turnitin" 3rd-party
software played in all of this.

is Turnitin a for-profit company? it looks like they are.

what if a student does not want their papers stored in Turnitin's databases
for perpetuity to be used in an ongoing basis to help Turnitin continue to
acquire profit?

i'd demand royalties for each and every time any paper of mine gets used in a
comparison op.

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cmdrfred
I imagine it's just a hash? Is a hash considered a derivative work? This is an
interesting line of questioning.

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eljimmy
He should compare the time required to create entirely different assignments
each year with the time he spent catching and addressing plagiarism.

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Turing_Machine
This. Reusing assignments is just asking for trouble.

No, it doesn't excuse cheating, but creating a new assignment is like using a
consumer-grade lock: it helps keep honest people honest.

Also: an _essay_ about WiMax and LTE? Seriously? That doesn't sound like a
very...useful...assignment to me.

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Mz
I really like the solution(s) listed at the end of the piece. This is wise
stuff and the best way to handle something like this.

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nvusuvu
Just make homework a smaller percentage (10%) of final grade.

