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Turnitin to enhance Web-based plagiarism prevention tool
Turnitin has announced the release of the new, enhanced version of their Web-based plagiarism prevention resource. The switch to the update will occur on August 7. Some of the enhancements in the new version include a redesigned interface, expanded student paper databases, improved Originality Reports which indicate whether the student properly cited his or her work, and expanded content databases. More information about the update is available at http://its.psu.edu/turnitin/.
To learn more about Turnitin and to see a demonstration of enhancements, Turnitin will be hosting online sessions through the WebEx Web conferencing application. Information for the online sessions, including the scheduled dates and times, is available at http://tlt.its.psu.edu/turnitin/OnlineOverview.html. Turnitin is made available to Penn State by Information Technology Services. Questions can be directed to turnitin@psu.edu.
Study skills modules, plagiarism prevention tool available for use in courses
Penn State faculty who are planning future courses may wish to incorporate two online resources that promote learning while saving class time. These are the iStudy for Success! study skills modules and Turnitin, a plagiarism prevention tool.
To help students sharpen their study skills, instructors can assign any of over twenty free, self-paced online iStudy for Success! modules. The modules, which can be imported into an ANGEL course or group, are designed to provide students with an introduction to college-level learning and help ensure that their academic experience is a positive one. Topics include "Academic Integrity, Plagiarism, and Copyright," "Active Reading," and more. For a description of each module and instructions on importing a module into ANGEL, visit http://istudy.psu.edu/.
Turnitin is an originality detection system owned by Turnitin.com, to which Penn State has a license. Faculty can submit students’ papers themselves or allow students to submit their own papers to the system to perform originality checks against millions of Web pages, books, journals, and previously submitted papers. Turnitin can be used as a tool to teach plagiarism prevention. Any instructor who is teaching a Penn State course can request a Turnitin account by e-mailing turnitin@psu.edu. To learn more, visit http://tlt.its.psu.edu/turnitin/.
Both resources are administered by Information Technology Services.
ANGEL version to remain unchanged
Information Technology Services (ITS) has canceled the ANGEL upgrade to version 7.2 originally scheduled for the weekend of July 19. Testing and analysis of 7.2 indicated that the new version (and some features) may not perform robustly in our environment, and for this reason we will remain at 7.1 for the next year. During this time frame, ITS staff will work closely with the ANGEL vendor to optimize a future release to meet the needs of the growing Penn State user environment. ITS will provide periodic updates to the user community throughout the coming year.