Cheating and the online classroom

This post fits in nicely with the discussion in the TO class on cheating in the online classroom. I must say that in my experience, the "Google test" he talks about works pretty well (this happens all the time in almost every class I teach).

However, I don't go out of my way to humiliate learners who plagiarize - in fact, most of the time I don't even bother to point out that I recognize the source. (This kind of intellectual laziness reaps its own punishments, I find.)

Of course, if the material is posted in a public space, some sort of remedy is needed, but is posting content within the online classroom really public?

And one more thing to worry about...

Research Papers a la Wikipedia:

1. Write a craptacular draft full of factual errors, incredible sources, and grammatical/mechanical mistakes.
2. Post it to Wikipedia.
3. Wait a few days and let the community clean it up for you.
4. Turn it in!

(From Kairosnews, after the Esquire article posted to news.com)