Aerin Johnson
Web Editor
New anti-plagiarism software Turnitin has come to the high school’s English department.
Turnitin is a program used by more than 1 million teachers and 20 million students in 126 different countries around the world, according to its website. The program’s systems are used to check the originality of students’ work, give them feedback and make handing papers back easier.
“With Turnitin, students see their rough draft and how much has been plagiarized,” said Jennifer Griggs, Abraham Lincoln Traditional School English teacher, according to Turnitin.com.
Students can use the software to check their papers and get some feedback before they turn them in, even if the teacher of the class isn’t using the software.
Rita Chapman, English department chairperson, and Dr. Jon Clark, principal, decided to start use of the program last spring.
“The Missouri Technology Standard,” according to Chapman is the one of the reasons the school has started to use Turnitin.
The other is to teach students not to plagiarize before they go to college, where the punishment for plagiarism is much more severe.
Punishments at the college level could include expulsion from the University or not being able to earn a degree, according to Checkforplagiarism.net.
Some students are fond of turnitin because it give them flexibility with their deadlines.
“I like it because if an assignment is due on Monday, I have until 12 a.m. to turn it in,” said junior Jack Kemper.
“We believe, as the English department, it will help with grading,” said Kristin Moore, English teacher, about the software.
It cost the Webster Groves high school $5,000 per year to run Turnitin. It is $3,000 for the license and $2 for each student who uses it.
