Is looking up homework answers online cheating?

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Anytime one uses an outside source in an instance where the mind is being tested for what knowledge it holds, is cheating. If we had access to outside sources indefinitely, we would not need schools or the concept of learning as we know it in an education system. Since our brain is the only thing that is with us at all times, it is the medium that is paramount for information storage. Simple as that. Books, people/various entities(other minds (we learn from animals, etc. too)), audio/visual media, the INTERNET (a combination of all those elements) are our sources for retention of information outside our minds. Education is evolving and so should its considerations. The INTERNET is now a part of our lives in a major capacity. It should not be excluded for being such a powerful force of information.
If the fire from the gods is able to reach the hands of mortals, then it was meant to be a part of the mortals' existence.

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My brother who teaches college gives permission to his students to use the internet. He uses a program called Turnitin to make sure no one just copies and pastes. It's always good to use multiple sources and put the research in your own words.

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I think if you are using the Internet as your primary source of answering the questions, that you are probably spending more time than necessary to figure out the answers. Most of the time the question packets your teachers give you refer directly to information that is in your book. A good way to look things up in your book is to use the index and the topic headings that are in the book. If you want to read more about the topic, or if you are stuck, then use the Internet. Always paraphrase the answer in your own words so that you don't come across problems with plagiarism. Long story short, as long as you are not using the Internet during test time, you are not cheating.

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It depends if you copy it exactly.

Balanced view:

There will always be students who will abuse the 'system', no matter what systems are in place. Aside from that, I think it's ok to take a balanced view of this.

If your teacher gives you an assignment to learn and to practice doing certain kinds of calculation or library research problems, then it is cheating to submit a question and get the calculating/research done for you. (Remember that the answers you get are not necessarily always correct; you have no guarantee.) We cannot monitor every motive of all questioners here at WikiAnswers, and students who use online resources as a shortcut only cheat themselves. What goes around comes around; you may get a useful answer fast, to cover homework, but when you have to perform on a test or exam, you'll be unprepared.

If your teacher gives an assignment with specific instructions to stay away from the net then clearly you are cheating if you use the net to do the work. On the other hand, teachers would be a little unrealistic to assume that students today will stay off the net for any reason.

The "balanced" part is this: Online resources are very much what encyclopedias and other home reference materials were in past generations, only much better in many ways. If you have not been restricted by your teacher's instructions, and you won't be worse off at exam time, then it seems that gathering information/answers from online sources is ok. As mentioned above, just because you see something pop up on your screen doesn't mean that it is accurate or authoritative.

After all, it is not as if the alternative is for you to magically arrive at the answer mentally; for factual material that you simply do not know, you will have to get the information from someplace. But don't ever engage in plagiarism-don't steal written material and try to pass it off as your own.

Students have to learn to use good judgment, and to realize at some point that being a student is about gaining skills, and not just getting quick, cheap "solutions" for homework problems.

Ask for Assistance, Not Answers

Nothing is more frustrating then to be working on homework and get stuck. If there isn't an older sibling and the parents can't help, you can be stuck without any hope of finishing the assignment that is due the next day. The Internet can be a big help in that respect.

Did you know that many school districts have homework help lines? You can use the Internet to find out if your district or school has one. They are often manned by teachers who will help coach you through getting to the answer. There are many other sources of help on the Internet as well.

You are better off learning how to get the right answer than having someone give you the answer. Asking for answers to homework questions is a downward spiral. Learning builds on itself, and if you skip learning the foundation concepts, you are making it almost impossible to learn the more advanced concepts. Instead of learning how to find the answers yourself, you become dependent upon others to do the work for you. Which means you have learned nothing and are cheating yourself out of the major benefit of education.

Research

If you steal from one person, it's called plagiarism. But if you steal from many people, it's called research. Remember that.

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This is the difference between using the Internet and cheating. If you are given homework to write out or figure out mathematical problems then you should be LEARNING AND USING YOUR BRAIN WITHOUT THE COMPUTER!

If the teacher asks you to RESEARCH a certain subject or a famous literary person, etc., then you CAN use the computer. As long as you take down the main important issues of the research project your teacher has given you and write around that information then you aren't breaking copyright laws. Your teacher will know the difference if you just copy off the Internet!

If you run to the computer to do your thinking for you all the time then you don't exercise your brain and you will forget how to methodically figure out a problem and actually forget how to do simple math in your head. I've experienced this with young people working in grocery stores and if the item was $32.01 and I gave them $42.01 they just don't have a clue what change to give you back! I am in awe! Of course the answer is: You give the customer back $10.00 It appears that giving the extra $2.01 confuses the young person. That's why students should use their brain first, then go to the computer.

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I will answer in a similar vain as the plagarism/research answer above. If one of your homework questions is "True or False: Columbus sailed the ocean blue in fourteen hundred and ninety-two?" and you come to WikiAnswers or any other site to find the answer ... whether you have cheated or not cannot be determined for a while. A year from the day you find the answer on the Internet, if you are asked the same question and you guess at the answer or answer incorrectly, plain and simple you have cheated. If you answer confidently and correctly, you have not cheated. You have used all of the research tools at your disposal to increase your base of knowledge.

The question posed here is a symptom of a larger problem. That problem is choosing not to apply yourself for the betterment of yourself. Those that are looking for the easy way out. We can't stop you from doing that.

Deb had a question, which of course I can't remember, in the Questions About WikiAnswers Website topic that addressed this same issue. I wrote then that I would be willing to assist anyone who wanted to write a report or do research on any topic pertaining to sports. That offer still stands. I could turn you on to some really good sites and you could do the rest. Sometimes, all that someone needs is a start. I don't want to speak for others, but I am 99.9% positive that the folks here at WikiAnswers would be more than happy to provide that start.

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Here's an answer you probably never expected to hear. Public school teachers shouldn't give homework, other than reading assignments. If students can't be taught a curriculum during eight hours a day of classroom instruction, and spending over $8000 annually per student, then we're doing something wrong.

Cheating basically involves using someone else's work, and calling it your own. It's dishonest and always wrong. However, the goal of education is that you learn. Anything that helps you learn should be encouraged, and any activity that keeps you from learning (such as copying answers, cutting and pasting an essay, or letting someone else write/do your homework) should be discouraged.

And I, for one, I learn quite a bit from the internet...

First answer by Joe23. Last edit by Marcy. Contributor trust: 4869 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 29 [recommend question]