How to Register & Use the Turnitin.com Academic Integrity Tool.

  1. Register as a new Turnitin.com user by going to http://www.turnitin.com and clicking on "New Users" & then "Create a New user Profile" (see User Profile below).
  2. Where are asked "are you a student or instructor?" you should use the drop down menu to select student and click Next.
  3. Join your class with the Class ID and class enrollment password I created (see below)
  4. Load assignments by following the guidelines in 'Load Assignments' below.
  5. Click Submit. A copy is sent to your (the student's) inbox as well.

User Profile

  1. Click the link to Create a user profile.
  2. Where you are asked are you a student or instructor? Use the drop down menu to select student and click Next.
  3. Enter Class ID (contact your Intructor for this).
  4. Enter Password (contact your Intructor for this) and click Next.
  5. Enter your e-mail address and click Next.
  6. Create your own password that is between 6 and 12 characters long and includes at least one number and click Next.
  7. Select a secret question from the drop down menu and give the answer, then click Next.
  8. Read the user agreement and if you accept, click I agree - create profile.

Load Assignment

  1. Click the Submit button next to the desired assignment.
  2. Enter an alias first and last name for yourself. This will protect your anonymity within the Turnitin.com database.
  3. Enter a title for the assignment you are submitting
  4. Upload a file by clicking on the Browse button, finding the assignment on your disk, and clicking Submit.
  5. At the next screen you will see your assignment. Make sure it is the one you want to submit. If so, click yes, submit. If not, click no, go back and submit the correct file.
  6. The next screen will confirm that the assignment has been received. You will see the assignment title, the assignment id, and the name of the assignment author.
  7. You can now submit additional assignments.

A Few Notes

Gradebook feature of Turnitin

The Turnitin registration information in Course Content is to be used by you for you to check the academic integrity of your briefs. Maryland did not buy the 'gradebook' license. So I can't access your assignment just because 'you' post it. The Turnitin classroom I created is 'just for you'. To submit your assignment to me, you post it to your assignment folder. I grade your assignment personally. I may, in grading it, submit it to Turnitin as well, to check the academic integrity. That's 'part' of grading a assignment.

Turnitin originality results

You can fix (in terms of academic integrity) your assignment, based on the result you get back from Turnitin, as many times as you want before you submit it to me in your assignment folder here in WebTycho.

The Meaning of Originality Results

When an assignment is evaluated, Turnitin.com provides originality reports which tell you that text in the evaluated assignment is similar to or identical to text Turnitin.com has in its database.

If you get back a result that says 10% of your assignment is not original, what does that mean? It means you need to make sure you have proper citations in the areas that Turnitin notes are clearly not original. If you get back a result that says 90% of your assignment is not original, what does that mean? It means that you need to develop more original thoughts AND make sure you have proper citations in the non-original areas highlighted by Turnitin.

Turnitin and the Syllabus

The University has a license agreement with Turnitin.com, a service that helps prevent plagiarism from internet resources. I may be using this service in this class by either requiring students to submit their assignments electronically to Turnitin.com or by submitting questionable text on behalf of a student (see syllabus for more). If you or I submit part or all of your assignment, it will be stored by Turnitin.com in their database throughout the term of the University's contract with Turnitin.com. If you object to this temporary storage of your paper, you must let me know no later than two weeks after the start of this class. Please Note: If you object to the storage of your assignment on Turnitin.com, I may utilize other services to check your work for plagiarism.