Homework excuses

Fake it till you make it. That’s the idea behind corrupted-files.com. Deadlines have always been a part of the education experience. For many it has meant late night cram sessions fueled by plenty of Red Bull. As technology became more integrated into our daily lives, enterprising individuals brought SparkNotes and essay mills online. For procrastinating students this offered a hope for redemption. For teachers at best it represented superficial learning and at its worst, downright plagiarism. The battle has evolved yet again.

Currently, for $4.95, Corrupted-Files offers students the choice of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files that will not open. The idea is that by the time the professor realizes the file cannot be opened, the student will have time to complete the actual assignment and submit the real work. Thus allowing the student to literally “fake it till they make it”. Marc Beja at Chronicle.com wrote an enlightening piece about this service.

While the site advises against using their service and suggests that the student should “just tell the truth”, it rings rather hollow. Submitting a corrupted file to gain additional time is dishonest. Plagiarism would technically exist as the student is turning in someone else’s work. Finally, further conversations with the instructor, regarding the corrupt file, would probably be tainted with additional dishonesty.

It appears that this tact could work in most academic settings. With heavy workloads and large class-sizes, most teachers find themselves behind in their grading, at some point in a semester. This can often mean that documents are not inspected for a couple of days after their receipt. Additionally, teachers occasionally receive corrupted files, making it difficult to distinguish bogus from genuine. Without a standard system for assignments submitted online, a loophole is created.

Four Guidelines For Authenticating Online Assignments:

1. Check the file immediately upon receipt. Notify the student immediately that a replacement file is needed for any corrupt file.
2. Instruct the students that corrupt files are THEIR responsibility. Check your sent box and open the attached file to verify that the document is functional.
3. In situations where a corrupt file is discovered, use the properties feature to discover when the file was created. A ten page paper created twenty minutes before the assignment deadline is a red flag. Realize that a tech savvy student can circumvent this technique.
4. Finally, if necessary, require a hardcopy submission.

Click the following link to receive our FREE guide Online Assignments: 3 Tools For Creating and Authenticating Online Assignments.