Academic Integrity in a Digital Age

The digital age is characterised by the use of ICT tools for information processing, accessing, storage, and sharing. To use of ICT there is a huge increase of the number of students enrolling for studies, including online courses and thus has changed the way we teach (Kanwar, 2013). The increase in the use of ICT has increased the form in which one shares information, which has resulted to increased opportunity for people to  easily copy information from one another. For students it is a period where resources are freely available online. Students can copy information electronically and insert in their assignment easily (Roberts & Hai-Jaw, 2009; Ahmed & Ullah, 2015). Reasons for increased cases of academic dishonesty are attributed to fear of failure, lack of knowledge and skills, the need to become ahead academically, in some cases a socially acceptable behaviour, and also lack of confidence in securing a high paying job (Ahmed & Ullah, 2015).

It is in the digital age where we see new practices in education. These practices include easy of copying materials from one source and pasting it in ones work; sharing information through the use of the internet and use of storage devices; and having many academic resources in the website freely to download. The question then is how do we ensure academic integrity in the era of freely available online resources? What is the role of academic institutions in ensuring academic integrity is enhanced in their practices? What is the role of ICT in making sure that academic integrity is enhanced?

Dishonest cases in the digital era are often result of use of technology where students can access information using different types of ICT tools including computers connected to the internet;  wireless connections; and use of mobile devices including mobile phones, ipods, and ipads. While the use of digital devices is associated with an increased number of cases of dishonesty, these devices are deployed to support the delivery of education especially to distance learners. With the use of electronic devices we witness increased availability of online learning, including Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC); use of learning management systems; and distribution of course materials using the internet.  Academic institutions have roles to play, including teaching students about dishonest and its consequences to the school community.