00: The ICT CSTT Course Orientation

Understanding Plagiarism, Institutional Policy, Originality Tools, and Citation Practices

1. Overview

Academic integrity is the foundation of trustworthy and ethical education. It involves producing original work, respecting intellectual property, and acknowledging the contributions of others. In the digital era—especially with widespread access to Open Educational Resources (OER) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools—upholding integrity is more critical than ever.

According to International Center for Academic Integrity (ICAI, 2021), academic integrity embodies six core values: honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility, and courage. In the Tanzanian context, these values are reinforced through institutional policies under the Tanzania Commission for Universities (TCU, 2020), which emphasizes originality and ethical scholarship in all ICT-supported education.

By the end of this topic, learners should be able to:
✅ Define plagiarism and its forms.
✅ Understand institutional plagiarism policies and their implications.
✅ Use digital and AI tools to check for originality.
✅ Apply correct referencing and citation methods.
✅ Demonstrate ethical behavior and personal accountability in ICT-enhanced learning.

2. Understanding Plagiarism

Definition

Plagiarism is using someone else’s work, ideas, or words as your own without acknowledging the original author (Park, 2003). It is a violation of academic ethics and intellectual honesty.

Forms of Plagiarism

1. Direct Copying: Copying text, code, or multimedia from a book, website, or another person’s work without quotation marks or citation.
2. Paraphrasing Without Citation: Rewriting someone’s ideas in your own words but failing to credit the source.
3. Self-Plagiarism: Reusing your previous work or parts of it in new submissions without permission or reference.
4. AI-Assisted Plagiarism: Copying text generated by ChatGPT, Google Gemini, or other AI tools and presenting it as your own without disclosure.
5. Collusion: Working with others on an individual assignment and submitting identical or very similar work.

Real-Life Examples in ICT Education

• A teacher downloads an ICT lesson plan from OER Africa or OpenLearn and submits it without citing the source.
• A learner copies a project proposal from the Open University of Tanzania Repository and changes a few words.
• A student uses ChatGPT to write an assignment but fails to mention that AI was used for drafting.
• A teacher reuses a PowerPoint presentation created for a previous professional development course without acknowledgment.

3. Institutional Policy and Consequences

Policy Overview

At institutions such as the Open University of Tanzania (OUT), plagiarism is considered academic misconduct. The policy typically states that:

• All submitted work must be original and independently produced.
• Any external source—digital or print—must be properly acknowledged.
• AI tools may be used for learning support but not for unauthorized content generation without citation.
• Open Educational Resources (OER) may be reused or adapted only with proper attribution according to their license (e.g., CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Reference:

• Open University of Tanzania (OUT) Academic Integrity and Plagiarism Policy, 2023.
• Tanzania Commission for Universities (TCU) Guidelines for Academic Integrity, 2020.

Consequences of Plagiarism

Academic Consequences:

• Receiving a zero score or grade penalty for plagiarized work.
• Course failure or expulsion for repeated offences.

Professional Consequences:

• Damaged reputation and loss of credibility as an educator.
• Ineligibility for professional advancement or ICT certification.

Ethical Emphasis:
Personal responsibility is at the heart of academic integrity. Teachers and students are expected to model honesty and transparency, especially when using digital and AI tools in teaching and learning.

4. Tools to Check Originality

Technology has made it easier to check for plagiarism and AI-generated content. Below are common tools recommended in Tanzanian higher learning institutions.

4.1 Plagiarism Detection Tools

Tool	Description	Usage
Turnitin	Compares submitted text with billions of web pages, publications, and student papers.	Used by OUT, UDSM, and many African universities.
Grammarly Premium	Checks grammar, clarity, and potential plagiarism.	Ideal for teachers to polish and verify assignments.
Urkund/Ouriginal	AI-driven plagiarism checker used by African Virtual University partners.	Generates originality reports with similarity percentages.

4.2 AI-Generated Content Detection

Tool	Description	Purpose
Turnitin AI Detection	Integrated into Turnitin, detects AI-written text.	Identifies AI-assisted assignments.
GPTZero	Detects whether text is human or AI-generated.	Free, simple tool for educators.
Originality.AI	Detects plagiarism and AI-generated content simultaneously.	Ideal for institutional checks.

4.3 Submitting Work for Originality Checks

1. Log into Moodle LMS.
2. Locate the Plagiarism Check or Turnitin Assignment link.
3. Upload your file (PDF, DOCX, or PPTX).
4. Wait for the similarity report.
5. Review highlighted sections and ensure proper citations.

Interpreting Similarity Reports:

• 0–15%: Generally acceptable, depending on citations.
• 16–30%: Review needed; some content may need paraphrasing or better citation.
• Above 30%: Likely excessive copying—revise before resubmission.

5. Best Practices for Citation and Referencing

Citation Basics

• In-Text Citation: Credit the author immediately when referring to their work.
  Example (APA 7th):

“Open Educational Resources promote equitable access to knowledge” (UNESCO, 2021).

• Reference List: Provide full bibliographic details at the end of the document.

Recommended Styles

• APA 7th Edition – Common in education and ICT fields.
• Harvard Style – Used in social sciences and humanities.

Effective Strategies

• Paraphrase Thoughtfully: Express ideas in your own words while keeping meaning intact.
• Use Quotations: For direct statements, enclose text in quotation marks and cite the author.
• Record Sources Early: Keep track of all URLs, authors, and publication dates.
• Acknowledge AI Tools: Example:

“Part of this draft was developed using ChatGPT (OpenAI, 2025) for idea generation and subsequently revised by the author.”

OER and Attribution

When using Open Educational Resources (OER), check their license type under Creative Commons (CC):

License	What You Can Do	What You Must Do
CC BY	Share and adapt freely.	Credit the creator.
CC BY-SA	Share alike under same license.	Attribute and keep license.
CC BY-NC	Non-commercial use only.	Attribute the source.
CC BY-ND	Share unchanged work.	Attribute, no modifications.

Example Attribution:

“Adapted from Moodle Teaching Basics by Commonwealth of Learning (COL, 2023), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.”

6. Summary

Concept	Description
Plagiarism	Using others’ work without credit, including AI-generated content.
Academic Integrity	Upholding honesty, fairness, and responsibility in learning.
Consequences	Academic penalties, professional loss of credibility.
Detection Tools	Turnitin, Grammarly, Urkund, GPTZero, Originality.AI.
Best Practices	Proper citation, paraphrasing, AI acknowledgment, referencing styles.
OER Integration	Reuse openly licensed materials ethically with proper attribution.

Key Takeaway:
Academic integrity builds trust, enhances learning quality, and reflects professionalism. Ethical use of ICT, AI, and OER ensures responsible digital citizenship and prepares teachers to model best practices for their students.

7. References

• Commonwealth of Learning (2023). Moodle Teaching Basics: A Practical Guide for Educators. Vancouver: COL. [CC BY-SA 4.0].
• International Center for Academic Integrity (2021). Fundamental Values of Academic Integrity (3rd ed.). Clemson University Press.
• Open University of Tanzania (2023). Academic Integrity and Plagiarism Policy. Dar es Salaam: OUT Press.
• Park, C. (2003). In Other (People’s) Words: Plagiarism by University Students—Literature and Lessons. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 28(5), 471–488.
• Tanzania Commission for Universities (2020). Guidelines on Academic Integrity and Misconduct. Dar es Salaam: TCU.
• UNESCO (2021). Open Educational Resources (OER) Recommendation Implementation Report. Paris: UNESCO Publishing.
• OpenAI (2025). Responsible Use of AI in Education: Best Practices for Transparency and Attribution. San Francisco: OpenAI Research.