A students gain access to Quizlets, study guides, past assessments and group chats, teachers have argued that cooperation could help the process of learning while also making academic boundaries harder to draw.

For example, according to Mr. Paul Hamel, a history teacher, the sharing of study materials plays an important part in the learning process. “Collaboration is fantastic. It advances education,” Mr. Hamel said. “We want people to think together. We want people to share resources.”

Nonetheless, Mr. Hamel pointed out that it was necessary for students to keep showing their own comprehension. “Cheaters are those falsifying their own intellectual understanding, using info that isn’t their own, finding ways to get around the parameters,” Mr. Hamel said.

Group chats can also complicate that boundary. They can be used by students to share notes, Quizlets and kinds of material however, it is possible to distribute information about the assessment between classes. According to Mr. Hamel, teachers have a responsibility to prevent that by using different versions of tests when necessary.

Dr. Thomas Donlan, a Religion teacher, also approves of collaboration but warns about the abuse of this concept as a way to avoid effort. “Collaboration that reduces students’ own intellectual engagement or personal initiative is not ideal,” Dr. Donlan said.

He said that group chats helped in communication and organization of group activities however, they could make it harder to prove academic dishonesty. “It goes from friendly conversation to inside information pretty easily,” Dr. Donlan said.

Both teachers agreed that collaboration was not an issue. It was about identifying when the collaboration became an excuse for not doing individual work.

“Represent your own work when you’re asked to produce your own work,” Mr. Hamel said. “And have a sense of integrity, meaning honesty.”