Are your students plagiarizing? Here’s how you find out

September 26, 2010

Plagiarism is a hot topic among educators today. The Internet has revolutionized how students research, find and relate to information. Plagiarism used to consist of copying word for word from books. Nowadays a few simple key strokes will cut and paste information from any website into a student’s papers.

There are a number of ways teachers can figure out if their students are plagiarizing. There are a number of websites and programs that will help you do just that. You type in a portion of your student’s paper and run it through a plagiarism checker to see if those words appear elsewhere on the Internet. If they do, your student may have plagiarized. Check out these free online resources:

Related posts:

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

6 Comments | education, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

6 Reasons I love Glee – a language teacher’s point of view

September 23, 2010

This week, the new season of the TV show Glee aired. When I first heard about the show, I wasn’t interested. At first glance it looked fluffy, silly, and not particularly engaging. I don’t watch much television so when I do pick a show to watch it needs to engage my mind, as well as entertain me. For some reason last year, an episode of Glee got recorded and I, grumbling and growling, finally agreed to watch an episode of it. I was hooked.

As a language teacher I can’t help but notice that this hot new TV show offers a veritable cornucopia of material to use in class. Here are a few examples:

  1. The characters, young high school students speak eloquently. Verbal prowess is the norm among the characters.
  2. In speaking eloquently, the characters become role models for clear, concise and articulate communication.
  3. There’s much less slang than on other comedy shows.
  4. Characters express a wide array of emotions with no vulgar language. Nothing needs to be “bleeped out”. They find appropriate words to express their feelings.
  5. Characters don’t use phrases such as “So, like…. ya know,” leaving the listener to fill in the blanks.
  6. Characters will correct each other’s language mistakes. In this season’s premiere, this exchange happened between lead characters Rachel and Finn:

Finn: Rachel is what you’d call a controlist.

Rachel: I’m controlling. ‘Controlist’ isn’t a word.

Where else on television do you get teenage characters who show their vulnerabilities as they try to find their way in the world in a lighthearted, yet serious show where being articulate, and using the English language properly are highlighted?

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

Comments Off on 6 Reasons I love Glee – a language teacher’s point of view | languages, teaching, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

Finding an ESL agent – A open discussion

September 22, 2010

This event has passed.

Check out the webinar recording or view the slide presentation.

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I’ve been working with language schools for a decade now. One question keeps popping up time and time again: “How do we find agents?”

The traditional way to find an educational agent is to attend an agent workshop or fair. For small or aspiring language schools however, the fees to attend such fairs are out of the question.

I’ve organized a free, webinar-style discussion on the topic and I’m inviting you to join me. This will be a frank and open discussion. It will be online, open to anyone who wants to join in:

Here are the event details:
Title: “Working with ESL and Educational Agents: Tips from the Pros – a webinar”
Format: Online, real-time, live discussion
Date: Thursday, October 14, 2010
Time: 08:00 – 09:00 Mountain Standard Time (Origin point: Calgary, Canada) – Please convert to your time zone.

Guiding questions for the session:

  • How do ESL schools and programs find reputable agents?
  • What are the alternatives for small schools without a sufficient budget to attend the large agent fairs and workshops?
  • What are some pitfalls for language schools to avoid when working with agents?
  • How can schools develop long-term relationships with agents
  • Recommendations from the pros

Participants are invited to join at no cost. The point of this session is to provide information, education and an interactive discussion between language school directors and marketers and those working in the ESL / Educational agents field.

Registration link: http://workingwitheslagents.eventbrite.com/
Deadline to register: Tuesday, October 12 – Note: there are a limited number of seats available in the virtual classroom, so participants are encouraged to register early.

Please invite your associates and members to join us for this open discussion between ESL schools and educational agents.

This event is sponsored by:

  • Elluminate – Providers of the webinar technology.
  • Eventbrite – Providers of the registration system for the event.

Update: September 24 – So far, participants from the U.S.A, the UK, Italy and Korea have registered.

Related posts:

Tips for finding ESL educational agents

Tips for success at educational trade fairs

How to find a good ESL agent: Tips from the trenches

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

Comments Off on Finding an ESL agent – A open discussion | agents, marketing, Uncategorized, webinar | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

In their own words – Boost ESL enrollments with multilingual marketing materials

September 20, 2010

Imagine this: Your daughter wants to go away and study a foreign language… maybe Chinese or French or some other language that you don’t speak. She tells you that she has found two possible schools and wants you to have a look at their web sites. She sends the links to you at the office. During your coffee break, you check out the first school’s site. All the information is written in English. You find out about the school, the teachers who work there, the homestay accommodations available and the program she will be taking.

You move on to the second site. All the same information is there (you think?) but it is written only in the language your daughter wants to learn. You surf around, look at the pictures and try to get back to the home page again.

After you’ve looked at both sites, where do you want to send your daughter?

The fact of the matter is that both schools may have excellent programs, but if students (and their parents) can read about it in their own language, you will build an unspoken relationship of trust with them. It’s both perception and perspective. You trust what you know.

For ESL programs that recruit international students, translating your web site (or at least major points of it) into the languages of your major markets gives you an advantage over your monolingual counterparts.

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This post has been adapted from “Idea # 16: Sell yourself in as many languages as possible — translate your marketing materials into the languages of countries you want to target” from 101 Ways to Market Your Language Program.

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

Comments Off on In their own words – Boost ESL enrollments with multilingual marketing materials | 101 Ways to Market Your Language Program, ESL, language program administration, marketing, target market | Tagged: , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

The biggest mistake educators make when marketing new programs

September 17, 2010

My first job in educational administration was in 1989 at Saint Mary’s University. I worked in what was then the Division of Continuing Education. Part of my job was to promote current and new programs. I’ve learned a thing or two over the past twenty years of working in education. What’s the biggest challenge of marketing of new educational programs?

One word: Impatience.

As educators, we tell our students that they need to study regularly. We tell them that consistent effort over time brings results. We tell them to set aside time every day for their studies. We tell them that if they put in the work, that they’ll see results… but they just have to be patient.  If we followed the same advice, we’d be much better at promoting educational programs.

Instead, administrators want results NOW. If a program is posted in the course calendar in one semester and it doesn’t meet the minimum requirements for registrations, it’s canned. Wiped off the books. Written off.

Imagine if you saw a student giving up so easily after getting less than stellar results on a test. Would you say, “Yeah, you’re right. You bombed this first test, so clearly you don’t have what it takes…”

No, of course not! You’d sit down with the student, review the results, determine strategies to improve and then monitor their progress. We can do the same thing with educational programs. If a new program bombs the first time, examine the results and try to figure out why. Develop some new marketing strategies and go out and try them. Keep an eye on your process and watch for improvements.

If we promoted our programs with the same vigilance and patience that we have with our students, we’d have better long term results.

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

Comments Off on The biggest mistake educators make when marketing new programs | education, marketing, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

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