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Purpose

Turnitin integrates with Canvas assignments and identifies plagiarism and citation issues in student submissions via an Originality Report. Turnitin can also be used to provide students with feedback and for peer review activities. SRJC also has a license for Turnitin's AI checking tool, which may indicate the presence of AI generated content in student submissions.

How to Use

To use Turnitin, add it to a Canvas assignment.  There are two different ways connect Turnitin to your assignment: Plagiarism Framework and LTI 1.1.  

Read about each one below to decide which one is best for you.

Plagiarism Framework

Plagiarism Framework is a seamless integration with Canvas that allows you to use Speedgrader and all the normal assignment submission settings of Canvas assignments (such as allowing multiple submissions or being able to submit on behalf of students). 

To add Plagiarism Framework to an assignment, in edit mode, select the "Online" submission type and check the "file upload" and/or "text" options.  After those selections are made, the Plagiarism Review option will appear, where you can select "Turnitin Plagiarism Review," as shown in the screenshot to the right. You will only see this option if you have set the submission types to be file upload and/or text.

To learn more, view the following guides:

• Creating a Turnitin Canvas Plagiarism Framework Assignment
• Canvas Plagiarism Framework Instructor FAQs
• How to Access the Similarity Report

LTI 1.1

The LTI 1.1 version is best for instructors who prefer to use Turnitin's feedback tool, Feedback Studio, instead of Speedgrader.  The LTI 1.1 version can be added to a Canvas assignment via the "External Tool" submission type.  In edit mode in the assignment, select "External Tool" from the drop-down menu and then "Find."  A pop-up window will appear.  Select "Turnitin LTI 1.1" from the list and then "Select."

To learn more about the details of Turnitin LTI 1.1 settings and set-up, view the the following guides:

• Creating a Turnitin LTI 1.1 Assignment in Canvas
• Edit the Assignment Settings
• Optional LTI Settings
• Additional Turnitin LTI 1.1 Guides from Turnitin

Turnitin Best Practices

It is recommended that you avoid using Turnitin as a policing tool, and instead use it to engage your students in conversation about academic integrity, citation, and AI's role in your classroom. Consider these Do's and Don'ts:

Do:

• Set clear expectations regarding academic integrity
• Help students understand the relationship and differences between similarity and plagiarism
• Use the Similarity Score formatively
• Ensure that students understand the Similarity Score and what it means about their writing

Don't:

• Use the Similarity Score as a “gotcha” or punitive measure
• Conflate similarity and plagiarism
• Use the Similarity Score exclusively as a summative measure 
• Implement the use of the Similarity Score without ensuring that students understand what it means and how they can use it to improve their writing

Tool Information