Will the integration of technology into the classroom permanently damage the integrity of students, as they’re presented with millions of ways to cheat at the press of a button?
Mrs. Carnahan, English department head: The integration of technology is just another example of how education is constantly changing. I do not believe technology will damage the integrity of students. It does not have the power to do so. The integrity of students is based upon character, and good character overcomes the temptation to cheat with or without a computer.

How are the netbooks encouraging students to cheat in your class? Are netbooks making cheating a bigger issue than it already is?
Mrs. Shipley, Foreign Languages department head: If a student will cheat using a sheet of paper or writing on a hand or looking off of someone else’s paper, he/she will cheat using technology. I think integrity is something you have or don’t have. Cheating only cheats the cheater.
Mrs. Sanders, Science department head, with the help of the department staff: Google chat and other instant messaging platforms are a bigger issue than cheating.

Are you catching students cheating very often using technology of some sort? Is it a major roadblock for you?
Mrs. Carnahan, English department head: I rarely struggle with cheating students. Teachers can set tests and rooms up to eliminate the temptation.
Mrs. Shipley, Foreign Languages department head: They are only fooling themselves if they think we do not know when a translator has been used. I try to make the grading of the activity such that cheating does not play a role.  I tend to be a believer in my students.

How are students cheating?
Mrs. Sanders, Science department head, with the help of the department staff: Some students have plagiarized papers, the internet makes it easy (but this was an issue before the netbooks). While taking a test, I have caught students looking up answers on the internet or instant messaging a friend for the answers. I have also caught students waiting for others to finish tests and then asking the answers. Other teachers have caught students accessing their completed test to give answers to other students taking the test at a later date. This is no more of a major roadblock than the cheating that took place before. It is just a different vehicle the students use. I have also caught students typing their notes and accessing them on their netbook during a test (easier to hide than putting a cheat sheet up their sleeve).

Is technology helping you find ways to combat cheating, in the same way it’s helping students find ways around studying and being honest?
Mrs. Shipley, Foreign Languages department head: Those who cheat will find their barrier at some time whether it is being caught plagiarizing in college or cheating on tests. Again cheating is a matter that deals with self respect. If you respect yourself and who you are, you will learn the material rather than cheat. 

Does Reitz, as it concerns your department, have a cheating problem?
Mrs. Carnahan, English department head: Sophocles is quoted as saying, “I would rather fail with honor than win by cheating.” I believe most students, at Reitz and anywhere else, understand that the decision to cheat on any assignment is an act of cheating themselves. 
Mrs. Shipley, Foreign Languages department head: Cheating is a problem in any school, anywhere.  We are not going to eliminate cheaters. What we can hope to do is to encourage students to have integrity and self-respect and to understand that knowledge is important and that cheating inhibits you from attaining real knowledge.
Mrs. Sanders, Science department head, with the help of the department staff: Reitz doesn’t have any more of an issue than any other high school. It exists and is an issue that has to be dealt with. I would like to believe that students wouldn’t think of cheating and that they have a better set of standards to live by than relying on the knowledge of others or dishonesty to succeed – it happens anyway.