Turnitin Launches Teaching Tool to Evaluate Online Sources

Turnitin has released Source Educational Evaluation Rubric (SEER), an evaluation tool designed to help writing students determine the academic quality of the Internet sources cited in their research papers.

Available for instructors to download from the Turnitin Web site, the rubric identifies and provides ratings for more than 300 sources based on authority, educational value, intent, originality, and quality.

In response to studies showing that students rely heavily on Internet-based sources for their research, the company worked with secondary and higher education instructors to develop a rubric that would help students recognize the difference between a quality academic source and unreliable or crowd-sourced material and improve their writing skills.

Tunitin is sponsoring two free webcasts, "What's Wrong with Wikipedia? Evaluating the Sources Used by Students" on January 31, and "Grading the Top 100 Student Sources" on and February 7, to familiarize instructors with SEER.

Turnitin offers educational, cloud-based services designed for online grading, tracking and evaluating original content, including iThenticate, a plagiarism detection service for commercial markets, and WriteCheck, a suite of formative tools for writers. Further information is available at turnitin.com.

About the Author

Sharleen Nelson is a freelance journalist based in Springfield, Oregon. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • illustration of a futuristic building labeled "AI & Innovation," featuring circuit board patterns and an AI brain motif, surrounded by geometric trees and a simplified sky

    Cal Poly Pomona Launches AI and Innovation Center

    In an effort to advance AI innovation, foster community engagement, and prepare students for careers in STEM fields and business, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona has teamed up with AI, cloud, and advisory services provider Avanade to launch a new Avanade AI & Innovation Center.

  •  black graduation cap with a glowing blue AI brain circuit symbol on top

    Report: AI Is a Must for Modern Learners

    A new report from VitalSource identifies a growing demand among learners for AI tools, declaring that "AI isn't just a nice-to-have; it's a must."

  • glowing shield hovers above a digital cloud platform with abstract data streams and cloud icons in the background

    Google to Acquire Cloud Security Firm Wiz

    Google has announced it will acquire cloud security startup Wiz. If completed, the acquisition — an all-cash deal valued at $32 billion — would mark the largest in Google's history.

  • digital dashboard featuring a shield icon, graphs, a world map, and network nodes

    IBM Introduces Agentic AI Governance and Security Platform

    IBM has launched a new software stack for enterprise IT teams tasked with managing the complex governance and security challenges posed by autonomous AI systems.