Further Academic Skills: Importance of Academic Integrity and Game Development

This report discusses the importance of academic integrity in higher education and the implications of academic misconduct. It also outlines the steps and difficulties encountered in producing a game and the skills learned while developing it, such as communication, team working, time management, and planning and organizing skills.

FURTHER
ACADEMIC SKILLS
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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
SECTION 1 .....................................................................................................................................3
Academic integrity......................................................................................................................3
Importance of academic integrity in higher education ...............................................................4
Implication of academic misconduct .........................................................................................5
SECTION 2 .....................................................................................................................................5
Steps taken and difficulties encountered in producing the game ...............................................5
Reflection of skills learned while producing the game ..............................................................7
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES ...............................................................................................................................9
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INTRODUCTION
Academic integrity is the expectation which teachers, students, and members of the
academic community where the members have brief understanding of the pillars- honesty, trust,
fairness, respect and responsibility. Therefore, the breaching of academic integrity is the act of
academic misconduct. This report will discuss academic skills which will reflect academic
integrity and importance of academic integrity in higher education. Therefore, the implication
and sources of academic misconduct will be further discussed below in section 1. Whereas, the
section 2 of research will discuss about the outline the steps which will be followed through
which they can produce games and will also list challenges which has been faced while making a
game. Lastly, the section 2 will involve reflection of the skill which has been acquired while
developing this game.
SECTION 1
Academic integrity
Academic integrity refers to values which must be practices while performing the
assigned job roles and responsibilities while performing the activities on academic year. In
simple term, academic integrity the act of taking responsibility of the work done by oneself and
through referencing to the work done by others (de Waal, 2019). Academic integrity is the
ethical policy and can be considered a the moral cod of conduct which must be followed by
learners throughout the academic year. The five pillars of academic linearity are- honesty,
fairness, respect, responsibility and trust. In other words, academic integrity is the term which is
helpful in saving the brand reputation of universities and encourage students through which they
can engage in ethical and moral policies.
Moreover, academic integrity of the ethical policy which must be followed by students
through which they can avoid being a part of academic misconduct. Academic integrity can be
helpful for students as well as for universities through which their reputation can be safeguarded
(Gill and et.al, 2021). The act of academic integrity involves using data which has been referred
to the original source and not copying any data which has been used by the learners. The
academic integrity can be reflected in students through their approach of working and competing
the assignments. Such approaches are helpful in defining the ethical code of conduct and moral
behaviour which has been followed by students and staff in academic context.
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Importance of academic integrity in higher education
Academic integrity plays a crucial role in higher education which can be helpful in saving
the brand image and reputation within the industry. These five pillars are helpful in building the
brand image and ensure that all the work done by students is done with honesty and no learner is
engaged in any academic misconduct (McConnell, and et.al, 2017). The importance of academic
integrity is to ensure the work done by learners is authentic and original piece of work. The
importance of academic integrity is not restricted to students, this has been highly valuable in
professional world as well.
Some of the importance for academic integrity at different aspects is discussed below:
For students
Academic integrity is essential for students in various aspects. The importance of
academic integrity for students is explained below:
 This will be helpful in avoiding academic misconduct which can ensure and reflect
honesty and fairness of students.
 The act of academic integrity will be helpful in avoiding bad and severe consequences
which can hamper the ability of students to effectively perform in academic period.
 This will be helpful in encouraging students to engage in ethical activities where they can
enhance their knowledge and engage in continuous learning.
 Academic integrity will add value to students and will support them in working towards
success.
 Academic integrity is essential as this will support in encouraging staff to create
innovative ideas and enhance their learning through which they can ensure success in
future (Negreiros and et.al, 2018).
For universities
The importance of academic integrity holds higher value for universities as well and this
can be helpful in various ways for the University. The significant importance of academic
integrity for Universities is explained below:
 Academic integrity is essential for universities as this can be helpful in encouraging
students in following the code of conduct through which they can work on their own and
avoid getting engaged in any academic misconduct.
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 Academic integrity plays a significant role for universities as this can support them in
protecting the brand image and reputation of university.
 This will support universities in developing good practices through which they can offer
opportunity of learning.
 Through following academic integrity, this will be helpful in boosting confidence of
students and will set higher standards of learning and development through which the
performance and reputation of universities can be enhanced (Pakarinen and et.al, 2017).
Implication of academic misconduct
Academic misconduct is the source of unethical activities which is carried out to
complete the assigned work in ethical context. The term Academic misconduct is the term which
is used to define the act where students do not perform activities with integrity in any academic
setting. Academic misconduct can be carried out through various sources, some of the mediums
of implication of academic misconduct are listed below:
 Plagiarism- This is one of academic misconduct which involves sharing the thoughts and
ideas of other person as he work done by oneself. Such unethical activities involves the
work which has been done by the others is used for completing own work without
rephrasing and labelling as wok done by oneself. This form of academic misconduct
involves the act of taking credits of others work and not citing the original sources. This
form of academic misconduct reflects disrespect and lack of honesty.
 Cheating- This is another major form of academic misconduct which refers to the act
where student follow unethical practices to score better grades in order to successfully
pass the exam (Patterson and et.al, 2019). This is one of the most common approach of
academic misconduct in which students follow easy approaches of passing the exam and
such practices reflects academic dishonesty and misconduct.
 Self- plagiarism- It is one of the type of academic misconduct which refers to the
approach where students submit the same piece of work again without taking permission
of their instructors. The work which has been submitted and checked for once cannot be
resubmitted for getting marks and such unethical activities are considered as the
approaches of academic misconduct where earners are engaged in unethical activities.
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SECTION 2
Steps taken and difficulties encountered in producing the game
Steps
The steps which has been followed for creating a game are explained below:
 Firstly, to develop the game the things will be planned accordingly through which I can
create a plan of action that needs to be followed.
 The options and format will be decided which will be used to create a game.
 Now, the list of questions with their answers will be planned and listed through which the
base of game can be created (Post, Visser and Buis, 2017). The game will be designed for
single and multiplayer users through which the player can select the desired setting
according to their preference of playing the game.
 For developing an interactive game, the design and layout of the game will be
strategically planned through which attention of players can be maintained.
Difficulties
Some of the difficulties which has been encountered while creating the game are
addressed underneath:
 Lack of cooperation- The inability to cooperate and work with a team effectively
affected my ability to work and interact with team members, such inefficiencies were
responsible to cater the needs and affected understanding which acted as barrier while
developing the game (Rabiner, Godwin and Dodge, 2016). Due to lack of cooperation,
this made me face challenge in understanding the feedbacks of others and was also
responsible to create a barrier in developing a good game in preferred time period.
 Poor planning- Due to poor planning skills, this lead to facing challenges in
understanding the activities which needs to be performed and the ability to develop an
effective game. Such incompetencies made me encounter challenges which created
negative impact on the ability to plan and organize activity in strategic manner and such
challenges affected the performance and ability to develop the game as per required
standards.
 Lack of communication skills- Poor communication skill have been another challenge
which affected the ability to interact with others. Lack of communication skills were
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responsible for affecting the process and development of game as this lead to limited
knowledge. The inefficiency in sharing and understanding the message created negative
impact on the development of game.
Reflection of skills learned while producing the game
There are various skills which have been enhanced while developing this game. The
game supported me in working on my personal and professional development through which I
can perform effectively and attract greater opportunities in near future. Some of the skills which I
improved and developed from this module are-
 Communication skills- The development of game supported me in developing my
communication skills as I used to interact with other people which supported me in
working on my listening skills through which I can understand their opinions and ideas
(Ribner, Barr and Nichols, 2021). Therefore, while producing the game, I worked on my
speaking skills which supported me in sharing the right message and getting a valuable
feedbacks through which I can develop a strong and effective game which can catch the
attention of users.
 Team working skills- This game supported me in working on my shortcomings and tea
working skills acted as weakness which was developed through developing this game.
This game offered me opportunity through which I was able to enhance my team working
abilities where I worked on my cooperation and communication skills. For working in a
team effectively, I focused on developing understanding and respecting the opinions and
ideas of others which assisted me in working on my team working skills.
 Time management skills- While developing this game, I was able to work on my time
management skills through which I can finish my work in assigned time frame. The
development of game supported me in valuing the task and arranging them in order of
importance through which I can schedule my activities and get my work done on time
(Zlatkin-Troitschanskaia and et.al, 2018). The development of game was the medium for
me to plan and organize all task through which I can improve my time management skills
and get my work done within the time period.
 Planning and organizing- While developing the game, this has supported me in
developing my planning and organizing skills through which I can strategically plan and
create a layout of all actions which must be followed through which I can create effective
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game (Munn and Small, 2017). While developing the game, I was able to work on my
organizing skills which has supported me in managing my work more effectively and
enhanced my ability to meet targets in quick span of time.
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it can be concluded that academic integrity is the ethical
guidelines which are helpful in working as per those guidelines for completing the assigned job
roles and responsibilities. This involves respecting and acknowledging the work done by others.
It can be stated that academic integrity plays a crucial role in educations as this can be helpful in
creating new ideas, knowledge and acknowledging the work done by others. It can be stated that
academic misconduct can be carried out in various forms and some of the approaches such as-
plagiarism and cheating are the mediums of academic misconduct. There are various skills which
can be developed, such as- communication and time management skills which will be helpful in
developing a successful game. Therefore, the act of academic integrity is helpful in attracting
opportunities through which great number of skills can be enhanced.
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REFERENCES
Books and journals
de Waal, E., 2019. Fundamental movement skills and academic performance of 5-to 6-year-old
preschoolers. Early Childhood Education Journal. 47(4). pp.455-464.
Gill, N and et.al., 2021. Childhood Obesity Is Associated with Poor Academic Skills and Coping
Mechanisms. The Journal of Pediatrics. 228. pp.278-284.
McConnell, A. E and et.al., 2017. The influence of gender on non-academic skills associated
with post-school employment and further education. Career Development and Transition
for Exceptional Individuals. 40(3). pp.165-174.
Munn, J. and Small, J., 2017. What is the best way to develop information literacy and academic
skills of first year health science students? A systematic review. Evidence Based Library
and Information Practice. 12(3). pp.56-94.
Negreiros, J and et.al., 2018. Academic skills in pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder: A
preliminary study. Annals of Clinical Psychiatry: Official Journal of the American
Academy of Clinical Psychiatrists. 30(3). pp.185-195.
Pakarinen, E and et.al., 2017. Longitudinal associations between teacher-child interactions and
academic skills in elementary school. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology. 52.
pp.191-202.
Patterson, F and et.al., 2019. Evaluation of a situational judgement test to develop non-academic
skills in pharmacy students. American journal of pharmaceutical education. 83(10).
Post, G., Visser, V. and Buis, J., 2017. Academic skills for interdisciplinary studies. Amsterdam
University Press.
Rabiner, D. L., Godwin, J. and Dodge, K. A., 2016. Predicting academic achievement and
attainment: The contribution of early academic skills, attention difficulties, and social
competence. School Psychology Review. 45(2). pp.250-267.
Ribner, A. D., Barr, R. F. and Nichols, D. L., 2021. Background media use is negatively related
to language and literacy skills: indirect effects of self-regulation. Pediatric
Research. 89(6). pp.1523-1529.
Zlatkin-Troitschanskaia, O and et.al., 2018. Adapting and validating the collegiate learning
assessment to measure generic academic skills of students in Germany: implications for
international assessment studies in higher education. In Assessment of Learning Outcomes
in Higher Education (pp. 245-266). Springer, Cham.
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