Academic Integrity: Importance, Misconduct Implications, Game Design

This report provides a comprehensive overview of academic integrity within higher education, detailing its importance, the implications of academic misconduct such as plagiarism and cheating, and a reflection on the challenges encountered while designing a game to promote academic integrity. The report emphasizes the role of academic integrity in fostering honesty, preventing criminal activity, and building fairness among students. It further discusses the difficulties faced in producing an engaging educational game, including aligning game design with learning objectives, creating an appealing gaming atmosphere, managing costs, and ensuring adequate knowledge transfer. The skills acquired during the game development process, such as effective communication, creativity, writing, critical thinking, and time management, are also highlighted. The game, designed to educate students about plagiarism, involves teamwork and question-answering to reinforce the principles of academic integrity.

Academic Integrity

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
SECTION 1......................................................................................................................................3
Description of Academic Integrity..............................................................................................3
Importance of Academic Integrity in Higher Education.............................................................4
Implications of Academic Integrity............................................................................................4
SECTION 2......................................................................................................................................5
Difficulties encountered in producing game...............................................................................5
Skills Learned while producing game.........................................................................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
Academic skills are made up of various core skills such as academic writing and
presentation in which various skills are underpinned such as critical thinking skills and reflection
(Sefcik, Striepe and Yorke, 2019). This is highly essential for students that they develop
academic skills in such a manner that learning abilities can be enhanced and at the same time
higher performance can eb exhibited within university and schools. Every student is required to
learn and assess the information in such a way that academic integrity can be maintained and at
the same time learning environment can be created. This report will be covering various concepts
of academic integrity within educational integrity and several implications of academic
misconduct and a reflection on issues faced within game designing.
SECTION 1
Description of Academic Integrity
Academic integrity means obeying the ethics and code while working in the organisation.
Here values that a student learn are put it into the action. Scholar should be fair and honest
within the academy. The moral codes of ethics and code of conduct are being govern in the
institution (Tatum and Schwartz, 2017). Every institution has there code or ethics which need to
be follow by each and every tu-tee of the university while studying in it. Some of the moral that a
student follows are:
 Not to copy or cheat while doing assignment.
 Plagiarism should not be high.
 Dishonest publication should not be there and many more
Every schools or colleges has built and set their norms and the way they should behave
and to be a top most institution it is necessary to make this. In the concept of academic integrity
one of the important ethic that a student posses is that they will always be ready to learn
something new. They should always be energetic to develop their skills and knowledge.
Graduates should always take the responsibility to do something for the academy. Not only this
in academic integrity the authority of the institution is also a part. They are responsible for
making the rules and regulation that need to be followed. It is there responsibility to give credits
to those top scholars who perform extraordinary in the university. Tell the tu-tee about how the

information be used in there assignment, what will be the criteria of making a presentation,
conducting ethical research etc. academic integrity is important because it develop student for the
future and tell them how to behave in the life (Manly, Leonard and Riemenschneider, 2015) . In
a very simple language integrity is the commitment towards behaviour that a scholar should
follow in the premises of the academy.
Importance of Academic Integrity in Higher Education
In student life academy integration place an important role because in that stage they
learn. A lot of new thing about the ethics they need to follow are being develop in this stage.
Studying in higher education means that student are in this level of their education were they are
in the university or college and mature enough to sense what is wrong and right for them.
Tutee learn honesty:
By following the rule and regulation the factor of honesty towards their work are being
learn during this time. Loyalty toward their assignment to not to cheat or copy, follow the
guideline that are provided by the teacher etc., are being imposed while being a scholar at higher
education.
Avoiding criminal activity:
In the university level it is common to be a part of criminal activity like leaking paper,
paying money to get pass. So at this they morale and ethics are being develop by the teacher so
that they can maintain and protect child form illegal activity. In Australia commercial cheating is
a crime and they can put them under bars for this.
Building the factor of fairness:
Treating everyone equally is important. Tutee should has an attitude where they can be
fair towards one another. They should not posses the behaviour of self interest and prejudice. In
higher education by academy integrity they try to teach student that not to gain any advantage by
being a part of unfair activity (Orr, 2018).
Implications of Academic Integrity
This is very essential for educational institute that they manage principles of academic
integrity practices so that to prevent deterioration of their institutional integrity. There are
various implications which are found within student's work when academic integrity is not

followed by students. This is basically the result of false evaluation in which student
performance may be hampered and resultantly academic setting could be minimised. Some of the
types of academic misconduct is elaborated as under: Plagiarism: This is regarded as the practices in which thoughts and ideas of some one
else is used by giving them own name. In simple words it can be said that taking credit of
ideas which is not originally written by them and citing the same with own name. Self- plagiarism: This is regarded as the practice similar to plagiarism in which a person
uses work without taking permission of their professor as students are not allowed to
take credit for the work which is done previously (Eaton, 2020). This just prohibits the
person in order to restrict use of similar work over the same topic.
 Cheating: This is regarded as the common implication of misconduct in which student
may copy idea of someone else. This is found that student appears in the exam and they
cheat answers of somebody else in order to score good marks.
There are various implications which are seen as under:
 The practice of misconduct may result into student demotivation in which academic
careers can be tarnished. The students those are hard working may need to face different
consequences and this may lead them to face issues in their academic aspects. This can
result into loosing of different opportunities in which dishonest environment can be
created.
 This may also affect the goodwill of the educational institution as unethical behaviour is
involved under these practices which may lead into developing several issues within
staffs and teachers (Kwong, Wong and Yue, 2017). On the other hand emotional distress
is the another aspect which is seen and due to this aspects of trust violence can also be
seen.
SECTION 2
Difficulties encountered in producing game
I produced the game in order to prevent students from academic misconduct while
working. The game is known as plagiarism game which helps students to learn more aspects of
academic integrity and plagiarism. According to the rules, the game is played between the team
where students are divided into 4 teams. Students will answer the questions and each correct

answer will be rewarded 5 points and any wrong or no answer will get 0 points. Through this
game students can gain more knowledge of academic integrity and plagiarism and also
understand the role of plagiarism in universities. While producing the game I have faced many
challenges and issues which influences my mind (Milton, 2015). The Challenges which are
faced while producing the game are as follows:
Combining engaging game design with learning objectives and curriculum:
It is one of the challenge which is faced by me while producing effective game for
students. In order to produce game based learning educational, it is important to align the game
design with learning objectives and curriculum (Cole, Shelley and Swartz, 2018). The main
motive of designing the game is to enhance the knowledge of students regarding the academic
integrity and plagiarism. So, by combining game design with learning objectives students can
gain the knowledge in effective and efficient manner.
Developing gaming atmosphere that must be adapted by students:
The other challenge which is faced while designing the game is creating gaming
atmosphere for students so that they get engage and learn something new with interest. It
becomes difficult for me to create gaming atmosphere for students and generate their interest
while learning about academic integrity and plagiarism.
Cost while developing learning game:
I also face difficulty related to cost which also influences my decision while designing
the game. While developing the game, time, knowledge and money is required as colleges and
universities don't have much time and resources to make educational games (Bertram Gallant,
2018).
Developing a game requires knowledge:
The other challenge which is faced while producing the game is knowledge. In order to
design the effective game for students it requires appropriate knowledge that helps in providing
better concept to learners about academic integrity and plagiarism. Through knowledge and
abilities an individual can create the game that helps in meeting the needs of students, respond
curriculum, engage students and be cost effective.
Framing questions:
It is another challenge which is faced by me while designing the game as I have to
prepare the questions for students related to academic integrity and plagiarism so that they can

gain the appropriate knowledge and learn something different and new. I ensure that questions
must provide guidance and knowledge related to academic misconduct and plagiarism.
Skills Learned while producing game
While designing the game, I have grab the opportunity to learn and develop new skills
while producing the game. The few skills which I have learnt are effective communication skills,
writing skills, time management skills, critical thinking skills and creativity skills.
Effective communication skills:
It is one of the skill which I have learned through developing game, it is important to
have effective communication while exchanging the message to students in successful manner. I
grab the opportunity to learn effective communication skills and communicate the instructions of
game to students in effective and efficient manner (Barnhardt, and Ginns, 2017). Through the
communication skills, I can easily express my point of view and able to provide clear instruction
about playing the game.
Creativity skills:
Creativity skills is other skill which I have learnt while designing the game. Through
creativity skills, I'm able to think innovatively and out of box. The main motive of designing the
game is to increase the knowledge of students while learning about academic integrity and
plagiarism. Creativity skills help me to develop the game in innovative manner that helps to
engage the students and build their interest while playing game. It is important for me to increase
the participation level of students so that they can grab the opportunity to learn something unique
about academic integrity and plagiarism.
Writing skills:
Writing skills is another skill which helps me to prepare the questions related to academic
integrity and plagiarism. In game, students have to answer the questions which are related to
plagiarism and academic integrity. The writing skills help me to develop and complete the game
in effective way and prepare the questions that enhance the knowledge of students.
Critical Thinking skills:
It is another skill which I have learned while producing the game. While designing the
game a proper planning and strategizing is required as students may face issues and problems
while playing the game. So, it is important to develop the game that must be understood by
student and they can play effectively. I have analysed the information related to students and

arrive at reasonable solution in order to increase their knowledge of academic integrity and
plagiarism (Dawson, 2020). I have learned through the game that it is necessary to take simple
approach while designing the game and with critical thinking mindset.
Time management skills:
Time management skill is also a skill which helps me to manage the time and meet the
deadlines by ensuring that the game is designed in timely manner. Through time management
skill, I was able to complete my game deigning process quickly and entirely. In game I have also
managed the time by allocating 30 second to students for answering the question.
CONCLUSION
From the above report this can be summarised that academic institutions are required to
promote fairness and honesty within working of students. Universities are required to encourage
practices of academic integrity so that to minimise misconduct within premises and to provide
favourable environment to students which leads into managing goodwill. There are different
implications within academic implications which would be faced by students when they develop
practices of academic misconduct.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Barnhardt, B. and Ginns, P., 2017. Psychological teaching-learning contracts: academic integrity
and moral psychology. Ethics & Behavior. 27(4). pp.313-334.
Bertram Gallant, T., 2018. Part‐time integrity? Contingent faculty and academic integrity. New
Directions for Community Colleges. 2018(183). pp.45-54.
Cole, M. T., Shelley, D. J. and Swartz, L. B., 2018, June. In re launching a new vision in
education and e-Learning: Fostering a culture of academic integrity in e-Learning.
In International KES Conference on Smart Education and Smart E-Learning(pp. 151-
164). Springer, Cham.
Dawson, P., 2020. Cybersecurity: the next academic integrity frontier. In A Research Agenda for
Academic Integrity. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Eaton, S. E., 2020. Integrity Hour: A Guide to Developing and Facilitating an Online
Community of Practice for Academic Integrity. Online Submission.
Kwong, T., Wong, E. and Yue, K., 2017. Bringing abstract academic integrity and ethical
concepts into real-life situations. Technology, Knowledge and Learning. 22(3). pp.353-
368.
Manly, T. S., Leonard, L. N. and Riemenschneider, C. K., 2015. Academic integrity in the
information age: Virtues of respect and responsibility. Journal of Business
Ethics. 127(3). pp.579-590.
Milton, C. L., 2015. Ethics and academic integrity. Nursing Science Quarterly, 28(1), pp.18-20.
Orr, J., 2018. Developing a campus academic integrity education seminar. Journal of Academic
Ethics. 16(3). pp.195-209.
Sefcik, L., Striepe, M. and Yorke, J., 2019. Mapping the landscape of academic integrity
education programs: what approaches are effective?. Assessment & Evaluation in
Higher Education.
Tatum, H. and Schwartz, B. M., 2017. Honor codes: Evidence based strategies for improving
academic integrity. Theory Into Practice. 56(2). pp.129-135.