Tools & Software

If you are thinking about using generative AI, start by checking the assessment instructions. If the instructions don't clearly say that you can use generative AI, email your professor. They will tell you whether you can use these tools. If you are permitted to use generative AI tools, confirm how you can use the tool in your work.

If your faculty says no, or if they don't answer your question, stop: don't use generative AI tools. Using AI tools without your professor's written permission is a type of cheating called Use of Unauthorized Aids.

Next, you need to decide if it’s a good fit for your assessment. Generative AI is good at some things, but bad at other things. Conestoga College's Generative AI Flowchart is a great tool. It can help you decide whether a generative AI tool would be a good fit for the type of work that you're doing.

For more information about generative AI, visit the Library's Generative AI Guide.

Conestoga provides access to a privacy-protected version of Copilot. Copilot is Microsoft's Gen AI tool, built on the GPT-4 model.  If you are allowed to use Generative AI for your coursework, this is the tool you should use.

Important: Sign in to Copilot with your Conestoga College account (email address). This will let you access Copilot's full features while maintaining privacy/data protection. 

Learn more about Copilot with Data Protection from IT Service. 

When you submit a document through Turnitin, it will produce a Similarity Score and a report. The report highlights any part of the text that is similar to another piece of writing. The Similarity Score is the percentage of your assessment that the report flagged.

A high similarity score does not always mean you plagiarized or cheated. It only means that a lot of your work was similar to work from other source(s). Other reasons you might get a high similarity score include:

• If your assessment was written in a template, it might get a higher score. Your faculty will look at the report and should see that the score is not a problem.

• If you used (but properly cited and referenced) a lot of quotations, you might also get a high similarity score. Your faculty will look at the report and should see that the score is not a problem. 

• If you are re-taking a course and re-use your work from a previous course, it will get flagged as 100% similar. This is known as unauthorized aids and assistance (self-plagiarism). If you want to re-use your previous work, talk to your faculty before you begin the assessment. If you get permission in advance, it’s not an Academic Integrity Violation.

• If you submit work to two different assignments drop boxes (with Turnitin enabled), the second submission may have a 100% similarity score. This could lead to an Academic Integrity Violation if you cannot provide proof of what happened. Do not submit your assessment into any other drop box to “check” your Similarity Score! If you want to check your score, ask your professor to turn on multiple submissions to their drop box. This will let you check your score in the same drop box that you will use for the final assessment submission. (You can tell them that the Academic Integrity Office says this is best practice for faculty. We’ll agree if they email us!)

• Finally, a high similarity score can mean that someone stole YOUR work and submitted it as their own. This can happen when you share your device with other students. Not maintaining the security of your work is also academic misconduct. If this happens, you’ll likely still have an Academic Integrity Violation filed against you. To protect yourself, set up a guest account before sharing your computer or tablet. If you're borrowing someone else's device, password protect your files. For help setting up these security measures, contact the IT Service Desk.

Turnitin's AI Detection tool scans your assessment for signs of AI writing or AI paraphrasing. It flags concerning text. It reports the percentage of the document that it thinks was written by a generative AI tool, or paraphrased with an paraphrasing tool. If your faculty member turns on this feature, they will be able to see it after you submit your assessment. For now, the AI Detection score is not visible to students. 

If your professor is concerned that you used generative AI in your assessment, they will reach out to you. They should tell you what made them think that you used a generative AI tool. This includes providing you with a copy of AI Detection report if you request it.  

Turnitin’s AI Detection Score gives a false positive at least 1 in 100 times. This is why all students should save evidence of original work. You can use this evidence to prove that you did not use AI in the assessment. The best evidence of original work is a version history. You can create this history by writing your assessment in Google Drive, or in your free student OneDrive account. This history shows how you worked on the assessment over time. If you need help accessing or setting up a version history, contact Tech Help through the library.

MOSS is very similar to Turnitin’s Similarity Score, but for computer code rather than natural-language written assessments. According to the creators,

Aiken, A. (2022, November. MOSS: A system for detecting software similarity. Stanford University. https://theory.stanford.edu/~aiken/moss/

Grammarly is a digital writing assistant. With Grammarly, you can improve the spelling, grammar, tone, and style of your writing. It is important to only use the EDU version of Grammarly Premium, accessed through the library website. If you use any other version of Grammarly, it may include built-in generative AI tools. If you use generative AI tools, even if you didn't intend to, it may result in an Academic Integrity Violation. For more information on how to safely access and use Grammarly, please see our Grammarly (EDU) Guide.

Some students have expressed concerns about receiving a high AI Detection score when the only tool they used was Grammarly.  To help reduce the risk of a false positive when using Grammarly, please see our Grammarly (EDU) Guide.

Regardless of what tools you use, Turnitin’s AI Detection Tool provides a false positive at least 1 in 100 times. This is why students should save evidence of incremental work. There are two good ways to do this:

• Save a version history. You can use your free student OneDrive account, or write in Google Drive. A version history shows how your paper grew and changed over time, and what edits Grammarly suggested. If you need help accessing your OneDrive version history, contact Tech Help at the Library.
• Write a full, complete draft of your paper without using Grammarly, spell checkers or editing tools. Save this version as a draft, then do your editing in a separate file. If Grammarly causes any issues, you can use the unedited version with the older saved date to prove you did original work.

Never delete your notes, work, or drafts. Save all evidence of your work and research until you have graduated from Conestoga College. 

Why is it usually okay to use Grammarly and other grammar- or spell-checker tools, but not generative AI tools, or paraphrasers like Quillbot?

There are two main reasons: 

1. In general, it’s okay to use a tool that helps you do the work. It is not acceptable to use a tool that does the work for you. With Grammarly, you write the words, and the tool provides suggestions for edits. You can accept or reject those suggestions. As long as the tool isn’t writing the sentences for you, it’s usually okay to use it. Generative AI tools write new sentences for you based on a prompt. Paraphrasing tools write new sentences for you based on someone else’s writing. In both cases, the tool is writing for you, rather than assisting you with the text you wrote yourself.
2. Typically, it is okay to use any tool that does not undermine the assessment outcomes. For most assessments, spelling and grammar is not a learning outcome. If this is the case, you may use tools that help with correcting your spelling and grammar mistakes. Generative AI usually completes the assessment requirements (including the brainstorming, research, and arguments) for you. Similarly, "paraphrasing" might not be on the rubric, but it's how you show that you understood your sources. Having tools do these tasks for you undermines your assessment outcomes.

Note: If you are being tested on your spelling or grammar, your faculty might say you can't use Grammarly. When it doubt, just ask. It's okay to use any tool if you have your faculty member's written permission.

Respondus LockDown Browser is a browser application. It “locks down” your tests in eConestoga. It displays your quiz fullscreen, limits access to other software, and disables functions like copy/pasting. 

In eConestoga, the title of each test or quiz will tell you if Respondus is required to write that quiz. There will be a link to “Download Respondus Lockdown Browser” just above the “Start quiz” button. If you are having trouble installing LockDown Browser, ask for help! Contact your faculty, Tech Help through the Library, or IT Services. 

Respondus Monitor is a “remote proctoring service.” Respondus Monitor can be used alongside LockDown Browser. It films you during your test using a webcam. Depending on the settings your faculty has chosen, you may be required to show photo ID to the camera. You might also need to move the camera around, to show it the room that you are in. The test may be locked (or refuse to open) if the software cannot detect your face. Your screen may also be recorded. The recordings are private, and can only be viewed by your faculty. 

After the test, Monitor creates a report for your faculty. The report will flag concerning things that happened in the video. It might flag your face being out of frame or partially cut off during the test. It could also flag voices speaking, or someone else appearing in the video. Based on how many flags the software identifies, your video is given a review priority score.  

A high score does not mean you cheated. If your professor views the video and everything looks fine, they will dismiss the flag.  

Similarly, a low score does not mean you did not cheat. Your faculty member might review your video even if it has a low score. They will be looking for signs of cheating, such as repeatedly looking away from the screen. If your faculty sees something suspicious, they may file an Academic Integrity Violation

You have a right to opt-out of Respondus Monitor. To do so, inform your professor as early as possible that you want to opt out. Do this in the first week of the semester if possible! Your faculty member will likely ask you to book a proctored exam at the Testing Centre. Typically, you will write the exam on a college-owned computer, under staff supervision. Testing Centre bookings are limited, so it is important to book as early as possible.

If Lockdown Browser thinks you are trying to hack, break, or get past the tool, you will receive a warning. If it detects another attempt, Respondus will kick you out. You will be banned you from using the tool.

If this happens, Respondus will provide a reference number and instruct you to contact your administrator.

You need to:

1.      Notify your professor immediately.

2.      Email eConestoga to request that you be unblocked. Tell them what happened before you were blocked, and provide your reference number.

The eConesotga team will request that you be unblocked, and provide details about the incident to your professor. Your professor will decide what to do next.

If Respondus will not unblock you, you will have to make alternative arrangements for writing tests. Your professor likely ask you to book a proctored exam at the Testing Centre. Typically, you will write the exam on a college-owned computer, under staff supervision. Testing Centre bookings are limited, so it is important to start as early as possible.