[Tutor] catching cheaters w/ Python

[Timothy Wilson]

Hi everyone,

I'm a high school teacher who would like to use a more high tech. approach
to catching students who are attempting to "recycle" research papers. My
colleagues and I assign a research paper every spring for which the
students are to analyze a source of energy (e.g., gasoline, nuclear
fission) and determine whether it meets a set of criteria that they
define. We grade about 350 of these per year and save copies of all of
them in case questions arise later.

How reasonable would it be to use Python to examine a table (using a text
file or RDBMS) listing names, topics, and thesis statements and search for
thesis statements that are identical or nearly so?

-Tim

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Tim Wilson      | Visit Sibley online:         | Check out:
Henry Sibley HS | http://www.isd197.k12.mn.us/ | http://www.zope.org/
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