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Frequently Asked Questions
Plagiarism and Ethics
Quality Assurance
System Specifics
Administration Questions
What policies are in place to ensure that BrainMass Online TAs uphold academic ethics?
- Online learning, as one of the most important alternative learning approaches, has come under heavy fire with regards to ethical dissemination of knowledge. The issue of plagiarism has become a major obstacle for online learning and has led some people to undervalue the credentials of online learners. The underlying theme of online education has been distorted and misrepresented too frequently. In the face of this situation, our challenge is to identify and embrace ethical practices and models across the complete spectrum of our services and programs.
- BrainMass is a self-aware, dynamic community of ethical and qualified Online Teaching Assistants who believe in the common objective of creating information by sharing it. Besides possessing specialized scholarly expertise, our Online TAs are equipped with a strong awareness of the issues surrounding the process of sharing this knowledge. Therefore, they make conscious efforts to circumvent the possibility of promoting unethical learning. They whole-heartedly nurture the educational experience of students but not without taking precautions. Knowledge is valuable but only if it is untainted. The members of our community must have a common trait – they should all believe in fairness to the owners of original work and take the responsibility to do independent work. Online TAs help a great deal in limiting such morally-incorrect practices by informing students appropriately about plagiarism and how to cite and acknowledge other people's work correctly.
Do Online TAs provide final answers when addressing problems?
- It depends on the Online TA and the problem. We leave it up to the responding graduate student to discern posting-by-posting if real numbers and a final answer is required to FULLY UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPT. Often, a series of equations with an explanation of how each was derived and why each is being used is much more important than numbers. Our Online TAs have all been through undergraduate studies and understand better than anyone else where, when and how students get stumped.
Will Online TAs write essays or lab reports for students?
- NO. The Submit-An-Essay service is not to be confused with an essay writing or downloading service. BrainMass offers students the opportunity to post final drafts of essays, labs or assignments to be REVIEWED and GRADED by a graduate student. This service is similar to the writing assistance services offered on many campuses. However, it is the 24/7 availability and the lofty credentials of our Online TA network that make our version of this service much more appealing.
How do I cite the work of BrainMass Online TAs?
- Our services are intended for assistance purposes only. The work provided by BrainMass Online TAs is NOT to be plagiarized. However, please feel free to source our Online TAs for research purposes using the following citing method:
- [BrainMass Online TA Name], Online TA [OTA ID#], Posting Code [Posting Code], http://BrainMass.com (hyperlinked if submitted electronically), [Month], [Year].
- eg. John Smith, PhD, Online TA# 100422, Posting Code 12541, http://BrainMass.com, June, 2003.
How can an Online TA studying on the other side of the globe help me?
- We are often asked how it is possible to ensure that our Online TAs can cross cultural and geographic barriers when providing assistance. The best answer we can give is, "it depends".
- For certain subjects or topics, it may be very difficult or impossible for distant Online TAs to provide assistance. An example would be a posting about the American Civil War. This posting requires a certain amount of knowledge about the United States. Some Online TAs from other nations may be able to assist here, but it is likely that our History specialists that have studied in the US will be most helpful. This scenario may also apply to postings about specific cultures or religions.
- Some material, on the other hand, is not affected by the geographical or cultural distinctions. Sciences and Maths in particular, are very similar the world over.
- There are also ways in which these differences can be greatly beneficial to students. If a student studying in New Zealand is interested in the Italian economy, she could at this very moment receive assistance from an Italian business teaching assistant that may be living, studying and working in the Italian economy that she is curious about. Using BrainMass' Online TA community for first-person research is an excellent way to spice up a paper.
- Don't forget that with this global network come global timezones! When you are burning the midnight oil writing papers and cramming for finals, we have fresh and alert experts ready to respond to your panic attacks.
How does BrainMass ensure that every member of the community has graduate-level status?
- All of our Online TAs are carefully screened and monitored to ensure that each is studying at the graduate level at an accredited university institution or has graduated with a masters or doctorate degree.
- Before being activated on the system, each Online TA candidate must submit a copy of an official transcript or copy of a degree as proof of academic credentials. Additionally, our Online TA Community Director will often confirm credentials with the university institutions. All submitted contact information is also checked for accuracy.
How do BrainMass Online TAs know how to help students?
- Every Online TA has been through high school and received an undergraduate degree and, as such is freshly familiar with the trials and tribulations associated with these levels of study. In fact, it is this freshness that makes graduate students such excellent teachers and mentors. Their connectivity to the frustration that results when learning difficult concepts leads to more detailed explanations and better insight into the potential bottle-necks of each individual problem.
- For more structured training, we have provided a detailed reference manual to guide Online TAs as they help each and every student. This manual covers everything from ethics, and responsibilities to teaching suggestions and website navigation. We ask that every Online TA read through it and enforce the teaching practices, policies and behaviour that are described within it.
How do I know that I will receive quality responses?
- Our top priority is ensuring the quality of the learning experience for each and every student that places their trust in us as teachers.
- To monitor the quality of our Online TA's work, we have established an ongoing rating system that tracks the approval rating, response by response, for each Online TA. Each time a student receives assistance, a rating from 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest) is assessed to the Online TA. These individual ratings are summed and averaged each time the Online TA provides assistance. Before deciding to pay for the assistance that an Online TA has provided, students may first view the Online TA's rating. Responses that receive poor ratings are reviewed by administration staff. Online TAs with poor ratings are removed from the network completely.
How do I pay for your services?
- At present, we accept PayPal© payments as well as Visa©, MasterCard©, American Express© and Discover© credit cards. All credit card payments are processed by a secure third-party credit card processor, Internet Secure©. Bulk purchases for schools, libraries, student groups, and parent associations are also available.
Is there any way to request a specific Online TA?
- Yes. When posting a problem on our website, you may choose to select one, several or all Online TAs registered in a specific field of study. Also, if you happened to have a bad experience with a particular Online TA, you may choose to restrict your postings from them.
I can't find my subject listed in the posting pages, can you still help me?
- Of course we can. In order to categorize postings, we have selected the 456 most popular subjects for the posting menu. However, with a community of more than 1400 graduate-level teachers on hand, we are pretty confident that we can cover nearly any academic problem that you can throw at us.
- Your options: (A) Create your posting in the subject most similar to the one that it applies to. It is quite likely that one of the Online TAs working in that subject will be adequately trained in your subject and be able to help you out. (B) Otherwise, send us an email or call our HELP hotline. Our administrative staff will help you with your posting and, if necessary send a special notification to the Online TA community.
How does the bidding system work?
- We suggest when students post problems that they estimate the amount of time that it might take for an expert to address their posting and offer to pay 1 credit for every 10 minutes of work. For urgent postings, we suggest that students bid extra credits as an incentive for an Online TA to drop their current task and get to work on a response.
Why does the system only allow for certain attachments?
- Although we don't want to limit our users, we are well aware that a certain software company has dominated the personal computer scene. When a file attachment is posted to the system, it is downloaded and viewed by an Online TA. By permitting the most popular software types to be transferred, we can ensure that posted problems are viewable by most, if not all, of our Online TAs.
Who administers the BrainMass community?
- Although we are a very large community of highly trained academics, only a handful of people actually administer the website. In fact, a full-time staff of just 5 currently handles all site development, site supervision, editing, communications, marketing, accounting, office duties, and coffee runs!
- Important to remember though that we do have one of the most impressive talent pools found anywhere on the planet at our disposal. Online TAs help out as best as they can every day with assistance, guidance, suggestions, advice and hours of real work.
Who came up with this idea?
- Although it was two individuals that first thought of bringing this group together, it has really been one great collaborative effort that has made it all possible. Hundreds of brainstorming sessions, research groups, trial runs, and trouble shoots by many, many talented people bring this academic world to you.
What is BrainMass' policy on privacy over the Internet?
- We take the issue of Internet privacy very seriously here. All contact information is stored securely in our databases and are not shown or sold to outside parties. Additionally, contact information is not made visible within the community except to the administrators of the system. Online TAs are not able to view the email addresses of students or other Online TAs and the public is not able to view the contact information of Online TAs. Please view our privacy policy to which we strictly adhere.
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