IntegriMark Mission Statement

This document outlines the mission of IntegriMark, the design rationale behind the tool, and its moral grounding.

Purpose and Design Rationale:

  1. Addressing Systemic Disadvantages in Academia: IntegriMark is designed to mitigate the compounded systemic disadvantages faced by unprivileged students in academia. Privileged students often have access to resources and prior knowledge that unprivileged students lack. This disparity is exacerbated when unprivileged students are not given access to solutions that could aid their learning, further entrenching educational inequalities.

  2. Balancing Solution Access and Academic Integrity: Faculty members face a dilemma: sharing solutions can enhance learning but risks the integrity of assessments if those solutions are leaked. IntegriMark aims to resolve this by enabling secure sharing of solutions, thus supporting the educational process without compromising the fairness and integrity of future assessments.

  3. Enhancing Educational Equity: By making it feasible and less risky for educators to share solutions, IntegriMark contributes to a more equitable educational environment where all students have access to learning resources, helping to level the playing field.

How It Works:

  1. Secure and Traceable Document Sharing: IntegriMark watermarks PDF documents with unique, student-specific details, making it possible to trace the source of any leaked document back to the individual who shared it.

  2. Friction, Responsibility, and Transparency: The tool introduces friction in the leaking process, assigns responsibility by identifying potential leakers, and fosters transparency and community norms against leaking solutions. This approach is designed to deter students from sharing watermarked documents inappropriately.

  3. Invisible Layer Against Copy-Pasting: IntegriMark employs an invisible layer of randomly generated text over the document, preventing meaningful text from being copied and ensuring the document’s integrity.

  4. Automated, Zero-Cost Hosting and Distribution: Utilizing GitHub Actions, IntegriMark automates the encryption, hosting, and distribution of documents on platforms like GitHub Pages, ensuring a secure, cost-effective, and labor-efficient solution.

Moral Grounding:

  1. Promoting Academic Integrity: IntegriMark upholds the values of academic integrity by deterring the unauthorized sharing of educational materials, ensuring that assessments remain fair and valid.

  2. Supporting Educational Equity: The tool’s design reflects a commitment to reducing educational disparities by enabling all students to access learning materials, particularly solutions to assessments, in a secure manner.

  3. Empowering Educators: By providing a secure way to share solutions, IntegriMark empowers educators to enhance their teaching without the risk of compromising the integrity of their course materials.

  4. Building Community Norms: The transparency and accountability fostered by IntegriMark encourage the development of community norms that value the protection of educational resources and discourage practices that undermine academic fairness.

  5. Privacy and Data Protection: With a strong emphasis on privacy, IntegriMark ensures compliance with data privacy laws, respecting the confidentiality of student information.

In summary, IntegriMark is more than a document security tool; it’s a comprehensive solution addressing deeper educational challenges related to equity, integrity, and privacy. It empowers educators to share valuable resources securely, fostering a responsible and equitable academic environment.