EduBirdie is an online essay writing service that facilitates students connecting with freelance writers who can complete various types of writing assignments for a fee. While EduBirdie markets itself primarily as an essay writing service, some of their writers also offer programming and coding help to students. This has raised concerns from some in the computer science community about the ethics of outsourcing significant programming assignments or having others do the work. At the same time, others argue it can serve a role in helping students learn fundamental programming concepts. Let’s take a deeper dive into the topic of Edubirdie programming.
How Edubirdie’s Programming Help Works
Freelance writers who wish to offer programming help through EduBirdie must go through a verification process demonstrating their qualifications and skills. They set their own hourly rates for programming assistance, with prices generally ranging from $20-50 per hour depending on the complexity of the work, languages/tools required, and writer’s experience level.
Students begin the process by detailing the programming assignment requirements on EduBirdie’s platform, including information like the programming language, deadline, and any sample code or instructions from the course. Freelance writers then bid on providing assistance with the job. Students can review writers’ qualifications and ratings from past clients to choose who will work on their assignment.
Common types of programming help provided through Edubirdie include:
Debugging/fixing errors in existing code: Writers help isolate and correct bugs.
Providing partial/complete code: For simpler assignments, writers may provide working code samples. For more complex work, they contribute discrete code snippets or functions.
Explaining concepts: If a student is struggling with a programming concept or language feature, writers provide tutorials, sample code, and explanations to help the student learn.
Pseudocode design: Writers map out the high-level logic, flow, and structure that a program requires without implementing full coded solutions.
Assistance on projects: For longer term programming assignments, writers may be available to help brainstorm, consult on design challenges, or review partial work before submission deadlines.
The level and type of assistance is agreed upon by the student and writer upfront. While some argue this could amount to “doing the work” for the student, others note writers aim to provide targeted help without writing fully working solutions. The goal is claimed to be supporting student learning rather than replacing it.
Ethical Considerations of Outsourcing Programming Assignments
There are valid concerns around outsourcing significant programming assignments or tasks through sites like EduBirdie. Chief among these are:
Plagiarism and integrity: Having another complete a coding project could amount to passing off someone else’s work as one’s own. This undermines the purpose of programming assignments to assess a student’s individual skills.
Loss of learning: While writers aim to explain concepts, debugging code they wrote may not provide the same educational experience as independently creating and troubleshooting one’s own program. Relying too heavily on outside help could short-circuit the learning process.
Unfair academic advantage: Students who outsource assignments gain an edge over peers who complete the work themselves. This challenges the fairness and competitive integrity of computer science course assessments.
Dependence on outside code: Without understanding programming logic and structures developed by writers, students may struggle to replicate techniques on their own for future assignments.
Difficulty attributing help: It can be hard for instructors or academic integrity tools to determine the true extent that outside sources contributed to a submitted programming project.
Others make counterarguments in favor of judicious, limited programming help through services:
Targeted assistance, not outsourcing: With clear guidelines that writers only provide consulting versus completing assignments, students can benefit from help on specific sticking points without losing the learning experience.
Reasonable accommodations: For time-pressed students or those struggling with disabilities, limited emergency help could be a reasonable accommodation without fundamentally changing assignment requirements.
Collaboration reflects the field: Real-world software teams leverage diverse skills through collaboration. Moderate assistance mirrors practices of programming professionals getting input from others.
Learning in steps: As with any complex subject, programming mastery happens gradually through independent work and selective guidance. Not all help equates to outsourcing if students still develop most of their own abilities.
Overall, moderation seems key – neither outright acceptance of programmed solutions from third-parties nor a total ban recognizes the nuances of learning. In practice, individuals must weigh the educational integrity of their own work against practical realities on a case-by-case basis. Thoughtful, measured use of outside programming help may be defensible in some situations depending on specifics and intent. But wholesale dependence risks short-changing the learner.
Best Practices for Responsible Use of Programming Assistance
If a student does utilize Edubirdie or other service for programming help, experts recommend the following guidelines to maximize the educational benefit and minimize ethical issues:
Use outside help sparingly and strategically, not as a replacement for doing independent work. Seek assistance only after genuine effort.
Discuss with instructors upfront about intent to get limited help in order to agree on appropriate boundaries. Do not misrepresent or conceal outside involvement.
Clearly define the scope of requested help – for example, reviewing logic, spot checking for bugs, discussing concepts, not writing full solutions.
Synthesize received help into your own words and understanding. Replicate techniques independently to solidify skills instead of copying solutions.
Cite properly any specific code snippets or techniques acquired from outsourced help just as you would course materials or online resources. Do not pass others’ work off as fully your own.
Periodically re-implement programs from scratch as a learning check without outside references. Rely less on outsourced help over time as skills increase.
Do not outsource major components or the bulk of complex assignments. The majority of any coding project should remain the student’s independent work.
With open communication and limits on overdependence, judicious programming help seeked within these guidelines could arguably support – not replace – the process of gaining abilities through hands-on work and troubleshooting challenges oneself. But any assistance should clearly be a supplement to, not a replacement for, demonstrations of individual proficiency.
Conclusion
As with other types of academic outsourcing, responsibility lies with each student to weigh the merits and potential issues of seeking outside programming help on an individual basis. While Edubirdie allows connecting with writers, using their targeting tutoring responsibly ultimately depends on users maintaining academic honesty and integrity within course requirements. For some, limited help clarifying concepts may enhance learning without compromising standards. But others would be better served gaining skills through independent practice to avoid issues like ineffective dependency or unfair academic advantage. As with any complex debate, moderation and common sense are key. Overall, the goal should remain developing one’s own coding competence, not circumventing legitimate demonstrations of mastery.
Andrew Stroud