The muddy points that I have run into several times would be about electronic content and plagiarism. I watched the video and the explanation was there and it is important to understand the concepts but it can be confusing. In today's age when so many are resource junkies and we are researching online more and more it is important to learn how to negotiate the online world. It is important to know what content is important and how to give proper credit when you use it. There are many different ways to gather resources and then to use them in your classroom and here in our class but the issue of plagiarism is more than just did you copy someone else's work and not give them credit.
You would be guilty of plagiarism if you copy a person's intellectual ideas as well. There are electronic programs that are designed to uncover plagiarism but these programs can not determine the intent of the student. While being ignorant and not understanding how plagiarism works are not good excuses this can actually be the reason why some students are accused of doing it.
Since I am a classroom teacher and a Christian I think that conducting myself and holding my students to high academic standards is important. I want to teach students how to behave in the right way as often as possible. I want to know how to avoid certain pitfalls such as having my work confused with someone else's or not quoting a resource properly which, if detected, can make me feel like I was doing something intentionally dishonest. I want to learn how to cite my sources properly and when it is necessary to cite the source and give proper credit to the source.
LeRhonda,
ReplyDeleteDuring my interview plagiarism came up as well. I interviewed a freshman English professor and he is always on the lookout for students that either don’t know or, in his words are “too lazy to write it themselves”. I believe that for the most part people are generally good and want to do the right thing. Taking this perspective, students simply haven’t been taught how to properly cite the work of others when they are writing their papers. Here it is a case of making corrections and noting the deficiency and giving a proper example of what right looks like. I am personally a huge fan of the Purdue Owl© website. It is up to date with the latest versions of proper formatting both APA and MLA. Undoubtedly there are the bad apples in every basket thus the need for programs like TurnItIn and iThenticate to thwart the would-be criminals, after all they are stealing something that does not rightfully belong to them…
Thank you for your thoughts,
Ron
I like your positive outlook about people. I feel that way too but when it comes to plagiarism there seems to be so much pressure on students to succeed that they are resorting to bad habits just to make the grade. I used to serve on the school's honor counsel and we would always hear the stories of students getting caught trying to get away with turning in someone else's work as their own.
DeleteHey LeRonda,
ReplyDeleteEveryone is getting the same message from me this week because I want each of you to do this activity!
Google yourself!
Seriously - put your name into a google search and scroll through websites and images linked to you. You will see metadata in a whole new light :)
Looking forward to what you discover about your online presence...
Dr Courduff
Hi Dr. Courduff,
DeleteI try to Google myself at least 2-3 times a year. I spend quite a bit of time online and am always trying to make sure that my image is ok.
I found things about my school and saw some great old pictures of me there.
I appreciate metadata but just love the idea of having access to data and being able to look myself up online or anyone else who crosses my path. I think that we should keep track of ourselves online too.
LeRhonda
Hello LeRhonda
ReplyDeleteI had the opportunity to read your blog, and I do so agree with you about plagiarism You would be guilty of plagiarism if you copy a person's intellectual ideas as well, especially if you do not cite the information. This is an information world, and everybody is using that say information. The software that is using to detect plagiarism, I truly question it, because the information of individual us is basically the same, but some are citing it. As you state it, there are electronic programs that are designed to uncover plagiarism but these programs cannot determine the intent of the student. Great Post!
Blessings
Eric
Thanks Eric.
Delete