Additional Educator's Guides
Educator's Guide to Access *Educator's Guide to Credibility and Web Evaluation
Educator's Guide to Free Speech *Educator's Guide to Privacy *Educator's Guide to Commercialism
Educator's Guide to Computer Crime/Technology Misuse
Implications for Educators 1.What is Plagiarism and why is it happening? As the technology grows and becomes so popular, it is so easy for students borrow someone else¡¯s ideas or information that is available online without realizing that can be plagiarism. Plagiarism is defined by www.Dictionary.com as ¡°a piece of writing that has been copied from someone else and is presented as being your own work.¡± ?Some of the examples of plagiarism are using quotations, phrases, another person¡¯s ideas and another person¡¯s opinion(1). ?Many students in K-12 even in college don¡¯t realize what they are doing is illegal.? When students surf on internet, students are tempted to use or buy someone else¡¯ papers due to various reasons.? Some of the reasons for this occurrence are: -Other people¡¯s words are much better than mine -Many people do it, why not me?? -No time/too many papers to write -Anxious to get a better grade -Better ideas on internet than my ideas-easy way out -Not willing to put effort to complete works 2. Teacher¡¯s responsibility Teachers are responsible to teach students how to avoid plagiarism and how to recognize it. Here are some strategies for teachers to use. -Have students acknowledge sources when in doubt -Have students recognize that they can¡¯t use exact words or extensive quotations (2) -Teach students how to take note-taking strategies and paraphrasing techniques(3) -Develop well-planned schedules so students can have more time to research on their topics, then it is more likely for students to develop their own ideas. -Be very specific on what you want on their papers. -Provide consequences that promote future learning and consistent(4) -Emphasize ethical values(5) -Teach students what is acceptable paraphrasing and what is not The websites below show examples of acceptable and unacceptable paraphrases and explanations. http://www.princeton.edu/pr/pub/integrity/pages/plagiarism.html - was created by Princeton University to help students recognize plagiarism.? The page includes passages from The Playwright as Magician written by Alvin Kernan ?and three different kinds of plagiarism and provides comments -created by Virginia Tech, includes a passage from The Intelligence of Dogs: Canine Consciousness and Capabilities by Stanley Coren -Contains three plagiarized passages and two correct revisions? http://www.indiana.edu/~istd/examples.html -provides strategies to recognize word for word plagiarism, five different plagiarized passages, correct revisions and explanations -Teach students to develop respect for the creators by citing sources (6) For more information about plagiarism, please click on the following website.? The sites below have an incredible amount of information on what plagiarism is and ways to avoid plagiarism at school. http://www.nwmissouri.edu/library/courses/business/plagiarism.htm -Great source for beginning search for avoiding plagiarism and academic ethics -Owens library provides many different links for educators and students to search how to avoid plagiarism http://tlc.epsb.ca/plagiarism/preventing.htm#Elementary -Created by Andy Lummis, includes steps to prevent plagiarism at school settings(elementary, middle and high schools) http://kidshealth.org/kid/feeling/school/plagiarism.html -Good site for students to read about plagiarism, easy word choices so students can understand 3. What is in ¡°Public Domain¡±? Everything that is printed is copyrighted unless the authors give up on ownership. Teachers and students need get a permission to use copyrighted materials; however materials in ¡°public domain¡± can be used? or copied without permission.? Public Domain is defined by Arizona? Electronic Atlas(7) as ¡°Information that has been made available to the general public and is distributed and redistributed without copyright or patent. Some of the examples of public domain are(8): -blank forms -Government works (judicial opinions, public ordinances, and administrative rulings) -Works published before January1, 1923 -Following websites give more information on ¡°Public Domain¡± http://www.copyright.cornell.edu/training/Hirtle_Public_Domain.htm -Easy to read chart, updated January, 2006, includes unpublished works, works created within US and outside US http://www.unc.edu/~unclng/public-d.htm -More information on public domain created by University of North Carolina http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/copyright/publicdomain.html#b -Information on public domain and how to put own works in public domain -People really don¡¯t know much about what kinds of music and songs are in public domain, this site gives them good information on that. -lists of songs in public domain, links to other sites 4. How /when do teachers and students get permission? Educators and teachers have to assume that all printed materials are copyright protected. They can¡¯t use them unless they get permission from creators.? In order to avoid plagiarism, teachers need to educate students how to get permission for copyrighted materials before they actually use them in their papers to avoid copyright violations.? Students need to understand copyright law so they give respect and understand the values of created works(9). Teachers and students need to get permission (10): -when the materials do not meet a fair use guideline -when they need to use the materials repeatedly -when planning to use printed materials -software For more information, please click the below websites. These websites direct you to the steps to get permission for different materials and give you information on organizations that students and educators can start their search. ?http://www.copyright.iupui.edu/permorg.htm List of organizations that you can get help from when you need to obtain permission for copyrighted materials http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/copyright/permission.html -Includes steps to obtain permission for copyrighted materials http://www.lib.cwu.edu/circulation/perm.html -CWU Brooks of Library provides steps that American Association of Publishers suggested to obtain permission for copyright materials The following websites provide sample letters for you to use when you need to get permission for copyrighted materials. http://www.uwsa.edu/fadmin/gapp/gp27at_c.htm http://www.landmark-project.com/permission1.php http://www.utsystem.edu/OGC/intellectualProperty/permmm.htm Examples of a School District's Policy ¡°School districts are liable for any copyright violations that are committed by their staffs¡± according to Nancy Willard; therefore many school districts have clear policies on this issue.? To limit school districts¡¯ liability, Nancy Willard suggested several steps to the Education World (11). -Provide professional development for staffs and students about this issue. -All districts need to monitor and evaluate all materials on the district and website. -There should be appropriate consequence if there is a copyright violation within a district. Some of school districts policies can be seen within the websites below. http://notebook.lausd.net/portal/page?_pageid=33,75995&_dad=ptl&_schema=PTL_EP -Los Angeles Unified School District¡¯s guidelines for employees on using copyrighted materials http://www.2learn.ca/mapset/SafetyNet/plagiarism/plagiarismAUP.html -Many different school districts¡¯ policies on plagiarism at the secondary and post-secondary levels Copyright/Plagiarism Lawsuits involving schools As internet and information are widely available, more lawsuits against schools and students are happening and become an issue.? Teachers and students have been violated copyright law unintentionally due to the lack of knowledge on copyright law or ignorance.? Specially, many teachers download software illegally onto their school computers or personal use computers.? ?Even the district violates copyright law by loading software they only bought a couple of (12) .Please click following links to learn more about this issue. http://web2.unt.edu/children/copyright/list.cfm -mainly software downloading violations, information on infringers, type of action and fines/fee for violating etc. http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_324000.html - A case against students of Carnegie Mellon University and students of University of Pittsburg by Arista, Warner Brothers and Motown recordings, downloading songs through Internet2 file-sharing application, fines can range from $750 to $150,000 per song http://www.nsba.org/site/doc_cosa.asp?TRACKID=&VID=50&CID=491&DID=32255 -Editor¡¯s note concerning music downloading at school, districts are liable Sources 1. Plagiarism: What It is and How to Recognize and Avoid It
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