To piggy back off my last post, I want to address the issue of plagiarism. With the incorporation of teaching students HOW to use the variety of tools out there to search and research information along with such a vast amount of readily accessible information offered on the Internet, it is easy to be able to "copy and paste" when doing an assignment. It is also easy for both students and teachers to believe that the information online is "theirs for the taking". So another vital skill that students need in this technological age is Responsibility. The ability to recognize what sources need to be cited, when credit needs to be given, and how to do it. TechLearning.com has provided a wonderful resource for teachers called "Copyright and Fair Use Guidelines for Teachers". These guidelines are laid out in an easy to read chart which helps teachers understand how Copyright Laws and Fair Use policies pertain to their lesson plans and other resources used in the classroom. Another great infographic teachers can use when teaching students about copyright laws is "Understanding Copyright" offered by GFCLearnFree.org. This visual is part of an online tutorial teaching about Blog Basics and is one of many free tutorials available on this site for technology skills.
With so many sources of information and ideas available on the Internet, it is difficult for teachers to distinguish between a student's original work and one that they copied off the Internet. A great tool that some our high school's English teachers use is www.turnitin.com. TurnItIn.com provides many tools for teachers to use to reduce plagiarism, provide teacher feedback and grades, and provide peer assessments of student work. To prevent or reduce plagiarism, TurnItIn.com provides a tool that compares a student's work with an extensive online database. It provides links to the sites that show similarities to a student's work and opens a window to show the site next to the student's work, allowing teachers to see exact matches of phrases or ideas. It also indicates what percentage of the student's work came from a particular website. The site also allows teachers to run grammar checks, write comments or drag and drop standard comments as they read the work. The last tool offered is a peer review method where work is annomously distributed to the class and students can answer questions and provide feedback on fellow classmates work. There is a fee to use this site but I believe it is well worth it for the ease of student's turning in work (deadlines can be set so student's can turn in work at any time rather than just classtime), grading for teachers, and the tools available to strengthen student's writing skills and encourage responsiblity. Sites and teaching tools like these can help educators easily teach students how to responsibly use the Internet and the sources of information available to them, allowing them to be more successful writers and users of digital media.
With so many sources of information and ideas available on the Internet, it is difficult for teachers to distinguish between a student's original work and one that they copied off the Internet. A great tool that some our high school's English teachers use is www.turnitin.com. TurnItIn.com provides many tools for teachers to use to reduce plagiarism, provide teacher feedback and grades, and provide peer assessments of student work. To prevent or reduce plagiarism, TurnItIn.com provides a tool that compares a student's work with an extensive online database. It provides links to the sites that show similarities to a student's work and opens a window to show the site next to the student's work, allowing teachers to see exact matches of phrases or ideas. It also indicates what percentage of the student's work came from a particular website. The site also allows teachers to run grammar checks, write comments or drag and drop standard comments as they read the work. The last tool offered is a peer review method where work is annomously distributed to the class and students can answer questions and provide feedback on fellow classmates work. There is a fee to use this site but I believe it is well worth it for the ease of student's turning in work (deadlines can be set so student's can turn in work at any time rather than just classtime), grading for teachers, and the tools available to strengthen student's writing skills and encourage responsiblity. Sites and teaching tools like these can help educators easily teach students how to responsibly use the Internet and the sources of information available to them, allowing them to be more successful writers and users of digital media.