Re: TARGET>Hyperstudio Presentations & Plagiarism & More

[hal <hal@NBNET.NB.CA>]

The observations and concerns raised by Sharon are indicative of a problem
that I have seen growing in the past few years.  The use of technology only
seems to have exasperate the problem of copyright and plagiarism.


As a parent I have been shocked that work has been accepted from my children
with little or no reference as to source.  I have found myself giving the
"copyright" lesson to my children on several occassions.

As someone in the schools I know that this topic is avoided in many
situations.  I have even begun to wonder if it is an issue with many teachers.
 Now, with cut and paste capabilities and a variety of presentation software
it is crucial that there be accountablity on the part of our schools to
provide the instruction.  I have seen teachers accepting as essays/reports
(from Middle School level students) whole papers that they knew were composed
by cutting and pasting from CDROM's and Web sites.

\The danger of not evaluating the source of the information, heck just totally
disregarding it - is a timely issue.  Given the information glut that we all
encounter dangerous or incorrect material will be repeated and validated with
little or no consideration as to its validity or consequences.

If we truly acknowledge IT to be a tool - than we have to provide instruction
as to the safety percautions.  It is all to easy for us to accept information
found on the web, for example, as accurate because it "is there".  There seems
to be a ready acceptance of information found there that might be questioned
were is from a printed source.

Sharon's questions and concerns are indeed becoming a "cry in the wilderness"
for caution and evaluation.  All of these sessions providing instruction need
a "copyright/plagiarism" component.  If Library/Media specialists and their
ilk don't call for it and push for it, who will?

Siobhan