Many thanks to all of you who shared your views of the copy/paste method for
taking notes when using Internet resources. You have convinced me to give
this method a fair shake as I begin a year-long action research project on
this topic. Your instructional strategies are great and give me reasons to
make changes in my own lessons!
Here is my original question, followed by the author's response and then
your responses. Enjoy!
Jan Landes, librarian
Hinkletown Mennonite School
272 Wanner Rd.
Ephrata, PA 17522
jrlandes@ptd.net
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"My question should be of interest to anyone who tries to teach students
ways to avoid plagiarizing.
I am a school librarian (K-8) who trys to teach my students how to do
research with integrity. With the wonderful resources now available to them
via the Internet, I am challenged to give them tools that help them
synthesize what they find while in cyberspace.
In preparing for a class I am taking this summer on integrated literacy I
came across some alarming advice in Ryder and Graves' book "Reading and
Learning in Content Areas," (1998). In the chapter on 'Technology and
Literacy' I was shocked to hear them instruct the reader to teach a 'copy
and paste' technique for note taking. They suggest that the researcher
creates a page in their word processor where they then paste text from the
Internet resource and add their own anecdotal comments. They refer to this
as "easy to learn, involves little effort, [isn't that why people
plagiarize?] and results in a product that is permanent and easily
reproduced.... the user can then generate a written summary of important
points."
Is it just me or does this strike anyone else as a direct pathway to
plagiarism? I think it is meant to replace the highlighting process that
students use with books and journal articles and to save paper.
I'm doing a presentation to my classmates next week and will be challenging
this process suggested by Ryder and Graves. I'd appreciate any comments from
you on this suggested practice, pro or con, and also, how do you teach
notetaking in cyberspace? I have always had students print out copies of
what they are going to use and then highlight and take notes. I will
continue to promote that practice unless you guys give me some better
suggestions that don't lead to plagiarism. Suggested sites and resources
are welcome on this topic."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here is Randall Ryder's response, author of "Reading and Learning in the
Content Areas"/Second Edition/by Randall J. Ryder and Michael F. Graves/New
York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.,1998 (3rd edition due out this fall) :
"Thank you for the inquiry. You raise a valid point regarding
plagiarism. Let me explain my thoughts on the matter. Given that many
students devote a lot of time copying information in print to their
personal notes I believe the process of copying and pasting from
hypertext reduces the amount of time devoted to this process. As they
are personal notes used for educational purposes this process does not
involve violation of copyright or plagiarism. If students now use this
information for the purpose of writing a paper or perhaps answering
questions for an assignment or quiz that will be submitted to the
teacher and graded, then the issue of intellectual property must be
raised. When writing that section it was my intent that we use
technology as a scribe, thus allowing students more time to distill,
synthesize, evaluate, and apply the information they acquired. It is
also important that they write summaries or engage in other writing
activities that will allow them to go beyond the reproduction of
information obtained from text sources. I have emphasized this process
thoroughly in the third edition of the book which should be available
this fall. Thanks for sharing your concerns."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
LM_NETers' comments:
"I agree with you on the copy and paste things and all
my first -6th graders KNOW!!
I started off with telling all grades about the word
Plagiarism and how it came from the Latin: meaning "to
kidnap". They REALLY remember that...and I repeat what
I teach or question their rememberance much during the
year.
I do teach notetaking from the examples on the BIG 6
lesson plans and this year when second graders were
studying butterflies and we went on the Internet they
knew they had to RCW read....R close (that's for
books...but for the internet we changed it to
R-remember instead of C-close (the book) and W-
write...
They would read a small paragraph...go out and write
what they remember on their paper...and then record it
on a butterfly in correct spelling, etc. Of course, at
that age they can't do anything too elaborate but it
was small but a great step toward learning about
plagiarism. I think you need to preach, preach, preach
and then if someone does copy: really show how you
know it's not their words and it needed to be in
quotes..It is hard to teach that the word(s) that
is/are the Main fact(s) have to stay the same...
Hope you do well.....maybe you can use the Kidnap word
to capture them...."
Kathleen Shepoka -Media Specialist-Pawnee Elementary
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Electronic note taking is here to stay but there are best practices as in
anything. I too believe the quick and easy way copy and paste is promoted as
note taking by many is a path to making plagiarism a habit. The kids see it
as condoned by teachers as well, and are quick to say what teacher taught
them to do that. I urge people if they cut and paste, to cut and paste it
directly into a set of quotation marks and to note the source info including
the website (cut and paste that, too) immediately following the quote. Then
separately add annotation, reflection, reaction for pesonal record but in a
way that can be identified as not source material. You have touched on the
heart of a growing problem."
Paula Brown, Librarian
CFS The School at Church Farm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I have to say that I would agree with Ryder and Graves. To ask a
researcher to change digital content to analog content and the rekey it
as digital content to me seems unnecessary. When doing research as an
adult, I certainly don't do that. Students can still plagiarize when
using the write-it-down method - it just takes a little longer! We need
to be teaching techniques like changing the color of the text of
directly copies materials to indicated a direct quote, how to cite
electronic sources, and just plain what is allowable and what is not.
The real key to preventing plagiarism is in designing good assignments
that ask for personal, critical solutions to problems. For what it's
worth......."
Doug Johnson
Director of Media and Technology
I.S.D. 77, Mankato Public Schools
Box 8713, Mankato MN 56002-8713
Voice: 507-387-7698, Fax: 507-387-2496
E-mail: dougj@doug-johnson.com
Web: www.doug-johnson.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I had never heard of Ryder and Graves until you wrote your email BUT I had
gotten tired of the kids printing out complete articles, highlighting
important parts, and writing them directly into their papers.
My solution was to teach them to cut and paste to the notepad .... just
words and phrases that would remind them of what they had read ... if they
forgot... they had the URL and could go back to the article to refresh their
minds.
I always printed out the articles and highlighted but when I sat down to
write my papers (English teacher's nightmare) ... I wrote my final draft,
period. I wrote from my memory of what I had read and added my thoughts. I
would go back to my information only to get statistics or quotes that I
wanted to include.
Most students don't even consider using their memories for any part of the
process.
Thus I decided that we weren't going to print out the articles ... we were
going to read them and take words and phrases that would help us remember.
The sixth graders have a sheet of paper with the place to do their works
cited at the top and lines underneath. They don't even get to use the
computer to copy/paste. (A very short project so this works well as a first
learning experience.) Each source they use is on a different piece of
paper. Notetaking is also graded. They then code each paper as to what the
"subject" is about to organize their project. Again it is short so this is
a workable procedure for them.
There are students who try to copy/paste paragraphs, articles, etc but they
are stopped at the printer. Follow directions, do again.
If the teacher wants to use the notecard method the students then transfer
their copy/paste info to notecards. (or they have the option of taking
their notecards to the computer and doing them directly there)
I think it all depends on the way in which the copy/paste is done. What
we're doing is just having the same words/phrases that the student would
write on their notecard ... done to the notepad. No sentences are
permitted. Short, sweet, and to the point.
If you ever get the chance to hear Alice Yucht speak about teaching
notetaking. She's great! I heard her at AASL and she had some good ideas!"
Jo Anne Collins, L/MS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I tend to lean toward your side of the arguement... I think students need
to read the material and not do a copy / paste,unless they are using a
direct quote for the paper itself.
I teach a course to freshmen at a local private college in freshmen
orientation (study skills) and Library orientation. It is required of all
students. In my sections of the course, I have a night (one class period) on
plagiarism, and understanding what it is, and what is considered acceptable
practice.
Here are some web sites which might be helpful to you in this endeavor....
<http://bedfordstmartins.com/technotes/techtiparchive/ttip102401.htm>
(Thinking and talking about Plagiarism)
It has a great bibliography...please make sure you see
PREVENTING ACADEMIC DISHONESTY ( by Barbara Gross Davis)
<http://uga.berkley.edu/sled/bdg/prevent.html>
Seven Anectdots to Prevent Highway Robbery in the Electronic Age
<http://fno.org/may98/cov98may.html>
Anti-Plagiarism Strategies for Research Papers (my students find these
techniques very useful)
<http://www.virtualsalt.com/antiplag.htm>
The general thought on plagiarism today is to teach it as a good writing and
source management technique. We need to teach these techniques, and like
you, I do not agree with the technique that is recommended in your text.
There are a lot of ONLINE WRITING CENTERS at colleges and universities which
might help you in this pursuit (teaching the note taking from a management
standpoint)...try
Purdue University Online Writing Lab
<http;//owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/print/reserach/r_plagiar.htm>
in addition to clearly stating what needs to be given "credit" or
documentation....it has some exercises for practice.
paraphrasing, which is HIGHLY POSSIBLE from the technique listed in the book
you cited....is also considered plagiarism by definition (use of another's
ideas)
see AVOIDING two common forms of accidental plagiarism and
Example of acceptable paraphrase at Northwestern Univeristy's Online Writing
Lab <http://www.writing.nwu.edu/tips/plag.html>"
Michael Brocato
Edward Hynes Elem School
Teacher-Librarian
New Orleans, LA
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Copy and paste is also a suggested method of note-taking by the Big 6. I
agree with you in part, but to have students print everything they think
they might use is not very cost effective for most of us. Not only is it
paper, but also printer ink. Then again we do not all have enough computers
to allow students to sit at one for the length of time it takes them to read
through something and either write notes or copy and paste.
I think that the copy and paste method might be a good idea if:
1. They copy the URL onto the document, and all citation info, just as they
would on note cards.
2. They place in quotes what is copied verbatim, so they know later on that
it is a verbatim quote
3. They double space, so that they can, if necessary, paraphrase
underneath.
Of course, all of this takes up computer time, once again. However, when we
used to make notecards for research paper, how much of what we wrote was
copied? Does it make any difference that we handwrote it? No, it just took
longer to do! So, there are my 2 cents."
Sharon Gonzalez
Librarian
Connell Middle School
San Antonio, TX
sgonzalez3@satx.rr.com
sgonzalez@saisd.net
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I found all too often that there was confusion about notetaking, with
teachers expecting that students "should already know" how to do
it. Students need to be taught the basic skills first, what to select from
any document. Forget higher level thinking at first, just get them to find
the color of an orange. Then show them how to transfer that to their
notes. Add information on where they found it. Then get them to write a
sentence on what they have found. Next, add the next level of thinking,
etc.
Realize that often student plagiarize because they have never been taught
what to do and why they are doing it. (Yes, of course, there are the
others).
Highlighting a document looks like something is being achieved, so does
cut-and-paste. But we need to be sure that the students actually know
notetaking skills, before we assume they can apply the information.
Personally, I still like the 3X5 card method. Have them divide the card
into 2 or 3 sections : one will be to write their note, one for
identifying the source. The cards later can be sorted into a sequence from
which they write their paragraphs, essay, etc.
(Card 1) Color : orange or green. (Card 2) Weight : 2 lbs (Card 3) Inside
is ..... and so on MUST come before the Symbolism of Oranges in Gone
With The Wind.
A final note : be sure the student has enough time to complete the
lessons. Often teachers give it a "one shot" approach, with the students
being faced with constant demands for originality instead of taking the
time to do his/her own work."
Earl Sande
Semi-retired International School Librarian
10189 133 Street
Surrey, BC
V3T3Y8
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"In Western Australia, we are suggesting copy-and-paste, then write up the
answer to their question.
The students set up their document in two columns:
Left - for copying
Right - for their own words
We also suggest that students should copy and paste the url, title, author
of the material they use.
If teachers set this up with questions that require some student thought, it
should be quite obvious from the finished sheet as to how the students make
use of the text that they have copied.
We have some examples and proformas that teachers can use at:
<http://www.eddept.wa.edu.au/cmis/eval/pd/pd91.htm>
The simplest proforma is a word document:
<http://www.eddept.wa.edu.au/cmis/eval/pd/copyright/HO22.doc>
I know suggesting copy-and-paste sound like a bad idea, but doing it this
way, students will be learning that they only get credit for what they do
with the material that they copy, and that the simple act of copying isn't
sufficient by itself."
Jill Midolo, Editor Technology Focus and CMIS Evaluation Website
CMIS (Curriculum Materials Information Services)
Department of Education Western Australia
151 Royal Street East Perth WA 6004
Ph: (08) 9264 4192 Fax: (08) 9264 5708
Email: mailto:jill.midolo@eddept.wa.edu.au
Website: http://www.eddept.wa.edu.au/cmis/eval/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"You are right on target. I couldn't agree with you more...this idea is
simply bad. Now, the only way to avoid plagiarism is when the teacher
creates the assignment. Only when the student must do something with the
information gathered; i.e., use his own head to come up with thoughts that
are supported or refuted by what has been located as "reference search"
will it become impossible to copy and paste. It works every time, but
how do we get our classroom teachers to be willing to change? In these
days of using rubrics it becomes a mite easier, but the teacher still
can't just copy and paste other people's ideas per se either.
Hilda L. Jay, LMS(Ret.) & Author
Collington Cottage 2108
10450 Lottsford Road
Bowie, MD 20721
hlj002@ns1.wmdc.edu
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Interesting. I try to keep the students from printing out entire web sites
-
they're not going to read 35 pages of text! I try to encourage them to scan
through what the web site has and then copy and paste everything they think
they might need to a notebook page. The FIRST thing they are supposed to
copy and paste is the web address - so they know where the information came
from for their bibliography and in case they do need to go back to get more
information. After they have copied and pasted information from a couple of
sources, THEN they are supposed to rewrite a compilation of the information
they have gathered for their report. They are not supposed to copy and
paste
and hand it in as their report..."
Mary Ann Shaffer
Media Specialist
Carver Middle School
Orlando, FL
shaffermas@aol.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I also teach my 4th and 5th grade students to copy and paste from web
pages, always carefully copying the title of the webpage, url, and author,
if given. I teach them to only copy and paste keywords (just as they would
if taking notes from an encyclopedia, book, or other print resource). I
can't see how this promotes plagiarism...we have thorough discussions of
just what plagiarism is and how important it is to paraphrase and cite
sources to avoid plagiarism. Copying and pasting is basically just
note-taking; whether or not a researcher plagiarizes isn't going to be
mandated by the manner of the note-taking but rather by the integrity of the
researcher."
Linda Miller, Teacher-Librarian
San Antonio, Texas
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I,too, work hard to teach my kids to avoid plagiarism.
I agree with you that the book's suggestion is just
inviting plagiarism to happen. I think a lot of kids
plagiarize because they haven't been taught how to
take the information and put it in their own words.
The best thing I've done is use graphic organizers for
kids to take notes. With 5th graders, we used a data
collection chart to take notes for their reports about
famous black Americans. Categories included: date of
birth, education, family, accomplishments, etc. The
boxes on the data chart were small so they couldn't
copy the whole sentence-just the important facts. The
kids then use the data sheets to write reports--they
DO NOT sit with an open encyclopedia in front of them!
We also did a 30-min. plagiarism exercise and talked
about just changing around a couple of words in a
sentence is still plagiarism. I have a neat worksheet
that discusses plagiarism, then gives a sample
paragraph and a list of statements--the students
decide whether or not the statements are plagiarism.
It really made them aware!
For 4th grade state reports, we again used a graphic
organizer to collect data, which eliminates the
problem of copying whole sentences.
I have also heard good things about the "Trash 'n
Treasure" notetaking method as a way to teach kids
notetaking skills.
This summer I purchased a book for our staff--can't
remember the exact title now, something like Cheating
& Plagiarism in the Internet Era. I just received it
this week and spent about 5 min. perusing it--it looks
fabulous. Good luck on this endeavor!"
Amy Brownlee
School Library Media Specialist K-12
Sterling, Kansas
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The main thing I would say regarding your concerns about plagiarism with
copying and pasting is that unless that is the only work the students are
doing as they collect information, I don't think it should be an issue. Some
advantages of the copy and paste method (as I see it)
- students have the exact words from their original source when they need to
quote their source
- students know where their information came from when they write "According
to A. Alvarez, Sylvia Plath's poetry...."
- teachers can see exactly what information the students gathered, and from
what source _to ensure that they are not plagiarizing_ if students turn in
their notes with their finished project, there will be little question
whether they have copied something word for word. Likewise, it will make it
easier for a teacher to detect whether a student has just changed the order
of the words or whether they have truly synthesized the information they
collected.
I work with a ninth grade teacher who is teaching her students how to do a
research paper, and she has them copy information word for word from their
print sources too so that they have everything they need when they are doing
their final project. The above reasons are why she does this for all
resources. At first, I was a little taken aback, but at this point, I think
I understand why she does it, and it does seem to cut down on plagiarism for
her."
Kimberly A. Brosan, Librarian
Mid-Carolina High School, SC
kim@bigbadwolf.org <mailto:kim@bigbadwolf.org>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"There is nothing wrong with copying, highlighting, pasting, etc. as long as
the assignment goes further than that. The assignment from the teacher
should force the student to use the copied text in a completely new way so
that the student has to write about what is in the text. For example: Read
a biography. Copy or notetake 20 facts about the person you are reading
about. Now the assignment is to create an interview with that person. You
be Barbara Walters and write questions that will pull these answers together
in an entertaining way.
Or read all about motorcycles. Using the information you have found discuss
which motorcycle would be the best one for Johnny who wants to ride across
the country without getting killed and tell why it is the best. Include
places to stay overnight and what to do when the weather turns ugly.
It is the librarian's job to help the teacher come up with creative writing
assignments so that plagiarism is not an issue. Kids don't want to
plagiarise, but what they read sounds better than what they can write. If
the format of the assignment is changed, then their writing style sounds
just fine to them."
Joan Edwards
Library Media Teacher
Sycamore Junior High School
Anaheim, California
libedw@hotmail.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Jan, I agree with you 100%. I am a ninth grade English teacher and MLIS
student. I wage a constant battle against "copy / paste." (Last year, I
had two students copy paste their entire research paper; one student copy
pasted complete with hyperlinks!)
I encourage the students to read the article online. If it is an article
they think they will use, then print it out; if they think they might use
the article, I have them create a page of hyperlinks and annotations, so
they can go back to the article. I also require my students to turn in their
articles with their papers.
Our school media specialist encourages students to print their articles. She
does not encourage copy pasting."
Molly Bates
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"One of the best resources on this topic is a recent publication by Ann
Lathrop and Katherine Foss titled Student Cheating and Plagiarism in the
Internet Era. (Libraries Unlimited, 2000). They have a chapter on
strategies teachers and LMS can use to avoid the plagiarism problem from the
beginning of a project. Two suggestions I believe make great sense:
1) Work with students in the early stages of a project or a paper so they
develop research questions that reflect higher level thinking
2) Assess process as well as product and do that throughout the process not
just at the end.
I also like the T-chart approach to note taking that Marilyn Joyce and Julie
Tallman include in their book on the I-Search process. Make a big "t" on a
sheet of paper -- or in a word processing document. The left column is to
be used to record the bibliographic citation and the most important points
from a resource. The right column is to be used for the student's reflective
thoughts on the reading. In other words: why this information was
important, how it relates to another piece of information, how it relates to
the research question, etc. If done correctly, that right-hand column can
provide much of the new knowledge that needs to go into a paper."
Marjorie L. Pappas, Ph. D.
Eastern Kentucky University
Library Science
Richmond, KY
marjorie.pappas@eku.edu
mlpappas38@aol.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I fully concur with you, though I've not see the book to which you refer.
I am giving a workshop in our System in October and plan on talking about
the cut/paste idea. The method surely shortens the process of making/taking
notes but also surely encourages plagiarism. While not stifling technology,
we need to emphasize the synthesizing process. Not just mentioning the term
"synthesizing" but starting with topics of known "knowledge" like a
paragraph about interacting with friends, and having the students synthesize
that, then proceed to information that builds their knowledge by
synthesizing paragraphs when they understand the concepts well enough to put
it in their own words."
Harry Willems, Assistant Director
SEKLS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I have no problem with the copy and paste process as
long as the source is included with the information.
The teachers I work with require complete
bibliographies and works cited. They will not accept
uncited information.
Jill Brown, LMS
Nardin Academy
Buffalo, NY
buflib@yahoo.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=
All postings to LM_NET are protected under copyright law.
To quit LM_NET (or set-reset NOMAIL or DIGEST, etc.) send email to:
listserv@listserv.syr.edu In the message write EITHER:
1) SIGNOFF LM_NET 2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL or 3) SET LM_NET DIGEST
4) SET LM_NET MAIL * Please allow for confirmation from Listserv.
For LM_NET Help see: http://ericir.syr.edu/lm_net/
Archives: http://askeric.org/Virtual/Listserv_Archives/LM_NET.shtml
See also EL-Announce for announcements from library media vendors:
http://www.mindspring.com/~el-announce/
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=
LM_NET
Mailing List Home