Plagiarism. Who cares?

Plagiarism…who cares?
“Access to computers and the internet
has become a basic need for education
in our society”
Kent Conrad-US Senator: September 29, 2004

...so does that
make
‘cut and paste’ of
online text OK?

Image: Clipart from Clipartheaven.com 1

Definition of Plagiarism.
• to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own.
• use (a created production) without crediting the source.
• to commit literary theft.
• present as new and original an idea or product derived from an
existing source.
Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary 9th ed, (Springfield, Ma: Merriam 1981, p. 870)
as sighted on www.plagiarism.org.

• All of the following are considered plagiarism:

• turning in someone else's work as your own
• copying words or ideas from someone else without giving credit
• failing to put a quotation in quotation marks
• giving incorrect information about the source of a quotation
• changing words but copying the sentence structure of a source without giving credit
• copying so many words or ideas from a source that it makes up the majority of your
work, whether you give credit or not.
http://www.plagiarism.org/plag_article_what_is_plagiarism.html Image: http://i794.photobucket.com/albums/yy228/jade95_2010/BLONDE%20MOMENTS/confusd.gif

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Why students plagiarise.
Deadlines come
around more
quickly than
expected and
students feel
pressured.

Assignments can The boundaries of
feel overwhelming plagiarism and
due to the sheer research can be ‘grey’
and confusing for
amount of students who are
information and alreadyoverwhelmed
expectation in an with information and
assignment. knowledge.

Image: http://educationaljargonschs.wikispaces.com/Constructivism 3

Is plagiarism immoral?
Absolutely!
• Plagiarism puts honest kids at a
disadvantage.
http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/
teaching-and-learning/
a-lesson-in-academic-integrity-as-students-
feel-the-injustice-of-plagiarism/

• Copying another person’s work is lazy
and doesn’t assist the student to
develop thinking and writing skills of
their own.

• Plagiarism IS stealing. No one would
think of walking out of a store with
a product under their arm without
payment.
Image:
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee87/Onefineusername/plagiarism.jpg
4

Is plagiarism illegal?
Plagiarism isn’t illegal.
WHAT?????
BUT…it is illegal to use someone’s creative
work without their permission or
acknowledgement.
This is ‘copyright infringement’.

Image: http://media.photobucket.com/image/burglar/korry_2006/burglar.jpg?o=15

• Exercise of exclusive rights “The copyright in any work or other subject-matter is
infringed when any act which the copyright owner has the exclusive right to do is done
by a person in Australia who is not the copyright owner (or his or her licensee).
Examples include when a work is published, reproduced or performed in public
without the copyright owner's permission. This general rule is subject to a number of
specific exceptions in the Copyright Act.”
• http://www.ag.gov.au/Copyright/Pages/Wheniscopyrightinfringed.aspx 5

How will anyone know?
Guess what????
Teachers KNOW their students.

• Run a Google search.
• Plagiarism monitors:
• Turnitin and iThenticate.
• The Plagiarism Checker.
• There is also anti-plagiarism
software available such as
Wcopyfind and EduTie.com

Image: http://media.photobucket.com/ image/plagiarismjudeann03/PlagiarismMonitor.jpg?o=15
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Alternatives to plagiarism.
Talk to students often
about the benefits of
Model correct note- good research and
Encourage even very
taking skills and give coming up with your
young students to
opportunity to own ideas. Also talk
create a bibliography
practice the skill. to them about
to acknowledge
where information stealing, in
has come from. general, and apply
the same guidelines
to stealing words and
ideas.
Develop
stategies to
address digital
citizenship across We’re all
the entire school in this
community
together.

Image: Annie Madden
7

Alternatives to plagiarism
Appropriate
task-setting encourages
new construction
of meaning.

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Alternatives to plagiarism.
Authentic tasks:
An assignment given to students
designed to assess their ability to
Well structured ‘Authentic Tasks’ are/have: apply standard-driven knowledge
• have real-world relevance and skills to real-world challenges
• are ill-defined
• are complex, sustained tasks
• have multiple perspectives
• are collaborative
• are value (personal values) laden
• are interdisciplinary
• are authentically assessed
• have authentic products
• have multiple possible outcomes
(Adapted from Reeves, T. C., Herrington, J., & Oliver, R. (2002).
Authentic activity as a model for web-based learning. 2002
Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, LA, USA.)

Image: http://www.ioxassessment.com/index.php?cPath=37

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Conclusion

Schools need to be at the
Sound development of
Plagiarism achieves little. It forefront in raising awareness
authentic tasks aimed at
‘value adds’ to neither the about plagiarism, and tend to
developing skills for life long
plagiariser or the information providing the skills required
learning is key to plagiarism
wealth of the community. for individuals to avoid the
becoming irrelevent.
pitfalls of plagiarising.

Image: http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k154/actrices/plagiarism-2006.jpg

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Discussion questions
• Do you ever suspect a student of plagiarism? Do you know your students’
abilities, style, language and skill development well enough to detect possible
plagiarism?

• What action do schools need to take to support ‘Digital Citizenship’ awareness,
and therefore, combat plagiarism before it becomes an entrenched practice.

• Authentic tasks and authentic assessment
are key to promoting creative and unique
responses to genuine and realistic situations.
What adjustments can be made to tasks and
assessments set for your students that
encourages unique and creative responses
and, therefore, diminish opportunity to
plagiarise?

Image: http://educationaljargonschs.wikispaces.com/Digital+Citizenship
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Recommended readings
• Burke, K. (2009). How to assess authentic learning. Moorabin, Vic: Hawker
Brownlow Education.

• Kolk, M. (2012). Writing a great authentic task. Retrieved 23 April 2012,
from
http://creativeeducator.tech4learning.com/v01/articles/Writing_a_Great_
Authentic_Task

• Kuhlthau, C., Maniotes, L., & Caspari, A. (2007). Guided inquiry- Learning in
the 21st Century. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.

• plagiarismadvice.org. (2012). Designing out plagiarism. Retrieved 12 April
2012, from http://www.plagiarismadvice.org/designing-out-plagiarism

• Plagiarism.org. (2012). What is plagiarism? Retrieved April 14, 2012 from
http://www.plagiarism.org/

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