Ethical Dilemmas

A teacher photocopies an article for every student in the class. I'm sure we've all been that teacher, regardless of how many years you've been in the classroom. While this approach limits the Internet Safety issue, it certainly doesn't integrate technology, incorporate student choice or differentiation. The purpose of the photocopies should be addressed with the teacher. I'm sure the response would be the same for most teachers, "I'm making copies for the class so they have their own copy to follow along and do their assignment." While this is innocent enough on the surface, it's bordering on illegal, depending on what laws, if any, protect the text. The teacher should be reminded of the example they're setting for their students.  You can't expect to discipline students for plagiarism and the like while doing the same with your lesson materials. If acceptable use is not obvious within the source, the teacher should be able to research quickly online what the policy is for the material. I will discuss below the benefits to using technology in this example below.

     One of the many benefits to integrating technology is the ability to create a paperless environment. As we discussed in the first class, standing in line at the copy machine isn't an effective use of the limited time teachers have. So making copies for 30+ students is an unnecessary drain on time and paper when you have the ability to provide a link or embed an article into a Schoology lesson or Google Classroom. Just as you would need to credit the author of the article you want to make copies of, online sources should receive the same citation process. In the article Plagiarism in the Internet Age, authors Howard and Davies generate 4 keys ways to help prevent plagiarism using online sources:

• Discuss intellectual property and what it means to "own" a text.
• Discuss how to evaluate both online and print-based sources (for example, comparing the quality and reliability of a Web site created by an amateur with the reliability of a peer-reviewed scholarly article).
• Guide students through the hard work of engaging with and understanding their sources, so students don't conclude that creating a technically perfect bibliography is enough.
• Acknowledge that teaching students how to write from sources involves more than telling students that copying is a crime and handing them a pile of source citation cards.

     In order for students to be agents of their learning, we often espouse student choice.  Giving students control promotes excitement as well as ownership.  Assuming the class has established procedures in place, teachers are not losing control in their class but rather facilitating the lessons. Forcing all of the students to read the same articles, is definitely not student choice nor differentiation. One of the D99 resources, Achieve 3000, is a great substitute for this scenario.  Not only does it offer the benefits mentioned, but these articles/texts have been vetted for acceptable use.  Teachers do not need to worry about copyright infringement, which is always a good thing! 

Howard, Rebecca Moore, and Laura J. Davies. "Plagiarism in the Internet Age." Literacy 2.0 66.6 (2009): 64-67. Web