Journal 3

A War of Words by Jim Paterson

Jim Paterson has written a very interesting article that looks at why many educators are vocal critics of the anti-plagiarism programs used in high schools and colleges across the country.

With the advent of the internet as a research tool came a steep increase in plagiarism. Students were able to cut and paste the work of others at will; even purchasing completed term papers online. Software programs such as Turnitin.com were created as a response to the rise in plagiarism. With these programs, all student papers are compiled in a database and compared against each other for common structure and word combinations. The article quotes John Barrie, the developer of Turnitin.com, as saying that his company, used by at least 6,000 high schools and colleges nationwide, has cut plagiarism rates by more than 80 percent on campuses where it is used.

So why would educators be against anti-plagiarism software? Jim Paterson goes on to write that many educators are concerned about the punitive nature of the anti-plagiarism programs. The educators cited in the article are concerned that these tools are about catching cheaters and not about teaching. The educators also question the adversarial system these programs set up between the instructor and the student. The article goes on to give many examples of educators using traditional methods and software programs to teach students how to conduct research, how to properly paraphrase and how to cite sources appropriately. The article concludes with a quote from Maribeth Mohan, a teacher at Glenbard High School in Illinois, in which she stresses the significant difference between a teaching tool and a detection tool.

Questions:
1. Do anti-plagiarism programs have a place in education? Absolutely. I am not so naive as to believe that these programs will stop plagiarism, but I feel they are a tool, a necessary component of modern research. Students still need to be taught how to conduct research, how to paraphrase without plagiarism and how to cite sources, but this software might catch those who are trying to avoid actually doing the work.
2. How early can you introduce the concept of plagiarism? Surprisingly early. Young children, grades K through 2, have a well developed sense of justice. In the article, Jim Paterson spotlighted a librarian who was introducing the concept of plagiarism to second graders inconjuction with a lesson on how to conduct research.