Cheating and Technology

I agree with David Thornburg's statement, "ban questions for which technology provides instant answers." With the advancements in technology, information has become so easy to access that the current method of education is about to become obsolete, or atleast is should. Seeing as much of education today asks students to merely read, memorize, and retell, if information is so readily available there is no real learning happening if they can merely go online and look the information up at any moment.

By asking students to think critically rather than fill in blanks, students can still access the information but then also create a new individual and intimate connection to it. This would allow the information to stay with the students longer and in a more meaningful way.

In regards to copyright, by having students go to sources for papers or projects, students can have a better and closer relationship with copyright law. By using project-based learning, teachers can have students create projects that use materials under Creative Commons as well as using some within copyright law in order to fully understand what they can and cannot do with materials that are out there. It will also allow them to put together their own portfolios, using the copyright and Creative Commons guidelines, that they can use in their educational career.

I also think that by steering away from the traditional way of teaching, students will become better critical thinkers and problem solvers. As it is now, students are becoming critical thinkers and problem solvers in a negative way, by finding better ways to cheat. As seen with the many sites that give out research papers and other things such as that. I think that logical sources of information such as Cliff’s Notes, have taken a harsh hit and because of that, students feel that cheating is the way to go. If we label aides such as Cliff’s Notes and Spark Notes as unfair and cheat aides, then students will see cheat sites and paper sites as a possible source because if something that is legally sold in stores is cheating, then a site can’t be that much worse.

The main problem is that people have not truly taken the time to show students how to properly research and use the many sources that are out there for them in this day and age. In the past, it was simpler because the main sources out there were books, newspapers, magazines, and other print sources. Now, there are more through technology such as podcasts, wikis, blogs and other various online resources. The key is educating students in how to use these sources and how to think about what they are doing rather than going through the motions of education.

I really like David Thornburg’s idea of having students either write a paper or analyze the papers that are available online. This lets the students know that yes, the teacher knows about those sites, but there are still ways to decipher whether or not the student actually read the book or assignment. I think that in order to keep on top of cheating and copyright as well, teachers must adapt and become more creative in the ways they teach and impart information to the students they teach.

Overall, copyright is a very confusing thing that I believe can only be truly understood by actively working with it. Only reading the facts gives a superficial look at it, it isn't until you work the materials that real understanding begins.