How has Plagiarism changed since the inception of the internet and as it pertains to middle school students?

1. HOW HAS PLAGIARISM CHANGED
SINCE THE INCEPTION OF THE
INTERNET AS IT PERTAINS TO
MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS?
Mandy Taylor
EL 810
Inquiry Project

2. How has plagiarism changed since the inception of the Internet as it
pertains to middle school students?
 What is plagiarism?
 How has plagiarism changed through the years?
 Books versus Internet for getting information
 Why do students plagiarize?
 How can teachers help students understand plagiarism and prevent it.

3. What is plagiarism?
 The definition of plagiarism according to The Ultimate Copyright
Guide for Students (2016), is “an act or instance of using or closely
imitating the language and thoughts of another author without
authorization, and the representation of that author's work as one's
own, as by not crediting the original author”.

4. How has plagiarism changed through the years?
 In the past students would need to search through the card catalogs to locate this
information in the library for books and periodicals to use in their essays. Since the
early 1990’s, when the internet changed the way that the world accesses
information. Fast forward another 20 years and you find an over-abundance of
information at your fingertips.
 With the ease of copying and then pasting the information into a computer
document, teachers seem to face a never-ending battle with teaching correct paper
ethics in the face of a generation where sharing information is common practice.

5. Books versus Internet for getting information
 When the Wikipedia.org came online in 2011 (Wikipedia, 2016), a new form of
encyclopedia was born
 Where students would need to look up information by alphabetical order in the
correct book of the encyclopedia set, students with internet access only need to
type in a search term into Wikipedia’s search bar and the information will appear on
their screen.
 The difference between having to search for information in a book and information
on the computer is, the computer allows for you to add in more specific information
as you search to match your inquiry.
 In a book, the information cannot predict what you might need and needs to be
updated every year to add new information.

6. Why do students plagiarize?
 The answer according to Lathrop & Foss (2000) is, “The bottom line
seems to be
 (1) it's easy, especially with new technologies
 (2) fewer than 10% are caught
 (3) most of those who are caught get off without serious penalty.”
 “When we, as parents, don’t know whether our kids are cheating: if we don’t
think it’s “a big deal” if we do discover they are cheating; and if we lie for
them when it suits our own convenience, then we encourage and permit
them to cheat.” (Lathrop & Foss, 2000, p.62)

7. How can teachers help students understand plagiarism and
prevent it?
 According to Lathrop and Foss (2000), there are a number of software technologies
that can be purchased to identify phrases or written works for copyrighted
material.
 Getting parents to see the need for students to complete the research in their own
words, or to ethically cite their sources of said information is an important step in
combating plagiarism.
 Relaxing the standards of acceptability and accountability towards plagiarism are
causing students to feel less connected to the material, and more as if the
information in the universe is free to all, to use as one sees fit.

8. How can teachers help students understand plagiarism and
prevent it?
 The final advice that Moore-Howard and Davies (2009) give is the importance of
teaching students to summarize the information that they find on the sites. “These
practices are essential to successful researched writing and are also excellent
techniques for critical reading. If we fail to teach these skills, our students will
always be in peril of plagiarism, notwithstanding all the pricey plagiarism-detecting
software we employ and all the threats we make.” (Moore-Howard & Davies, 2009)
 As a teacher it is crucial to develop critical reading and writing skills, but many times
critical writing skills are deemed inherent with the ability to read. In other words, if
you can read well then you can write well. This is often not the case, unless
students have received specific writing instruction.

9. Resources:
 Lathrop, A. & Foss, K.E. (2000). Student cheating and plagiarism in the internet era: A
wake-up call. Englewood, CO: LU Academic Cloth & Paper. Retrieved from
http://web.a.ebscohost.com.emporiastate.idm.oclc.org/ehost/command/detail?vi
d=21&sid =ec4133f4-97a6-4014-9b80-
8b277f45fa0d%40sessionmgr4005&hid=4212&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl
2ZQ%3 d%3d#AN=42987&db=nlebk
 Moore Howard, R. & Davies, L.J. (2009, March). Plagiarism in the internet age.
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 66, 64-67.
 Ultimate guide to copyright for students. (2016). Retrieved from the
WhoIsHostingThis.com website:
http://www.whoishostingthis.com/resources/student-copyright/
 Vannest, A. (2016). 5 most effective methods for avoiding plagiarism. Grammarly blog.
Retrived from https://www.grammarly.com/blog/2015/5-most-effective-
methods-for- avoiding-plagiarism/
 Wikipedia.(n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved April, 1, 2016, from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia