[Air-l] my experience with plagiarism and turnitin

[Kevin Guidry]

On 3/9/07, Barry Wellman <wellman at chass.utoronto.ca> wrote:
>
> I'm kinda amazed at how many people did NOT answer my question (about
> precedent re Turnitin), but treated it as a projective test.

   Sorry.  You gave us an opening and we took it. :)  I imagine that
if anyone had an answer to your question they would have shared.  But
I suspect the reason you asked us is that answers in this area are
very hard to come by and I don't think that anyone is surprised that
we don't have "The Answer."

> Next year, I will insist, as per Toronto policy, that Turnitin be used.

   Can we view the use of a undiscriminating tool like Turnitin as
some sort of flip side to or natural continuation of the shifting
nature of privacy?  I just rediscovered New York Magazine's "Say
Anything" article from last month and much of it resonates with me and
what I think I'm seeing in the research and in my interactions with
college students: "The future belongs to the uninhibited."
   Similarly, I am led down this path by a comment made by Cary
Sherman in yesterday's "An Update – Piracy on University Networks"
Congressional hearing.  As wrong as he is about many things, he was
spot on when he said: "The transition from physical to digital has
completely altered the way we live our lives. Shouldn't these changes
be reflected in schools' message to students? Colleges are charged
with educating our citizens. Isn't it essential they prepare them to
use appropriately the technology that will fill their lives?"  Does
the use of Turnitin and similar impersonal and automatic tools qualify
as a facet of our collective education in this area?


Kevin