If you’re going to plagiarize, do it right

 Post-Secondary  No Responses »
Apr 082008
 

Over at Rate Your Students, where educators complain about their pupils in much the same way their pupils complain about them 24/7, there’s a post about three plagiarists. From the post:

  • My 3rd worst Plagiarizing Pupil was so lazy that she could only be bothered to retype the first page of the paper she stole…She was caught at first glance for two reasons: 1) she didn’t choose a matching font for her retyped first page, and 2) someone else’s name was on the rest of the pages.
  • My 2nd worst Plagiarizing Pupil submitted, as her own, a sample student essay from the class text I had assigned them to read in preparation for that assignment.
  • And quite possibly most dim-witted plagiarizing pupil I have ever had is the student who, for an OPTIONAL revision of her first paper (which she had actually bothered to write), submitted another student’s paper on a completely different topic.

Oh the things you try to get away with when all you have to do for grades is write a paper.

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 Posted by Danny at 9:33 am

Poking fun at Ryerson

 Post-Secondary  No Responses »
Mar 262008
 

The Eyeopener (which needs your soul to let you sign up and post comments online) pokes fun at the recent PR debacle Ryerson University found itself in.

After charging a student with 147 counts of academic dishonesty, they began expulsion proceedings. The student has since not been expelled, forced to attend a seminar on academic honesty, failed the course and has had a notation made on his transcript, to be cleared upon graduation. All because a silly professor’s misunderstanding of how students mirror the real world when it comes to dealing with problems: they collaborate.

In the wake of the scandal, a new website was created to help students study: www.thestudygroups.com. I’m still baffled that no one thought of using a forum!

Am I the only one that remembers the days before Facebook?

 Posted by Danny at 9:05 am

U of T’s Mark Federman thinks Ryerson is over reacting

 Post-Secondary  No Responses »
Mar 122008
 

Ryerson University has started expulsion proceedings against a student because of his involvement with Facebook study group. Mark Federman, a professor at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education which is associated with the University of Toronto was interviewed by Global TV regarding the scandal. Here is his interview:

 Posted by Danny at 5:11 pm

Forget embarassing pictures on Facebook…

 Post-Secondary  2 Responses »
Mar 122008
 

…study groups can get you in trouble too.

Chris Avenir, a first year engineering student at Ryerson University in Toronto is facing expulsion for academic dishonesty. The devious rascal is accused of cheating on some chemistry assignments (guess he won’t be going into chem eng) by setting up a Facebook group. In the said Facebook group, students would share tips and answers to assignments which they would then hand in for marks. It was a type of online study group made up of 147 people (coincidentally, Mr. Avenir is charged with 147 counts of academic dishonesty – the other students…not so much).

Many of Chris’s supporters (especially online, Facebook) have accused the University of being behind the times.

What I don’t understand is why they are going only after him and not the other people in the group too? Postings made to Facebook groups are identified by their post-er. It would be fairly easy to expel someone who posted answers and actually cheated. Instead Ryerson University is playing the “you aided academic dishonesty” card and going after the creator of the group.

I do understand why Ryerson is pursuing this though. They’re trying to make an example of Chris; set a precedent for any online collaboration in the future. Unfortunately the hearings are behind closed doors and we don’t know what kind of evidence the university has. His hearing was yesterday so the results should be available I would say at the latest next week.

Here’s the Ryerson University Student Code of Academic Conduct for anyone who would like to take a read.

Bonne chance, Chris! We’re rooting for you.
(Yeah, go ahead an accuse me of aiding and abetting academic dishonesty now!)

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 Posted by Danny at 12:32 pm

Voulez-vous coucher avec…

 Post-Secondary  No Responses »
Feb 292008
 

…mes parents?

Students in France are drawing attention to the issue of student housing. While on this side of the ocean it would probably consist of a Facebook group or two, they’re doing it [HA!] old school and using posters. Attention grabbing posters for sure:

(In case you’re not Frenchly inclined it says: “Some people pretend students don’t have a housing problem…Damien and Melanie, 22 and 21 years old, each live with their parents.”)

 Posted by Danny at 6:04 pm
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