Dealing with Plagiarism

....Copyright laws protect all intellectual property. As of April 1, 1989 all private, original creations are copyrighted and protected regardless of whether it carries a notice or not.

     Educational institutions get a bit of leeway when materials are used for non-profit educational classroom purposes. This provision (Sec. 107 of Copyright Act) is known as Fair Use. This ruling applies not only to digital copying, but to all use in all forms of copyrighted materials in America's classrooms.

     Two specific points to keep in mind before reading further: 1) When school work by teacher or student is posted on the Internet, Fair Use provisions do not apply; all copyright laws must be followed. 2) Your student essays, PowerPoint projects, and such are copyrighted to them; teachers must get student permissions to use their original works in future classes as prototypes or demonstrations for similar activities.
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What is “fair use”?

Sec. 107 of the Fair Use Provision of the Copyright Act states:

 

“Limitations on exclusive right:  Fair use.  Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright.”
 Quote source:
Library of Congress. (2001) Copyright Law of the United States. Retrieved Jan. 09, 2003, from US Government: http://www.loc.gov/copyright/title17/circ92.pdf . p 16
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Limitations on Size
Motion Media
  • Up to 10% or 3 minutes
  • An entire poem of less than 250 words,
  • 250 maximum excerpt of longer poem,
  • 3 poems maximum per poet
  • Five poems maximum from an anthology
Music, Lyrics, and Music Video:

Up to 10% but no more than 30 seconds of music and lyrics from a single workAlterations shall not change the basic melody
Illustrations and Photographs:

A photograph or illustration may be used in its entiretyNo more than 5 images by an artist or photographerNot more than 10% or 15 images, whichever is less, from a single published collected work
Copying and Distribution Limitations

Including the original, only a limited number of copies may be made of a project: Two use copies, one of which may be placed on reserve. An additional copy for preservation to be used or copied only to replace a use copy that has been lost, stolen, or damaged. For jointly created projects, each principal creator may retain one copy but only as permitted by use and time restraints previously outlined.
 Acknowledgement:

Credit the sources and display the copyright notice © and copyright ownership information for all incorporated works including those prepared under fair use.Copyright ownership information includes: © (the copyright notice), year of first publication, name of the copyright holder
Notice of Use Restrictions:
The opening screen must give this notice: 
  • ..Certain materials are included under the fair use exemption of the U.S. Copyright Law
  • ..Materials are included in accordance with the multimedia fair use guidelines
  • .Materials are restricted from further use.
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Dealing with Internet Plagiarism
The ease of copy/paste and the difficulty for a teacher of finding the original source makes Internet Plagiarism an irresistible attraction to some students. We must be ever vigilant and begin on Day One to remind students the importance of intellectual property and ethical research. 
“Regarding advice on avoiding plagiarism: it's best to approach it as an issue of fair use and intellectual property. A discussion about the ways people use (and acknowledge) one another's ideas is better than an ex cathedra ‘Don't Plagiarize’ rule. When presented as a ‘rule,’ it gets relegated to the list of other rules (use one-inch margins, put commas between items in a list) and students are genuinely surprised when violation carries a stiffer penalty than the other rules!”
Leland, Bruce. (1999, November 26). Plagiarism and the Web. Plagiarism and the Web. Retrieved April 20, 2002, from www.wiu.edu/users/mfbhl/wiu/plagiarism.htm
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Some Steps to Combat Plagiarism
  • Define it directly to students early in the school year. Make it clear that plagiarism includes the unreferenced borrowing of IDEAS as well as words. Many students incorrectly believe they can paraphrase an original idea to avoid plagiarism.
  • Distinguish common knowledge from quotable information
  • Make plagiarism one of your classroom poster themes. Post a definition. Post the penalties

  • When doing research, instruct students on how to write footnotes and a bibliography and make it a critical part of the assignment

  • Show students how to capture their Web sources along with their Web information for proper referencing during the research process. Require students to create a Works Cited document to accompany any Internet research

  • Get to know your students’ writing abilities by assigning at least one in-class essay before assigning outside writing

  • On the deadline day, collect papers then have students write an in-class 200-word summary of their essay or research content. Call it the preface. Collect it and use it if necessary
  • Give research topics that require synthesis. This makes it difficult to paste from one site. EX: Compare the economy of China to the economy of the United States
  • Ask students to relate the research to themselves. EX: What does the dying rain forest mean to me?
  • Convert the research into original PowerPoint presentations
  • Many free essay sites exist. Inform students that you are aware of these sites and that you check them when you suspect plagiarism
  • Create a common-practice procedure for testing the authenticity of students' work if plagiarism is suspected. Inform students in advance of this procedure: EX: Give a brief oral quiz on the content, a quiz on the vocabulary used, a partial rewrite. Full awareness of this common-practice authenticity test will hopefully mollify any ill feelings or hostility if a student is called to defend his work
  • If you suspect plagiarism, enter a suspect sentence into a Search Engine. Use quotation marks around the sentence and the search will look for exact matches. Use several search engines. If you find nothing, but still suspect plagiarism, you may submit the suspect essay or report free to www.turnitin.com
  • If your school pays for full access to www.turnitin.com, you can submit class sets of essays and reports. Have students bring their finished work on paper and on a disk
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Suggested Readings and Links:
Getting Permission

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