After doing a web search on "intellectual property" using Netscape, I discovered a very helpful site, Technology Issues for Educators.   I was shocked when this page, the third page listed by the search, was from the CTER White Papers. The page included definitions of copyright and plagiarism, and under "Resources for Educator's", I discovered the Educator's Guide to Computer Crime and Technology Misuse which discusses the definition of technology misuse, and a Copyright Workshop.
 I found the page on Issues of Intellectual Property  interesting.  While I believe that our ideas are not actually property, I do feel that as educators we must teach our students to take information, process it ,and then communicate it to others uniquely.  The focus of this page is to encourage teachers to challenge their students with the idea of creating something new and how to avoid using someone else's ideas instead of your own.

The use of internet in writing research papers makes plagiarism difficult  for teachers to discover.  In order to help eliminate plagiarized text, students at the elementary level need to learn the seriousness of stealing other's work and how to cite electronic resources(for use with older students). This can be done if we, as teachers, are careful to monitor students while on the web and to teach them how to avoid plagiarizing material.  When my students write using encyclopedias or other reference books, we practice reading for content and then cover up the work to paraphrase in our own words.  This practice can also be used when students use the internet.  I've developed a page to help students think about the text they are reading and how they will use that information to develop their own ideas.   This page is appropriate for 3rd-6th graders.  Students will need to know the meaning of: URL and where to look for "page created" or "page updated" information.  It is also important for teachers to continually practice this type of procedure throughout the year using many types of resources.   If we can instill in our young learners the need for independent thinking and unique creations, by the time students are in the high school setting they will be less likely to stray from these practices.

Teachers will need to check student work before continuing to the next step. Once students are good at paraphrasing the material from one source, they should practice taking information from all three sources and then create their own work combining information for a finished paper.
 
 

*You will probably want to teach students how to evaluate a web page before using the Internet Research Page. Try practicing web page evaluations using the WEBSmart page with your students first.  For more information on web page evaluation look here.
 

Student's Paper For Internet Research
 

page created June 14, 2000
E. Sanford email: lsanford@warpnet.net