Tech News on G4The technology of cheatingMarch 19, 2008By Adam Swimmer - G4 Canada |
back to -|- Tech News index -|- Adam Swimmer column archive -|- Send Us Your Feedback |
|
|
Well, Facebook has been getting a lot of flack, recently. First, it was turning its users into possible targets of al-Qaida and now it is being used to cheat in university. We have certainly come a long from my days in school. Back then, if we wanted to copy each other's homework, we'd have to do it in person. We'd borrow it over lunch or in an earlier class. Maybe we'd buy the odd paper, but we couldn't just go online and find the answer. It was a simpler time that required much more legwork. If you're not familiar with the story, 18-year-old Ryerson student Chris Avenir became the administrator of the Facebook study group Dungeons/Mastering Chemistry to help him and other students with their chemistry homework. The group encouraged users to post solutions to chemistry problems. When one of Avenir's teachers found the site, he gave the student an F and charged him with academic misconduct and was threatened with expulsion. Avenir claims the group is no different than any other study group and was confident he'd win his hearing, which, in fact, he did, sort of. Many joined his cause. Other students set up a variety of groups of support, from chrisdidntcheat.com to another Facebook group. You can even buy t-shirts and other merchandise from CafePress.com. Nothing shows solidarity like consumerism! Avenir's argument was an interesting one. Certainly, using a posted chemistry solution is not the same as handing in someone else's essay as your own work. It's not exactly plagiarism. Aside from the fact that plagiarism has to be the "unauthorized use" of another author's work, and by posting the solutions they are implicitly given permission for use. But we are talking chemistry – math, essentially. Short of developing a new proof, a given chemistry problem would only have a couple of solutions. So the solutions themselves are too commonplace to continue to have any kind of copyright or trademark – kind of like Aspirin. And it wasn't happening during an exam so you could argue it's just studying. Or at least that it's no worse than any other "homework help" that students have been doing for centuries. And so by that token, perhaps we should all be expelled. Though. I imagine the real complaint was one of scale. Whereas your average study group might have about a half a dozen people in it, the Dungeons/Mastering Chemistry group, thanks to the power of the Internet, was used by 147 students. Granted, Avenir will now pass the course, but since the study group provided solutions to course work that made up 10 per cent of the final grade, he is to be give zero on that portion. And he must attend a workshop on academic integrity. So it's a warning. I guess Ryerson is worried that in the future other such groups could start popping up and reach out to thousands and bring the whole notion of academic excellence into disrepute. But then again, it could really help the school's curve. |
|
| Related Articles |
· G4 Press Release Index
· Interact
· Advertising Information
About G4 in Canada
G4 Canada (formerly TechTV Canada) launched in September 2001. G4 is the one and only television station that is plugged into every dimension of games, gear, gadgets and gigabytes. Owned Rogers Media Inc., the channel airs more than 24 original series. G4 is available on digital cable and satellite. For more information, see www.g4tv.ca.