Comments on: Turnitin and Copyright Protection: Worse Than the Disease?

By: Diane

Diane — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 15:08:13 +0000

What I find interesting about turnitin.com is that school are using as judge, jury and exectioner rather than a teaching tool. If a kid turns in a paper on a topic with limited sources available - something new in the news for example - his or her paper could be compared to 100 papers by students on the same topic and found to be 100% plagiarized - 1% per paper.
For more see http://www.powertolearn.com/articles/parenting_with_technology/article.shtml?ID=47

By: Rose

Rose — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 20:43:48 +0000

Ah, Marcel. On another blog you posted as “anonymous,” stating the same thing: that “the student who initiated this whole scam lawsuit is a D level student.” Maybe you are referring to one of the Tempe, Arizona students who are among the four student plaintiffs. I have no knowledge about them (I doubt you do either.” I am well acquainted with the seven McLean High School seniors who created the Committee for Students’ Rights in opposition to the school’s mandatory Turnitin policy, the group that started the petition against the policy (signed by the majority of the student body). None of them are plaintiffs in the lawsuit because, in the face of their opposition, the principal decided to make Turnitin mandatory only for freshmen and sophomores. So at least the two plaintiffs from McLean are underclassmen. I know all of the original senior committee members to be very good students, none of them “D-level,” and it is my understanding that the two plaintiff students (unnamed in the complaint because they are minors) are excellent students as well. The students have not sued because they want to be able to cheat. And, while Turnitin sometimes says that you can opt out of having your paper archived, in practice they refuse to delete student papers from the database when asked. Many people (you included) seem to be ignorant (your word) to the fact that numerous educators have tested the Tuntin system and found it really doesn’t work — read the Business Week Online article from early April. In fact, a little more research into the whole issue, along with a reading of the complaint, might help you. A very good, informative website to check out is: donturnitin.com. You have been disparaging this mythical “D-level” student all over the blogospere. Please stop. You don’t know what you’re talking about.

By: Mike

Mike — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 01:14:28 +0000

@Tim: according to the lawsuit, these students specifically did not consent. So Turnitin either made a mistake - in which case they are liable - or purposely ignored the lack of consent - in which case they’re in bigger trouble - or the complaint is incorrect, in which case Turnitin will almost certainly win, possibly even winning their attorneys fees.

@marcel: Even according to Turnitin’s website, 70% of the papers they receive have no problem. So if Turnitin steals the original work of those students for its own economic gain, aren’t they part of the problem rather than the solution?

And as far as your “D-student” allegation goes, at least one of those kids claims to be an A-student. Your statement to the contrary could be considered defamation against them.

By: Paul

Paul — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 23:58:00 +0000

That’s a load of garbage, Tim. You call that a CHOICE? Hmm, let me see, students must either sign the contract, or they can CHOOSE to get an “F” on every paper or “find another school.” Great options there, Timmeh! This is a classic case of undue influence to coerce students into involuntarily ceding their intellectual property rights–under duress–to a profiteering, corporate giant. The corporate giant propers to the tune of $20,000,000-$100,000,000 (John Barrie recently admitted that Turnitin’s business DOUBLES every 12 months) in revenue per year off the backs of MINORS, while the students do not get a PENNY in compensation for their time, reources, or douments. Hmmm, sounds like indentured servitude to me!

By: marcel

marcel — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 22:34:40 +0000

Can you copyright something you stole from someone else? No. Based on several studies and interviews with instructors, cut and paste plagiarism is rampant in education. In some countries, it is perfectly accepted.

If Turnitin was used as designed, as a teaching tool, allowing the students to do a self-check of their papers, this lawsuit probably never would have happened. Many users are not aware that you can opt out of having your paper submitted to the database for archiving purposes. Most people are ignorant to the fact that a large percentage of the student papers that are submitted consist of words and ideas taken from other authors without proper citation or acknowledgment. The student that initiated this whole scam lawsuit is a D level student. Do you think it is fair to the honest, hardworking students when the cheaters get better grades on papers by using what someone else wrote? Wake up people!!

By: tim

tim — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 22:32:31 +0000

Students DO consent to their papers being submitted to Turnitin.com. We are all required to have a full legal thing about it on all our syllabi, before the semester starts, so students can elect whether or not to take a class knowing their work is checked against and submitted to turnitin.com.