The perils the plagiarist

As sure as the sun rises, kids are going to get caught by deadlines, and some of them are going plagiarize. By way of Stephen Abram's excellent blog Stephen's Lighthouse, comes a funny and fabulous anti-plagiarism video from Germany. Some sketchy sexuality kicks it out of the high school classroom and firmly into the college realm, but boy, does it get the point across with humor and relevant references to popular culture.




Helping students avoid plagiarism has to be part of our mission as librarians and information specialists. In addition to an academic honesty contract every student signs, our school also has a TurnItIn account which is a very efficient filter that puts kids on notice that their work is being checked. When I collaborate with teachers in planning research and multi-media activities I advocate (strongly) for the use of NoodleTools. This (surprisingly affordable) platform allows teachers to set deadlines for citations, notecards and outlines so students can't so easily miss deadlines and fall behind. I can check student sources and make recommendations. Interacting directly with students during their research process allows me to intervene and support students when necessary, and also support the teacher with expertise that may not be part of their content area or skill set.

In a recent project it was apparent that, despite admonitions that Wikipedia would not be allowed as a source it was being heavily cited. I discussed it with the teacher and worked with the class on how to check Wikipedia articles for recent changes and the history tabs to evaluate discussions around the content. We also talked about "mining" articles for scholarly sources that are appropriate for academic work. The citation process became a robust platform for teaching source evaluation, and students were engaging more critically with content. Their notes became more meaningful with sources they had spent time evaluating. And they were meeting deadlines. It was also really nice to be using Wikipedia constructively. Like Google, it needs to be explicitly taught and added to student's information toolbox.

Anything we can do to give our students and teachers the tools to avoid plagiarism is worth it - and that may include producing an in-house adaptation (sans sketchy sex) of this wonderful video. With proper credit, of course ;)

YouTube - Et Plagieringseventyr
Photo credit: R. Cicchetti

The problem with paper

It really came home to me for the first time that the paper format was holding me back. I just finished reading Born Digital: Understanding the first generation of digital natives, by John Palfrey and Urs Gasser.

The problem isn't the book, which I really liked (my GoodReads review). The problem is the post-it notes. This book had so much original research and concepts so eloquently developed that I ended up with over 40 post-it notes that I now need to go back and review.

If this were a digital text I could have been using Diigo to highlight and annotate the whole time. From Diigo I could share with a group, like HS Librarians, and see what others had to say, discussing ideas and their application to school libraries with my professional peers. I could export my notes to NoodleTools for organizing for future reference if I want to write a grant or article. As it stands now, I will end up re-typing passages into NoodleTools. What a waste of time. (It also needs to be pointed out that if I had a reading disability I would be unable to access this text because paper has no text-to-speech option, and it isn't available in audio format.)

Research, investigation and inquiry tend to be solitary endeavors. This no longer needs to be the case and,  by utilizing the symphony of free digital tools, we can offer a much richer experience, enhanced by collaborative networks and accessible to all learners, including those with disabilities.

After reading this book I have a much better understanding of our digital natives. They are very polite and patient with us, but for how much longer? Pretty soon they are going to start getting annoyed.

Back to School: 15 Essential Web Tools for Students

Watching students stagger out of CCHS with armloads of freshly issued textbooks, backpacks loaded with sports gear, musical instruments, and assorted bags, made me think of Sherpas bowed under their loads. They have to manage a lot. Schedules, classes, homework, activities, and all the stuff that goes along with these various commitments. There are free, web-based tools that can help them, and cut down on what they need to lug. Portable, accessible, and they won't get left behind on the bus or in the locker room.

However, it isn't just about making it easier for students. These tools will help build skills they will need in business, and in their lives as citizens of the 21st century. Collaborating, organizing, scheduling, time management, creating, publishing, and communicating with co-workers from around the world are important , and can be introduced through many of these applications.

Stay Organized:

• NoodleTools - A fantastic note taking and citation tool that keeps getting better and better, and available for free through the CCHS Library Learning Commons website. Every student should have an account. This is heavily used during research projects, and is also a great tool for writing assignment.
  
• Evernote is so cool everyone should play with it. You can synch notes between the web, your phone and any computer. It handles multiple media formats and is available via mobile apps (think cell phones).
  
• Notely is an organizational suite of services that allows kids to manage their calendar, assignments, note taking tools, and more. Very friendly and intuitive.
  
• GradeMate is another online student organizer. I had never heard of this one, but it looks pretty good, too.
  
• Backpack was designed for businesses, and also offers really robust organizational capabilities. I consider this one to be over-kill for your typical high school student.
  

Study Better:

• Diigo is something I can't be rational about because I think it is one of the best bookmarking and organizational tools for the web I have ever seen. Reading web content, whether it is a website, a pdf file, or an online book, will never be the same. Highlighter, sticky notes, collaboration, tagging, they have it all.
  
• StudyRails was a new one for me. They describe their service as "an online study tool for effective study habits and homework management". Think of this as a personal tutor who schedules a student's study opportunities and blocks out potential digital distractions. It is not a free site, so I haven't tried it out.
  
• Delicious - "The tastiest bookmarks on the Web", is the leader in social bookmarking. I tried it but it didn't suit my needs or personal style, and yet I know many people for whom it is a way of life. I think students need as much focus as possible, and that is not what Delicious is about. Given its popularity though, they are clearly on to something.
  
• Mindmeister is for visual learners and offers collaborative online mind mapping. I believe many students would get a lot of benefit from using graphic organizers as part of their process. This looks like a good one.
  

Work and Collaborate:

• Google Docs should be a part of every student's academic tool box. Many schools have switched to Google Apps for Education just to roll out Google docs to students and staff. Why? It is a great tool for collaborating on documents, powerpoint presentations, and has a great forms feature. This allows for students to work together without having to sit next to each other. No carpooling! This link has a really good little video explaining Google docs.
  
• EtherPad - I saw this for the first time at a conference I attended over the summer and was very impressed. It is a web-based word processor that allows people to work together on the same document, at the same time. Wow! You can see the other person, wherever they might be, typing on the same screen as you, simultaneously. Businesses are using this for meetings and collaboration, but it is very user friendly.
  
• Sliderocket is really powerpoint on steroids. Web-based and accessible on any computer, on any operating platform, this tool allows you to build really stunning presentations online. Your work is username/password protected, and is stored in the cloud. Check out the little video tutorial. Cool, cool, cool.
  
• Wikispaces (Concord-Carlisle Wikispaces is the district account) is a collaborative platform students and parents will be seeing quite a bit of, as more teachers are launching online discussion forums. Wikis are the best for fast, quickly updated, easy to manage web pages. Wikipedia is the most famous wiki of them all. Did you know that wiki means "fast" or "hurry" in Hawaiian?
  

Citation:

• NoodleTools - Gotta come back to this gem of an application. Again, this is free via the Library webpage.
  
• CiteMe is a Facebook app (!) and works with WorldCat, the world's largest library catalog. I just added it to my Facebook page so I can mess around with it.
  
• EasyBib is very good. A lot of kids use this, but it doesn't have the note card and outline feature that I think makes NoodleTools better for research projects.
  
• Zotero turns people into evangelists. It is browser extension, and has a great track record.
  

The source for this post is Mashable, one of my favorite resources for information on emerging web tools and social media. I learned a lot from this post and played with some new tools. Thanks, Mashable!

ManagingBack to School: 15 Essential Web Tools for Students

Also from Mashable:
Back to School: Top 10 iPhone Apps for Students


Photo credit Flickr Creative Commons:

bright idea...

Uploaded on September 15, 2008
by maebeitsme

Super Researcher Girl!

Shazam! It is official. I now have super-powers beyond those of the average mortal. Harnessing the powers of Diigo, I can take notes on web pages (!) and collaborate and share with anyone in my research process.

I was playing around with Google Books (very cool) and found this article giving an overview of their platform. This is an area of interest for me, so using Diigo I have started a research project on e-books. You can see the link, the description I gave it, and then the tags I assigned the article. Below that you will find paragraphs I highlighted, and bulleted notes (brief) with my name. Go ahead and scan. I'll see you on the other end. You will recognize it is me again by the orange font ;)

• Inside Google Books: Download Over a Million Public Domain Books from Google Books in the Open EPUB Format

  (My short description of the article) Resources on public domain e-books.

  (My tags)tags: ebooks, epub, Free, books, digital books, Google Books

  • Before physical books were invented, thoughts were constrained by both space and time. It was difficult for humans to share their thoughts and feelings with a set of people too far from their physical location. Printed books changed that by allowing authors to record their experiences in a medium that could be shipped around the world. Similarly, the words written down could be preserved through time. The result was an explosion in collaboration and creativity. Via printed books, a 17th century physicist in Great Britain could build on the work of a 16th century Italian scholar.
    • The first step in global collaboration - post by rcicchetti
  • it can be difficult and costly to reproduce and transport the information that older physical books contain. Some can't afford these works. Others who might be able to afford to purchase them can't unless they can find a physical copy available for sale or loan. Some important books are so limited in quantity that one must fly around the world to find a copy. Access to other works is only available to those who attend certain universities or belong to certain organizations.
    • Barriers to access - post by rcicchetti
  • convert atoms from physical books into digital bits
    • New format - evolution. Same content. - post by rcicchetti
  • While atoms remain fairly expensive, digital bits are on a trend where they become ever cheaper to produce, transport, and store. For example, providing every student in a school district with a paper copy of Shakespeare's Hamlet might cost thousands of dollars. Yet if those same students already have cell phones, laptops, or access to the Internet, then they can access a digital copy of Hamlet for just a fraction of the cost.
    • Barriers to access - economics. The devices are expensive, though. For the poor, is a book still the most cost effective way to go? If books disappear will the poor be without free access to information? Digital bits are cheaper than atoms, but the cost of the device and access must also be figured in. - post by rcicchetti

Thanks for sticking with me so far! What I want you to notice is that my "rcicchetti" link is live and can take you to my Diigo page. I can invite others to participate in reading this article and taking notes along with me, collaborating as we go. This is an online discussion platform. There are lots of privacy feature, but I haven't set them up on my account, because I want it to be as open as possible at this point.

Cooler yet, I exported the whole thing to this blog with the click of the keypad! Versatile, powerful, collaborative - I haven't found the kryptonite for Diigo yet.

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Photo credit Flickr Creative Commons:

Shazam! - Series 1 ( DC Direct )

Uploaded on April 19, 2009
by Leandro [ Egon ]

Research Tools on Steroids - Wow!

It ain't your parents research project any more. New sources and formats for information call for new ways of searching, organizing and managing the research process. These tools are powerful, and they are (mostly) free. They will also blow your socks off.





This nine minute tutorial on Diigo is well worth the time, because Diigo is simply astounding. It helps manage Web content through web highlighting, sticky notes, tags, and sharing functions. Originally designed for professional researchers, it has found a key spot in education. I am switching over to Diigo for my own use. This is a tool that will help every type of learner.


yolink is an information literacy tool that "with a single click, searches through links and electronic documents for multiple terms and relationships and brings the information to you." What does this mean? This (free) browser add-on helps you do a deep web search, and assists the researcher in drilling deeply into his/her search results. This works with basic websites, e-books, pdf's, any web content. Think about your basic search on, let's say, explorers. A Google search will return millions of hits, so you refine it by adding a few more keywords. Now you narrowed your results to tens of thousands of hits. Instead of having to hit each link and look for your information, yolink finds it for you, splitting your screen, searching each page for your keywords and displaying the paragraphs with text including your keyword on the right screen. A students can quickly dig deeply through multiple webpages at a time and mine the web for information more efficiently. yolink also has bookmarking and notation capabilities, and findings can be exported to a citation tool. Which brings us to...


NoodleTools. yolink is working with NoodleTools on a partnership, and when they pen the agreement I will be singing from the rooftop of CCHS. This is not a free service, but CCHS has an account and every student should be using this for citation and note taking. The student is provided a scaffold for the entire research process, and their new outline feature is fantastic. I use this for my own research projects.

Does everything have to be technology based? Absolutely not. The 5 's of note taking remain the same.

The Cornell Note Taking system is ideal for recording lecture notes, and every student should be adept with this. Kids must be able to take notes by hand, and this is a great way to manage that process

1. Record. During the lecture, as many meaningful facts as possible are recorded.

2. Reduce. As soon after class as possible, ideas and facts are concisely summarized in the Recall Column. Summarizing clarifies meanings and relationships, reinforces continuity, and strengthens memory.

3. Recite. Most of the page is covered and the student tries to recall as much of the lecture as possible, using only what has been written in the Recall Column. This procedure helps to transfer the facts and ideas to the long term memory.

4. Reflect. The student's own opinion is distilled from the notes. This also has the effect of training the mind to find and categorize vital information, leading to more efficient memorization.

5. Review. The student reviews the notes briefly but regularly. Because of the highly condensed nature of the notes, the student remembers a significant amount of material.

So, how does a student know which tool to use, and when? Isn't this all overload? I don't think so. We all have many tools we use in managing our daily lives. In this age of abundant information students will require diverse tools to find, evaluate, and manage their information needs. Tools like Diigo, yolink and NoodleTools give students power and control in their learning, and I can't think of anything more exciting than that.

Diigo - This looks awesome!

Raw notes
Session 6A - Diigo
Backchannel - http://www.chatzy.com/249805195486
Dr. Wade Ren, Chairman and Founder of Diigo

Diigo tutorials
Educator's Overview of Diigo
YouTube - Diigo Social Bookmarking
Importing tags bookmarks to Diigo tutorial
Diigo Help Center

Pressing need for change in education, and change is more readily available than ever before. Sneak peek at Diigo 4.0 release in 2 weeks.

• designed for knowledge workers, suprised at educator enthusiasmideally suited for 21st century learning (Diigo in education: active/collaborative reading and research)
  
• follow on session Thurs 4:30-5:30 Charles River Room/ Fri 11:30 - 12:30 Beacon Hill (building learning communities with Diigo)

Lots of recommendations from educational organizations including ALA. Good educator comments. Creates a personal workflow. Turns reading and research into social activity for students.

Diigo is about:

• Research
• Share
• Collaborate

Good as personal tool, but rich social aspect. Knowledge sharing community.
Resrach

• collect
• process
• organize
• evaluate
• present

Using

• bookmarks
• highlight and sticky note

Diigo bookmarks - not your good old bookmarks
Using Diigo toolbar click bookmark w/ privacy settings, description, tags, snashot, twitter, add to a list. Bookmark goes to "my library" and is searchable by tags, easily organized by rich tagging functionalities. Tag searching has auto-suggest to make searching quick. Also shows related tags. Tagged items also have RSS output so you can subscribe to someone's book mark tags. Follow leaders in the field. Archives and takes snapshot of page so if URL goes bad you still have that page snapshot.You can upload pages from proprietary sources. Can search by snapshot.

My Lists - private or public for collaboration. Can Twitter lists too.
Dragging/dropping generates links into clean report.
Can play as slide show called webslides > plays webpages as slideshow. slideshow can include sticky notes.

Highlight & Sticky Notes

• highlight pen for text and images. They go to My Library .
  
• Sticky note #1 attached to highlight. Note can be private or public, group specific notes
• Sticky note#2 floating reminders (ex. password info)
• sharing annotated link - gives url so anyone can open page with your axact annotattion. Don't need Diigo add ons. Receiver can sign in and add annotations, or url can be Twittered or emailed to unlimited audience.
  

Overview of capabilities:

• Active reading
• organize, archive and search
• share, report, present
• anywhere
• iPhone app coming

Sharing - as in networked sharing/learning, building learning communities and building personal learning network - social networking
My Library > Popular > popular resources on your chosen topic. Quick path to top resources, more efficient than Google, tells you who the people are who are bookmarking this topic so you can identify gurus in this field and then follow them via RSS, as well as groups that are interested in your topic. Valenza mentioned library groups to join. You can invite people to join/create a discussion on your topic. COOL.

Building Personal Learning Network w/ Diigo 4.0

• find people creating great stuff and follow. Richer info than Twitter, no text limit. Create threaded discussion.

Collaboration > Bookmarks > Topics

• collaborate reading & research
• group knowledge repository

Bookmark & Topic functions
Bookmark all group links w/ highlights and sticky notes for group use. Intentonal sharing, less intrusive than emailing links. Could be used as background knowledge for team. Group can comment, use or archive. Manages collected research effort of the group.

Group specific sticky notes for threaded discussion.

Diigo Educator Accounts
Once approved as educator you can create student accounts without student emails. Can upload roster list.
No profiles for students under 13. Only education related ads. Hoping to create dedicated school environment on Diigo. Seeking feedback.

Diigo in Education
Active Reading

• personal tool
• teacher-led q & a
• discussion using sticky notes

Tools for teachers

• comment on original work
• critique student writing
• web quests

Research

• project-based
• class-based