Design Re-education Campaigns

Too often, students and teachers “don't realize that the same rules that cover print, recordings, and videotape also apply to computer software and Internet sites.” (Hardy, 1998). As a result, they will copy images and text from the Internet and then use them illegally.

“Students can also be involved in unintentional academic dishonesty because they do not understand the rules of documentation or collaboration. They also see other people doing things wrong, don’t understand the behavior is wrong, and then repeat the behavior.” (Berg, 2004)

We need to realize that our students are often speaking the truth when they tell us that they thought that something was ethical because that is what they did in high school, another class, and so forth. Much of the education we do with students is actually re-education. We must help them unlearn incorrect information before they learn the correct material.

References and Resources

Hardy, Lawrence. “Copyright in the Cyber Age.” June 1998. Electronic School.

Steven L. Berg, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of English and History
Schoolcraft College, 18600 Haggerty
Livonia, MI 48152
734-462-4400
sberg@schoolcraft.edu

This page was last updated on 4 November 2007.