Term

Robert Riedmann 6/6/1999

Term Paper for CIS 178 Internet Literacy

Dueling -Teachers and Students

Term papers, much like this one. The new threat of technology. A term paper. Who would have ever guessed that the oldest tool for educating and introducing thefundamentals of learning would end up as a symbol of how technology can undermine education unwittingly. In the ever advancing technological world we live in who wouldhave thought that the very tool that was supposed to lead us into a new age of information and heightened awareness has now been twisted into a tool for cheating the system

Students have evolved in so many ways. The word processor is now considered to be a necessity for any junior High student. A computer with Internet access is the ultimate learning tool and a great replacement for the encyclopedia. We have obtained the ability to give kids the tools to learn almost everything there is to learn. The very idea that our children can use the computer to speak in real time or have an e-mail dialogue with other students or educators halfway across the world gives us a ounce unattainable amount of access to information. People have the notion, true or not that if they don't give there kids the best tool of our time then they might end up stunted in some way or unable to perform in this high-tech and demanding adult world that we can all see happening before our very eyes.

Has the pressure to perform clouded the ultimate goal? Are the students no matter what level seeing what the parents are seeing that to succeed overcomes the actual goal of learning. I learned a great statement in a Latin class I took in high school. Non scholae sed vita et discumus. Translation; Not for school do we learn but for life. I have never forgotten that. I believe that the realization I had upon understanding that statement gave me the awareness to understand why I was learning at all. Students are now taking steps to overcome the pressure and inadvertently learning a new behavior along with it, dishonesty.

Cheating is not something new. It is becoming a more frequent and widespread problem with the onset of todays pressure and the availability of these new technologies students are taken the easy way out. It probably seems harmless enough. The real danger is hiding in the long-term pattern and the implications it has on the entire education system. No one wants there doctor to have cheated on the test.

Looking over someone's shoulder has new meaning in todays world. The notes being passed and the writing on the forearm are a thing of the past. Now students are able to use Alphanumeric pagers, Scientific programmable Calculators, and of course the Internet. It is possible to retrieve information as well as send it at the blink of an eye and the young people of are time are way more aware of it then most of the older generation. I would have to say that most people know that the technologies exist but have not really thought of the potential of many of the latest Lifesavers that have been created in the past few years. These kids have.

It is happening all across the globe. Students are hacking into school computers and changing grades. Faxing the answers to last nights take home test to the entire class right before the bus is supposed to pick up is pretty easy to. Students have at their beckon call the ability to download papers from several term paper clearing houses. Papers can be purchased or you can get into a chat room or newsgroup about the subject and attempt a trade. Post a request on bulletin boards. getting a paper is not difficult. Some get caught. How many do not? It is merely by the vigilance of some faithful teachers that these incidents are discovered and reported.

The students see these opportunities as a way at getting back at teachers for making them do the paper at all. It could be easy for a student to see having to write a paper about the Dark ages as a frivolous waste of time especially when they have important programming to attend to. They might not see the value in learning how to obtain information and form it into a good old fashioned term paper. So one is found and hopefully the teacher is not Internet literate enough or just does not care that much to notice that the paper was turned in by a student last term that was very similar. It is a different matter when attempting to size up an instructor. Students are so determined to take the easy way out that they will not bother to hide the fact that the stolen or purchased text is just as available to them as it is to the teachers.

Schools across the nation and world are creating new techniques that will eliminate theneed for these term paper clearing houses. Having a situation where the student is required to turn in outlines and rough drafts over the course of a term. Requiring verbal discussion with the instructor or the entire class about the topic. giving students in class essay tests where they are allowed to compile the information and references and are required to assemble the paper in front of the teacher. The education system is scrambling to find answers. From the public elementary schools to the highest levels of education this problem must be addressed effectively soon or it will take its toll and erode the ability of teachers to accomplish the daunting task of teaching the masses.

It is for life that we learn. My mother would not let me use a calculator to do math until a teacher informed her of the difficulty of figuring sin and cosine on paper. I am able to do lengthy math problems in my head to this day. I do not believe that we should deprive our kids of the modern tools that enable our society to be what it is today but we might want to consider how our children are using these technologies and what the ease of using these technologies is teaching our children.

Bibliography

Bushweller, Kevin(1999). Digital Deception. American School Board Association

Journal(online). June, 1999. 1page.

Available: http://Electronicschool.com/199903/0399f2.html [June 6,1999]

Eison, James(1998). Thriving in Academe. NEA:Higher education Advocate Online,

June, 1998 1page.

Available: http://www.nea.org/he/head9697/advo9806/thriving.html [June 6,1999]

Inerst, Carol,(1998). Universities Retreating, War On Cheating. Washington

Times.January29, 1998. 1 page

Available: http://www.ncpa.org/pi/edu/jan98o.html [June 6, 1999]

Silverman, Julia(1996). Website Lets Students Download Papers. The Brown Daily

Herald Inc. (online) October 7, 1996. 1page.