revolutionizeed:

…a student is given plenty of time to do research and create a timeline of 10 events with details but yet they decide to completely copy an entire timeline of 29 events from a website. Completely plagiarized and didn’t even try to change anything.

It frustrates me because…

I have students create a timeline of the 10 most important events in information technology from their chapter. It requires thinking. I do think that this student should be held accountable. Often, calling students on plagiarism teaches a valuable lesson they never forget. Students (like many humans) will often try to get away with the least amount of work possible. However, when he realizes that you are holding him accountable, it can create a great teachable moment. There are ways to make sure this student does learn from his mistake and learn what you’re trying to teach but it is very frustrating when this happens. I had a student copy from another’s efolio and didn’t even fix the links. Honesty is honesty and when we find dishonesty, we must know that it is only a fraction of what is actually happening. Beware because everyone’s watching and everyone’s telling. Be fair but be on top of such issues. Good luck, this is a tough one - I’ve had to deal with it myself. I do not believe that a student copying work means that the assignment is somehow flawed but I do think that there should be several assignments each year that require putting information together in a unique way that makes it impossible to copy. (Like we do on Flat Classroom and NetGenEd.)

We are interdependent on this planet.This is no surprise that they are finding that the pollution in China and India are affecting the climate elsewhere - like here in the US. When I went to Beijing last year, I came home and my hair started falling out. I wasn’t sure if it was related but I did find the correlation suspicious.

We’ve seen this for years - we would outlaw chemicals that my Dad could use on his US based farm only for grocery stores to start buying produce and crops grown in other countries with that very same chemical used on the crops. This inconsistency not only hurts the US economy but in the long run hurts the world. We need to be responsible stewards of our planet.

June 5 is “World Environment Day” - a day when you encourage and help students take action to promote a sustainable planet. Here are some lesson plans if you don’t know what to do. This is an important topic. With summer coming up in the northern hemisphere - taking time to review recycling guidelines and ways students can help the environment is a great idea.

In this article from the New York Times, they point out that Public School 31 had near perfect math scores. Some teachers are anonymously speaking out that there are glaring differences between children’s in-class performance and their performance on the tests. (A pat on the back for these ethical educators who are blowing the whistle. I know it is hard but it is the right thing to do. They probably also know about other places where the teachers are blamed for cheating. If you’re a teacher in a school that is cheating on the test - the blame often goes to the teacher so beware.)

There is no excuse. Are schools going to have to start testing each others kids? We must be ethical and trustworthy when we administer tests. Do you realize what will happen if this continues? We’ll not only be buying tests but also test administrators to be sent from companies to keep tests “fair.” We’re going to have to have auditors because we have dishonest educators. Those who cheat should think twice. I know there are high stakes and it means money in your pocket, however, there are more important things than money: personal integrity is one of them.

Two Brooklyn Schools Examined for Cheating – SchoolBook http://bit.ly/KFOe4C

Those who work with kids with special needs will appreciate this organized list of resources that you can use with students. Bev Evans, one of the lead curators, is a teacher and Mom with a heart for kids with special needs. Her special touch of empathy for teachers and students comes through in everything she does.