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Message board > Answering plagiarisme
Answering plagiarisme
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s.lefevre
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Answering plagiarisme
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Hi everyone,
Once in a while, this matter comes up and people say that we can�t use pictures, texts exercises and so on. Why don�t you mention songs too?. We really don�t have the right to use songs either. But all this matters if you take financial advantage of something which is not our case. We are teachers, not designers, not writers. We adapt texts and pictures to make worksheets and to teach our students a foreign language. I have been collectiing images and texts for over 20 years and I�m unable to say where they come from. And I don�t think it�s important to say. " Look, the text isnt�mine. The picture isn�t mine" because I�m sure that everyone here knows that the pictures aren�t designed by me. But I put a lot of work , and so do most of my collegues, to organize texts and images, to make questions or discussions. I don�t need the comment " The picture isn�t mine, the text is adapted" all the time. I make comments when the autor of the worksheet made a nice one, creative or useful.
Someone has already said that we can use, I don�t remeber how many % of pasted texts, as you can when you photocopy something from a book. You can�t photocopy the whole book, but you have the right to photocopy some pages. The pictures on the internet are normally free and nowbody says that you have to tell the source every time you use one.
I hope you don�t think that I�m a thief, or something, but really this is my opinion. I would have to stop sending material because I don�t know how to draw and I�m not a specialist in all subjects I have submittet here.
Silvia
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30 Dec 2008
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libertybelle
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I agree with you Lefevre.
We�ve had this discussion before and most of us agree that we are not artists, we�re teachers. I, too have been collecting images, coloring book pictures, clip art, psp tubes and other images for many years and use them in the worksheets I make for my students.
Most of the images I have, never credit the artist anyway. I don�t think any coloring book I have, has ever named the artist!
I often re-write a text to fit the level of my class.
The images I use, are often used to help illustrate the questions and texts I write.
That�s my opinion.
L
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30 Dec 2008
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cheezels
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As far as I am aware the many resources we use we are allowed to use them as its for educational and non profit use. I think you can copy up to 10% of a book for educational use as well.. but I most likely am wrong it�s just a figure I heard some time ago and it stuck :-)
As long as you are using them in a classroom with students in an educational setting and not selling them, (pictures and text) then I am pretty sure it ok for most things)
There are some clip arts of course that you are meant to pay to access the site and to be able to use the pictures freely, these are the ones that have the logo or writing through the picture and I have to admit hate it when people use these as often you don�t see it on the preview until you have downloaded it. I never use these pictures as I teach adults and I would feel uncomfortable doing so as they can see that the pics are not meant to be used. SO I then have to spend ages finding new pics.
The only thing that I really care about here regarding copying is members who scan an activity straight from a book, copy all activities and pics directly from an educational resource (books and websites)and of course copy or take another members work. In the context of using these examples WITHOUT adding your own creative input in some way... (and I don�t mean by adding a border or a background!!!!)
Most people here seem to be honest and although everyday there seems to be at least one thing scanned or copied, thank goodness they are the minority!
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30 Dec 2008
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mena22
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 Good morning Silvia, Good morning Libertybelle!
A good morning to you all!
This is the link for the topic raised by damielle last night. I think it�s important because some of the important issues raised have been missed:
I completely agree with you Silvia and Libertybelle - we�re neither designers nor writers and we don�t have to be. That�s a fact! We all use clipart, most of us from google like Wolfy said, and they are almost considered public property because everybody uses them. But some cliparts, even the free ones in the sites I referred to last night, require that you give credit to the author and in this particular case I think there is no doubt that we must write the source in our worksheets.
As for the texts, I think we should write the source, should give credit to the author, unless we have written it. If we adapt a text, well, we should say so - In.... (adapted) or (abridged and adapted), whatever. If we don�t remember the source, we can always tell that to people in the Description of the worksheet.
As you�ve said, most people know that we didn�t design the pictures... and as we find it so obvious, we don�t think it is necessary to give the source. If we did, I mean, if we designed the pictures ourselves, I�m sure we all would say that because it is so unusual. I know I would!
With the texts, I�m afraid it doesn�t work like that, in fact I believe it�s the opposite - it�s not that uncommon to see texts written by the users and texts in journals, magazines, articles , websites, etc. always come with the source, so we expect to see it.
When we see a text without a source, we assume it was written by the person who presented it. And I find it very frustrating to start reading a text I was led to believe it was written by that person just to come to the conclusion that indeed it wasn�t, I had already seen it some place else.
That�s the site damielle posted last night on plagiarism -
A wonderful day to you all!
mena
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30 Dec 2008
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mena22
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Good morning to you too Cheezels! When I started writing you weren�t there yet. |
30 Dec 2008
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customer
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I didn�t think it was a problem to use a picture with its logo or writing on it- I just gave the thing a different interpretation (in an educational context, obviously). I thought it was a form of advertising you have to "pay" because you don�t pay using money. Am I so wrong, or naive?
Anyway, |
30 Dec 2008
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Damielle
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Good morning everybody,
I have posted that topic and mena has sumarized the whole conversation very well. Now I have read your contributions and I agree with you to a certain extent.
I have started the discussion because I have been studying the topic of "plagiarism" in the frame of a copyright course and then, seeing several worksheets where their authors took texts straight from the Internet without mentioning the "http" or their author, I began wondering about the correctness of that action.
I have seen the reaction of some contributors when they saw that their worsheets were "recycled" without giving credit to them. And I can guess that the original author of that copied and pasted text may have the same reaction. I hope you get my point: I�m not thinking about the legal issue at the moment, I�m more interested in the... let�s say... affective/moral issue(??).
I�m not critizing anybody. I�m just raising the issue here to talk about it. I know it�s difficult to quote everything because we have some material stored in our computers without knowing the source, but regarding texts taken from the Net, it�s easier to search the original setting and get the source.
Anyways, it�s up to any of you to do it.I also posted about plagiarism because I also wanted to share this site about it which is an issue highly considered at university level:
It�s a kind of contribution to our enlightment because I know that some members are considering to publish handouts or books or have sites and they also have to consider this stuff.
Damielle |
30 Dec 2008
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