I will start with an
easy question: has the internet changed the demeanour of plagiarism? The answer
is ‘yes, of course’. The scope of the seduction online and the ease by which it
can be committed have skyrocketed. Motive and method seem to be written in the
internet’s charter. And isn’t eLearning playing into its hand? Aren't we like
the car owners of some countries who could get fined for not locking our car,
luring guileless car thieves?
So let me pose a
second, more difficult question: has the internet changed the essence of
plagiarism?
If you are one of the
many educators who have a clear stance on the issue, taking plagiarism to be theft,
a crime, and antonym of learning, your answer will be no. But here’s a
challenge: hasn’t the time come for plagiarism to be overhauled?
Let’s consider first the consequences of the increase
of sources from which one can copy. We are not talking simple addition here, it’s
exponential. Doesn’t the mere number of available texts make plagiarism unavoidable?
There are after all only so many ways one can express an idea or fact. Some
time back I visited a well-built site for primary school students, full of colours,
images, texts and a page explaining plagiarism. I forgot which animal was used
as an example, but let’s say it was a leopard. The ‘plagiarized’ text went
along the lines: “the leopard is the smallest of the four big cats”[1]. ‘Wait a moment’, I
remember thinking, ‘can a simple statement of a general fact be called plagiarism?’
The aims and objectives
of teaching and their relation to learning styles is more material for discussion.
Traditionally, education has favoured - to say the least - the verbal style.
Knowing something was basically knowing how to write about that something. Little
luck for those students who knew but could not fluently express themselves by
words. With its seamless integration of multimedia, a learning platform can
remedy this one sidedness and evaluate knowledge acquisition in creative ways.
Another strong
argument against an all too strict ruling by plagiarism could be made by the
social construction of knowledge.
Alas, one could object,
will creative writing not be the unwarranted victim of plagiarism’s overhaul? I
doubt it. More people are writing and being read on the internet then ever
before. Although their essays are not being corrected by a teacher, their
number of readers is probably as effective a style marker.
