I have been very quiet for quite some time. Today, however, inspired me to ponder a "technology in the classroom" question, so I decided to do so where others might offer some insight.
At what point does a student's class-generated ideas become intellectual property to be protected? Is an essay always theirs? Is there a point when it becomes "public domain?" I ask because I use Turnitin and have a parent who is concerned about privacy & intellectual property. I don't have any answers, as I've never considered this side of things. My intent with using Turnitin is to reduce accidental plagiarism in our easy-to-access-anything world. It is also to reinforce the value of finding your own ideas & your own voice. However, in using the site, students are submitting their information to the larger, potentially unprotected, world. Yet, they do just that whenever they blog or make a wiki or post on Facebook. What is the role of the school in the Web 2.0 era? Does the concern about privacy negate the value of the learning tool? Again, I have no answers, just a lot of questions.
Thoughts?
