niche

Lauren Kanzler

Professor Moody

13 April 2010

Niche

Topic: Was it was easier for students of higher education to plagiarize before the use of computers or now?

Move 1: This topic is important because plagiarism is such a big issue on college campuses. With the awful consequences of plagiarism including, failing, expulsion or in some cases the taking away of degrees, I think it is important to give students a history of how students plagiarized before computers and how they do it now. I also wanted them to look at plagiarism in a different way, as something that has always been done but was, as I’m arguing, easier before the use of computers in higher education. I will be using research done by Sebastian Niezgoda and Thomas P. Way, which describes plagiarism and talks about how plagiarism detection was done before computers and how it works now that computers are being used in higher education. I will also be reviewing a survey done by Patrick M. Scanlon and David R. Neumann which shows how many students plagiarize, how many get caught and how many think that it is wrong to do so.

Move 2: I think that my niche would be that most people would argue the opposite of what I will argue. Most people would say that it is easier to plagiarize with the use of computers because of the copious amounts of sources available on the Internet a student can copy from. I will argue that even though there are more sources for students to copy from now the use of plagiarism detection programs are fairly successful at detecting copying. Before computers professors had to manually check papers for plagiarism and the only way to catch it was if the professor had read those particular words before in a book or in another students paper. I will argue that this made it easier to plagiarize because no matter how well read a professor was a student could have paid someone else to write a paper for them, turn in something that they have already turned in, or turn in something that another student has already used, and the professor has no way of knowing it was plagiarized.

Move 3:

Step 1: The purpose of this paper is to persuade people that plagiarism was easier before the use of computers in higher education.

Step 2: After reading this paper I believe that a reader will be convinced that plagiarism was easier before the use of computers. I will use the research I have gathered along with some of my own assumptions to structure my argument.

Step 3: In order to effectively get my point across I will start my paper by stating my topic and establishing my point of view. I will than give research about plagiarism before the use of computers, plagiarism after the use of computers and statistics about how often students plagiarize (all information which backs up my point.) I will then conclude my paper and tell readers why they should side with me in this argument.

Types of Argument

I think that my argument about how computers have made it more difficult for college students to plagiarize would fall into the category of a factual and a casual argument. Chapter 7 of Everything’s an Argument states that in writing a factual argument “a writer first notes something new or different or mistaken and wants to draw attention to that fact.”(Pg. 182) My Core 4 is a factual argument in the aspect that I found information on a topic that had not been questioned. Most of the research I found was about plagiarism in the age of computers and I found no studies on whether computers helped or hindered the ease of plagiarism. That is why I decided to argue my topic, because it had not been talked about before. Finding information about computers before the use of computers and after the use of computers helped me become educated in this particular field and then lead me to draw my own conclusions. “You need to identify an issue or problem that may already have the attention of potential readers or, in your opinion, should have their attention.”(Pg. 186) I took an already talked about issue and put my own spin on it that hadn’t been talked about yet.

In Malcolm X’s essay “Learning to Read” he give the reader facts to argue his point on why learning to read and write in jail is difficult. He backs up his argument by telling readers that he did not have a lot of supplies in which to learn and that he learned new words by copying from the dictionary. These facts argue his point of how difficult it is to learn in jail but how it is possible.

I also think that my argument falls into the category of a casual argument because it uses cause and effect. The use of computers (cause) has made it more difficult for college students to plagiarize (effect). Chapter 10 of Everything’s an Argument states that “ you could challenge the causal assumptions made by people you don’t agree with.” I think that many people would disagree with my point of view arguing that computers have made plagiarism easier to get away with because of all the sources available on the Internet in which a student can copy from. I understand where those people are coming from but disagree with them due to all the research I have done. I will be supplying all my relevant research in my paper and persuading those who disagree with me to take my side of the argument.

Core I rough draft

Lauren Kanzler

Mrs. Moody

ENC 1102

11 February, 2010

"When people talk to me about the digital divide, I think of it not so much about who has access to what technology as about who knows how to create and express themselves in the new language of the screen. If students aren't taught the language of sound and images, shouldn't they be considered as illiterate as if they left college without being able to read and write?" The famous filmmaker, George Lucas, who is most well known for creating the Star Wars franchise, spoke those words and I am inclined to agree with him.

Having grown up in a generation where computers have always been prevalent I know first hand that most people my age do know how to navigate their way easily on a computer. My first memory of ever being on a computer is when I was in first grade and my class would take trips to our schools computer lab and play educational games that taught us how to spell. All through elementary school I continued to enhance my knowledge of how to use a computer. Whether it is playing more games, creating a PowerPoint about an endangered species or typing an article for the small school paper that was put out four times a year, my school did a very good job of continuing my education of computers.

When I reached middle school I took a typing class and I believe that that was one of the most important classes I ever have or will take. It taught me to be able to type up to seventy words a minute and to be able to look at other things besides the computer screen when I type. I use this skill everyday whether it is writing a paper, typing an email or instant messaging with my friends. In my high school computer class I learned how to create spreadsheets and web pages, which are skills that I will most likely need to know no matter what job I wind up with in the future.

Being a college student without being digitally literate would be next to impossible. Teachers ask students to use their computers so much that if a person didn’t know how to use one they would fall severely behind in their studies. Professors require students to take quizzes, exams and complete homework online. On top of that in order to write research papers we must be able to swiftly navigate our way through the Internet in order to find research sources.

Being technologically savvy does not just apply to students but also to anybody in the professional world. If someone went to apply for a job in our society today and did not know how to use a computer they would not even be considered. Now it is the norm for every person to be able to complete basic functions on a computer. If a person did not know how to send an email, create a spreadsheet or look up information on the internet they are at a severe disadvantage of finding a job.

Are there negative consequences that I have to face for having been such a digitally literate child though? Do I have less social and communication skills then children of past generations? I do not think that learning how to use a computer is a bad thing or that it hinders a child’s education in the slightest. In response to the Technology Literacy Challenge, a case study that Cynthia Selfe performed, Stuart Sebler concludes that” In sum, if teachers fail to adopt a post critical stance, thus leaving technology design and education to those outside the field, it is entirely probable that students will have a much more difficult time understanding computers in a critical, contextual, and historical ways…computer literacy initiative will simply serve to perpetuate rather than alleviate existing social inequities.”(Sebler, 13)

Although most believe that children being digitally literate is a great thing there are still those who don’t necessarily agree that computers are all they are cracked up to be. In the first chapter of the Multiliteracies for a Digital Age, Reimaging Computer Literacy, Stuart Sebler, the author talks about one of the biggest myths about computers. He says that most university administrators believe that computers are the cheapest, most productive way to get work down but what they don’t realize is that it takes away from face-to-face learning time and hinders students in learning subjects such as English. Sebler goes on to say, “Indeed, given the intellectual and human dislocations that technology can produce, computers may even be counterproductive in many educational settings.” He also quotes William Bowen reporting that productivity in the United States has decreased since the computer age.(Sebler, 5-6)

Some would argue that teaching children online learning at such young ages is a waste of time and energy because using computers is not a productive way to get work done. Even if they are inefficient computers are in the center of the American work force so by not teaching children to use them we are putting them at a disadvantage when they enter college and again when they are trying to find a job.

Whether you believe that computers are inefficient and a waste of time or that they are a good thing, you must realize one thing; that they are here to stay. If you are one of those people who does not how much today’s society depends on computers you better get used to it fast because it is not going anywhere. By not teaching today’s generation of children digital literacy we are being ignorant and selfish to what skills a child is going to need to succeed in this country. By learning at a young age children will have no problem keeping up with their college work and finding a successful job. Computers may not be the same in ten years as they are now but they will still be used. By teaching children how to work a computer we are giving them a future of success in both higher education and their professional lives.

Work Cited

Stuart, Sebler. Multiliteracies For a Digital Age. Carbondale:Southern Illinois University Press, 2004

Audience Awareness

Lauren Kanzler

Justyn Cole

Enc 1102

February 4, 2010

The scholarly article we chose was called A Comparison of Face-To-Face and Distributed Presentations. The authors conducted a study in which they compare two learning environments. The first one is called Forum and it is a lecture that participants could access online. The top of their computer screen shows the speaker and the bottom half shows the PowerPoint in which the speaker bases their speech off of. This form of communication allows speakers to reach more audience members at a time and is more appealing to the audience members because they can do other things and access the lecture more easily then physically going there. Audience members can also ask typed questions to the speaker that they answer in their lecture.

The second learning environment is what the author calls local talks. These talks are when a lecturer talks to a conference room or classrooms. These talks had a smaller attendance than Forum because of the space provided. Forum averaged 141 people a lecture and local talks had 60.

The authors were surprised by the fact that Forum users reported to pay a lot more attention then those who attended local talks but audiences found material more interesting in the local setting. The speakers also rated their performance higher when they used Forum and they felt that Forum enhanced their performances by being able to use multimedia devices. The authors found however, that there was more audience interaction in local talks then in Forum presentations. Local talks averaged 19.5 spoken questions whereas Forum averaged 2.8 and audience members were more likely to follow up on questions in a local setting and attendees interacted with each other before and after class. They also were more likely to involve other people in their question at local talks. There was also an average of 16.3 instances of spontaneous laughter in local settings compared none in Forum.

As an end result of this study authors found that speakers enjoyed local talks more than Forum. They rated local talks a 4.25 out of 5 and Forum talks a 2.92. Audiences however, preferred Forum for its accessibility. 72% of audience members who attended local talks though said they would attend in person again.

Audience Awareness

Lauren Kanzler

Justyn Cole

Enc 1102

February 4, 2010

The scholarly article we chose was called A Comparison of Face-To-Face and Distributed Presentations. The authors conducted a study in which they compare two learning environments. The first one is called Forum and it is a lecture that participants could access online. The top of their computer screen shows the speaker and the bottom half shows the PowerPoint in which the speaker bases their speech off of. This form of communication allows speakers to reach more audience members at a time and is more appealing to the audience members because they can do other things and access the lecture more easily then physically going there. Audience members can also ask typed questions to the speaker that they answer in their lecture.

The second learning environment is what the author calls local talks. These talks are when a lecturer talks to a conference room or classrooms. These talks had a smaller attendance than Forum because of the space provided. Forum averaged 141 people a lecture and local talks had 60.

The authors were surprised by the fact that Forum users reported to pay a lot more attention then those who attended local talks but audiences found material more interesting in the local setting. The speakers also rated their performance higher when they used Forum and they felt that Forum enhanced their performances by being able to use multimedia devices. The authors found however, that there was more audience interaction in local talks then in Forum presentations. Local talks averaged 19.5 spoken questions whereas Forum averaged 2.8 and audience members were more likely to follow up on questions in a local setting and attendees interacted with each other before and after class. They also were more likely to involve other people in their question at local talks. There was also an average of 16.3 instances of spontaneous laughter in local settings compared none in Forum.

As an end result of this study authors found that speakers enjoyed local talks more than Forum. They rated local talks a 4.25 out of 5 and Forum talks a 2.92. Audiences however, preferred Forum for its accessibility. 72% of audience members who attended local talks though said they would attend in person again.

Part II Core I

I am an undeclared major with no idea what career path I want to take. I have been speculated majoring in marketing, social work or psychology. I am all over the place with what I might do with my future but one job that I have always fantasized about having is working for a major fashion magazine in New York City. If I could get a job making page layouts for a magazine I would be elated. In order to create layouts employees of magazines use a software program similar to Business Filevision. I could not find out what program major fashion magazines, such as Vogue, use but Business Filevision is very similar to those programs.

Filevision allows users to combine text with pictures to create pages. With this program you can go through the pages easily on your computer as if you were reading the actual magazine and decide where advertisement pages should go. You can also make a spreadsheet to go with the advertisement for your personal information that tells you how big the ad is, how much the company paid for it what pictures are on it. You can also put links that writers send you directly into a page and have it displayed in article form

Since Business Filevision can only run on Macintosh computers I will also have to become more familiar with all the commands of the Mac. I will probably also have to start using organizing tools, such as the calendar, to keep me on track.

Part I Core I

I have been using computers ever since I was a young child. My first memory of using them is when I was in kindergarten. My class would make trips to our schools computer lab and play educational games that taught us basic reading, writing and math skills. Since mine is a generation where the majority of us have practically grown up with a mouse in our hand I know how to work my way around a computer with ease.

I am not a master of technology by any means but I know enough to be able everything I need to. I was taught Microsoft Office in my seventh grade computer class and can easily make a spread sheet, power point or word document. Through the years I have developed the ability to be able to dig up any information on Google. I can use my MacBook's photo and email applications. I have had a cell phone since ninth grade and am now totally dependent on my iPhone for everything. I check my mail, facebook and daily news on it and it keeps me organized.

That is about it for me as far as technology goes. I feel like I know everything I need to know and don't care to know much more. I don't have much interest in learning how to anything else. I don't want to learn how to use a Kindle because I love reading books and don't think that they should ever be replaced by technology. Everything I know how to do on computers I have learned to do because I have interest in it so everything that I haven't learned how to do I don't have much interest in learning. I would like to learn all the commands that go along with my Mac because I know that there are countless ones that I do not know how to use. I would also like to learn how to work an application where I can make movies on my computer.