Week 10/7 Plagiarism

The Plagiarism Module defines plagiarism, gives examples of plagiarism, stresses integrity in your academics, and teaches proper citation. 

A) What is Plagiarism?

• I believe that plagiarism is stealing someone else's work and claiming it as your own. Plagiarism can be intentional or unintentional.
• The module explains that simply changing a few words, putting sentences from several different sources together, and paraphrasing are plagiarism. Failure to put quotations around a direct quote or using the idea of another person without proper citation is plagiarism.

Example of Plagiarism:

• In 2002 Judy Tzu-Chun Wu, an assistant history professor at Ohio State University, found that her 1998 dissertation had been plagiarized and published in a new anthology of the American West by Benson Tong, an assistant history professor at Wichita State University. The book was never retracted leaving Ms. Wu feeling victimized.

B-C) Why is Academic Integrity Important?

• Plagiarism deserves a generous amount of attention. Besides the fact that plagiarism is illegal, proper citation gives you more credibility, helps the reader locate your sources, shows respect to original authors, and keeps you out of trouble. It comes down to personal morals of doing what is right and honesty. 

Proper Citation:

• You can use several different formats to cite your sources including APA, MLA, and Turabian. The Plagiarism Module say that your citations/ bibliography should include the following: the author's name, the name of the book or journal, the publisher, the date and city of publication, and the page number of the quotation. Parenthetical citation within your paper is provided to credit the original source and help locate the source in the bibliography. 

D) When can you imagine high school or college students struggling with plagiarism? 

• An overachieving student with a busy schedule may plagiarize intentionally or even unintentionally for example when stressing to finish and submit a paper by the 12 o'clock deadline. Sometimes when you've had an exhausting day and finally sit down to write your paper, your brain seems to shut down. It would be easier to just plagiarize but it would not be moral to do so. 

9/30 Bring on the Learning Revolution!

BRING ON THE LEARNING REVOLUTION!

1. What would you pursue or study if you had unlimited time and resources?
If I had unlimited time and resources I would pursue a several degrees including Exercise Science, Songwriting, Psychology, Physical Therapy, Music Pedagogy, and more! Knowledge and gaining expertise excite me. Of course, I would also want to be able to apply myself professionally in each of these areas.

2. Which has more influence, Aptitude or Attitude, and Why?
Attitude has more influence than aptitude. The saying, "Attitude is everything," is justified because an optimistic and grateful attitude will bring far more action and success than simple aptitude without motivation.

3. Do you think that our current grading system needs to be abolished? What alternative do YOU recommend?
Not only does the current A-F grading system need to be reformed, the entire school system needs to be reformed because too many students dread school and do not engage themselves. A more worldly, interactive, and diverse study environment could reignite excitement to learn. Sitting all day in a desk under fluorescent lighting surrounded by cinder block walls is boring and unhealthy. Teachers should take kids into the real world and into nature. Students learn the same subjects every year. More relevant classes such as budgeting, REAL sex education, and world hunger should be offered/required because they would truly benefit people beyond grade school. As far as the A-F grading system, get rid of it! I don't know what to replace it with...but it needs to go! :)

4. Some of the HMP class goals are: to help students develop time management skills, foster a sense of independence and accountability, and real life problem solving. This class requires a lot of student motivation since you are not meeting with a teacher on a daily basis. What areas of improvement or areas of personal growth has this class brought to your attention (time management, procrastination, self advocacy, computer skills, writing or communicating deficits, etc.)?
An area I have grown in because of this program is communication and personal relations. If I do not understand an assignment, I can't just ask the teacher at the end of class; I have to contact Mrs. Killingsworth. Also, my mentorship at the physical therapy office requires that I speak to and interact with people the whole time! I have gained confidence and learned from observing my mentor Brendon Blake's interactions. 
I've also had obtain better time management skills. To get to my mentorship at 7:00 A.M. three days a week requires that I get to sleep at a good time the night before and finish school work, college apps, workouts, etc in a timely fashion. I HAVE to plan.