Some Ridgewood High School students were featured in a story on CBS News yesterday. The topic was high tech cheating -- students using cell phones or the internet to cheat. A recent study was released that said half of all students reported they had cheated using electronic means -- copying from the internet, texting answers during tests, taking cell phone photos of tests.
I'm curious how much parents are talking to their kids about cheating. I'm all for technology and access to information, but along with this new power comes the responsibility to be very explicit about what is and is not OK. I think all kids should automatically know that texting the answers to a friend during a test is wrong, but they get a little confused when it comes to internet research. Back in the old days (remember when?), if you were going to copy something, it required a lot of writing, or photocopying (and then writing or typing). But with the internet and the ability to copy-and-paste, it's just too easy. The words -- exactly what I was going to say! -- are right there in front of me!
I think we parents can't assume that kids know when they are plagiarizing and when they are being lazy (and plagiarizing). We need to sit down at the computer and show them.
Any other thoughts out there?
To watch the short report from CBS News, click here.
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