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The topic of plagiarism and copyright has been a non-issue in the VET sector until recent years. Anecdotally, little attention was paid to compliance by both teachers and students. In early 2017, the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) published an article which explained the necessity of institutes signing up for an education licence (Australian Skills Quality Authority, 2017). Teachers rely on this licence when developing class materials, but many institutes fail to understand the necessity of keeping a usage log for each text-based resource. A log ensures use of individual resources does not rise above 10% or one chapter by the institute as a whole (Copyright Agency, 2018). With the increasingly common use of Learning Management Systems (LMSs) in Technical and Further Education Institutions (TAFEs), understanding the associated rules has become more important. Broadly, TAFEs must ensure their LMS is secured, and course access is limited to enrolled students only, removing resources when they become redundant (National Copyright Unit, 2018b). Students need to be familiar with their obligations relating to using third-party material in their work, particularly regarding plagiarism and fair dealing (National Copyright Unit, 2018a). Understanding the basic principle that if you didn’t write the original concept, the original source must be attributed is central to avoiding plagiarism, and to compliance with copyright obligations (National Copyright Unit, 2018a). References
Australian Skills Quality Authority. (2017). Are you copyright compliant? Retrieved from https://www.asqa.gov.au/news-publications/news/are-you-copyright-compliant Copyright Agency. (2018). Copying under the education licence. Retrieved from https://www.copyright.com.au/licences-permission/educational-licences/copying-under-education-licence/ National Copyright Unit. (2018a). Information Sheets: Students and Copyright. Retrieved from http://www.smartcopying.edu.au/information-sheets/schools/students-and-copyright National Copyright Unit. (2018b). Information Sheets: Text and Artistic Works. Retrieved from http://www.smartcopying.edu.au/information-sheets/tafe/copyright-in-the-digital-teaching-environment-a-manual-for-tafe/text-and-artistic-works
3 Comments
Laurie Wilson
14/1/2019 05:32:31 pm
I hear you Karen! Hearing comments from lecturers and tutors about Masters' students not referencing correctly (or not at all), only confirms that issues of plagiarism and copyright affect everyone in education, from primary school right up to high-level academia. I have a new role at my school this year, and will be based in our Library. I will be teaching Library and research skills, and all students (yes, from Prep!) will be learning about academic honesty. I think it is extremely important for even our youngest students to learn that it is not acceptable to take the work of others without acknowledgement. Of course, the Preps will not be learning Harvard referencing just yet...
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Brad Bowman
17/1/2019 07:31:32 pm
Enjoyed your blog post Karen and the range of ethical issues that you talked about, one that really interested me was plagiarism and something we really need to be aware of as University students and as teachers. If students think that being dishonest and cheating by deliberate plagiarism is acceptable in a classroom then they will think this kind of behaviour is acceptable when they are a professional (Ballantine & McCourt Larres, 2012). This really concerned me especially if students are going out of their way to be dishonest and how we must ensure they are taught this isn’t acceptable.
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28/1/2019 02:21:48 pm
You absolutely nailed it Karen and agree with your post completely. We have very similar journeys (VET, learning designer, edtech) and I have had SMEs submit learning resources they "have written" that were 80% copied and pasted from the internet. We just completed a plagiarism tool trial and our biggest user became the product specialists that are now overseeing resource development - they are now scanning work submitted by those being paid to write it. #OnIt
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About meI'm a learning designer from Geelong in Victoria. I have worked in vocational education and training for many years, and for the last four have concentrated entirely on creating learning content to support teachers and students. Archives
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