Internet worth its weight in gold to students
Illegal copying and plagiarism a risky business
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The Internet has become an important source of information for students who have essays and presentations to make. Information can be sought for an essay in geography as well as for a speech in Finnish. Many students find all the information they need for an essay on the Internet.
"We search for information on the Internet. Only sometimes do we look something up in books if we have the energy", say Henri Tissari and Jukka Sorjonen at Kallavesi Senior High School.
Students know that it is possible to find also information that is unreliable. For example, Anna-Maaria Nissinen and Mari Multamäki trust official web sites, whereas they are more critical of private sites. On the other hand, Jukka Sorjonen says that he accepts all the information he can find.
Many teachers discuss the reliability of Internet information with their students.
"We attempt to instruct students to select information. Some of them are critical, while others swallow all information they find", observes Hannele Ambrusin, who teaches Finnish at the Langinkoski Upper Secondary School in Kotka.
Headmaster Timo Rönnqvist from Korso reports that when giving their pupils assignments, many teachers also remind them of the difference between illegal copying and permissible quoting.
For example, on the Läksypalvelu ("Homework Service") sites, which have been created by 20-year-old student Matti Seppälä, it is possible to find essays on various subjects that Seppälä and his friends have made.
It is mentioned also on the Läksypalvelu sites that copying is not the right way to learn, but Seppälä suspects that many still do it. On the other hand, he says that it is up to the user to decide how he or she uses the information found on the Net.
While some students admit having copied something in the comprehensive school, they say that in the upper secondary school it is not enough. In order to manage, a student has to learn and know everything himself or herself. Also teachers are monitoring more, and if they suspect something, they can easily check it out by firing up Google or some other search engine.
A copied assignment is normally rejected, and the tough policy has effectively decreased cheating.
The weekly number of visitors to the Läksypalvelu sites is some 100 to 700.
"A peak of visits can be seen at the end of each study-block at school , when various projects have to be completed. In the summer, the number of visitors is next to none", Seppälä reports.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 16.1.2006 - TODAY |
 Internet worth its weight in gold to students
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