Microsoft Word, Copyright and Fair Use, and Technology Implementation Issues in Education

Microsoft Word

Throughout my academic experience in K-12 and college, I have become intertwined with and become great friends with Microsoft Word. What I failed to realize in the moment, but do in hindsight, is that when I began getting older and producing more official academic work, the more I used Microsoft Word as opposed to putting pen on paper. I now realize that this was the case because of the amazing capabilities that Microsoft Word has. 

To start, Microsoft Word can identify grammar and spelling errors on the spot, which makes it easier for the student to see and fix their mistakes with ease. Microsoft Word also helps educators because they can easily put their student's work in a program that identifies plagiarism to see if their students are turning in their own work or not. In addition to the simple ease of writing and grading, Microsoft Work also increases the accessibility of your work by other people exponentially. This increase in accessibility can create two large problems, which I will be addressing in the the next 2 sections.

Copyright and Fair Use

With the increase in accessibility of academic work that online programs bring to the world, the false use of copyrighted work also increases. Throughout my academic career, my educators have given me thousands of excerpts from various pieces of academic work and I never once thought about the possible implications of them using other people's work. So how exactly does copyright fit into education?

To start, it is important to know what copyright and fair use is. A copyright is a protection for a piece of intellectual property. If someone wants to get their work copyrighted, then that allows for them to have the right to decide who can and can not use their work and in what capacity. According to an article written by Rich Stim titled, "What is Fair Use?", Fair Use is a US law that allows for "any copying of copyrighted material done for a limited and 'transformative' purpose, such as to comment upon, criticize, or parody a copyrighted work... without the permission from the copyright owner." This very act is what allows educators to give their student copies of a part of a textbook for class. However, one part of copyright that will never be acceptable is academic dishonesty, which will be covered in the next section.

Technology Implementation Issues in Education

Two major issues arise when implementing technology into education:

1. Academic Dishonesty Another term for academic dishonesty is plagiarism. Gasp... Not plagiarism. Yes, the most feared four-syllable word by academics across the world. When people have access to unfathomable amounts of information on any topic in the entire universe on the internet, some will use that access for evil and try to pass someone else's work off for their own.  This is a serious problem in academia today because of the technological advances of today. The fact of the matter is that the current academic dishonesty policies are not enough. I believe that trying to solve the problem of academic dishonesty starts with the first day of class. As educators, we need to set strong boundaries but also reach out our hands in regards to academic dishonesty. In my classroom, I would be serious when talking about the consequences of academic dishonesty, but I would also offer my help. Sometimes academic dishonesty comes from the student either being lazy or from them having given up on the material. On the first day, I would let it be known that I am always available for help, whether it be through motivation for laziness or further instruction for the student that has given up. That way, the classroom will be a place where it is okay to not be perfect, and the students will feel comfortable with leaning on me when they are not perfect, and not on academic dishonesty. 
2. Cyber-bullying One of the most unfortunate byproducts of technology is the presence of cyber-bullying, and the education setting is no exception. When a student gets online, they make themselves susceptible to cyber-bullying by classmates or even outsiders. This is unacceptable and disgusting, but when there is a screen between the bully and the bullied, the bully can be someone that they are not and will have the confidence to say things that they never would in person. Us as educators need to be aware of cyber-bullying even in the education setting. To start to fix this problem means changing the mindset of our students. A lot of times, cyber-bullying can arise from imperfections in one's work. To change the mindset of our students, we must make it okay for there to be imperfections in the classroom. We need to welcome imperfections because it is from those imperfections that true learning comes from. With the start of that change in mindset, we allow students to use technology in the academic setting without the fear of cyber-bullying.

I commented on Miss Malyce and Miss Singer's blog posts. I found both posts to be super informative and really enjoyable to read!