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March 8, 2007
Cheating???
This item caught my eye today.
Cheating at a popular Web site worries educators
The lure of having the coolest igloo on the block may be teaching some young children that cheating is acceptable. At the increasingly popular children's virtual-world site ClubPenguin.com, cheating has gone mainstream, with some children downloading software and consulting blogs that help them to pad their virtual pockets with ill-gotten gold coins instead of earning their way fairly. Chicago Tribune
I'm wondering whether these kids believe they are "cheating." Maybe they are using technology for communication (ISTE NETS*S #4), research (5), and problem-solving and decision-making (6). Maybe the idea of "cheating" is the adult view from a world where games were played mainly against others, rather than an electronic world where the challenge is against the machine or collaborating with others against the machine.
So where do I get this cock-eyed view of the world? I've been an avid video game player since the Nintendo days -- just plain Nintendo. I'm now laid up after a knee operation and playing my way through Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. It's a great game with lots of puzzles. But sometimes the puzzles are tougher than I'm able to spot or they call for seeing some small item on the screen or recalling something from several dungeons past. The point of the game is for me to have fun, right? When I am thoroughly frustrated, I'm not having fun...so, I go to GameFaqs where people have published elaborate 100+ page hint and walkthrough books. I find just the next sentence to make it fun again.
I've discussed this with my 15-year old nephew who has been playing games on consoles and online since he was about 4. His great frustration early on was an inability to play any game that required reading. Pretty good incentive and practice space. By the time he was 7, he was playing complicated adventure games by using a printed guide. Why? Because it wasn't fun when he couldn't advance. The payoff was an ability to read better and to follow directions. Just what teachers wanted him to do!
Now, I'm not a regular in ClubPenguin but there might just be another perspective...
Posted by Pat on March 8, 2007 4:59 PM
Comments
Pat,
My son (13) has a web site where he documents his own discoveries about game hints and "cheats". His website has over 26 pages now. I encourage him to use a word other than "cheats", but he reminds that this is the term all the "gamers" use, and since Wikipedia has a page for "cheat code", it has to be so! Right? I encourage the web page, because it keeps him writing often, something he does not like to do.
I'm in the music field and am going to extend this "cheat" word into this question:
What is our role as educators in providing and cultivating the undertanding of property rights in the coming generation(s)?
I feel, as educators, we have to rise through the surface and act, preach, and model appropriate use of intellectual property daily. We have to give the kids ownership in their I. P. Rights ... and if we start young, we can possibly tweak the minds of a few parents along the way.
From my position at the university, these rules are "fuzzy" in a lot of educators, students, and parents minds. A recent "out-of-court" settlement in a local school district surrounding abuse of copyright is a reminder that we can not live in a vacuum about these issues. One company is out of business and another had to declare bankruptcy and reorganize after this settlement .... all over 6 minutes of music.
College students arrive with little or no understanding of I. P. and "Copy" rights. In a course module on copyright interpretation and Fair Use I teach, students report many broad examples of abuse from their K-12 years, and cite many examples in college. They act shocked and aware of the issues; as they leave the classroom bragging about the 1000+ songs on their MP3 player ($300 player + $1000 music = 100% legal???).
As we move forward into the increasing "noise" that is the internet, it will become extremely difficult to sort-out what I.P. belongs to which individual or group. That is why it is important to start this journey with elementary kids, as soon as they are ready to understand and sort through the issues.
There are questions we need to ask:
-Where are my district's copyright policy posted? The states? Who are my resources?
-Are there other Intellectual Property Rights policies I need to know about in my district? State? What are my rights for my I. P.? My students?
-Am I forced to "bend" these policies to provide an adequate education for my students?
-How does my student (and parent) know if the photo-copyied work I am sending home or using in class is legal?
-Mine's legal, how do I live with the knowlege that Mr. B's is not?
-How do I identify the "teaching moments" of the IPR and copyright concerns within my curriculum?
-How can I "personalize the loss" of copyright holders so my students will understand?
This is my "stream of consciousness" reaction and interpretation of the "cheat" blog. I am certain that there are more questions we need to ask. For the Music Educators (and anyone that uses any music in the classroom), I encourage you to look at the MENC guidelines at: http://www.menc.org/information/copyright/copyr.html
Posted by: Bud Clark on March 17, 2007 9:08 AM
There are programs on the G4 network devoted to "cheats" in video games. These aids help gamers get pass difficult areas and further game enjoyment.
Years ago, I discovered a magazine that assisted me with discovering hidden areas of Super Mario Bros. 3 game on Super Nintendo.
The challenge remains for educators to discuss the importance of protecting intellectual property rights of all.
Posted by: Anthony Powell on March 21, 2007 10:55 AM
The Washington Post just ran a section on the plagiarism/collaboration argument about 2 weeks ago. It comes down to whether or not you believe that information is basically a shared commodity. Those with strict "intellectual property/literary license" tolerate, no, require more attribution and a lot less collaboration.
NPR also just did a thing on this but the author (can't remember the name) of a book about this very subject argued that the world we live in today is full of collaborators and sharers of ideas. Wikipedia being the most evident. Information acquisition is changing and there are several forums with lively discussion about this very topic.
Posted by: Diane Albanese on April 2, 2007 9:49 AM
