Media Release
July 17 2008
Academic dilemmas in the digital age –
is that plagiarism or just a new way of using information?
It
is one of the hottest academic debates of our times – is plagiarism on
the rise or are students of the digital age just accustomed to operating
in a cut and paste world where none of the old rules apply?
Should universities spend thousands of hours and dollars trying to hunt down those who “cheat” or is education the key to minimising the incidence of plagiarism?
The complex arguments around the issue will be explored in a dynamic two-hour presentation at UniSA’s City West campus on Tuesday 22 July 2008 from 12 noon featuring renowned provocateur Dale Spender and RMIT academic integrity champion Dr Garry Allan.
Organiser of the event Dr Tracey Bretag, from the School of Management, says the seminar will raise debate around the issue of plagiarism and provide quite divergent perspectives on why and how it can be managed.
“This promises to be a thought-provoking discussion on the nature of plagiarism in the digital age, and it will take the audience from an exploration of this generation’s digital world and how that impacts on their use of information, to a consideration of the consequences of plagiarism unchecked, and the difficulties for academics and universities in managing the issues,” Dr Bretag said.
The seminar will be held in the Bradley Forum, level 5 of UniSA’s Hawke Building, North Tce Adelaide. Bookings are essential to reserve a place.
Notes on the speakers:
Dale Spender AM, FRSA, BA, DipEd, MA, LittB, PhD, DUniv
Dale Spender has been an author, a feminist and an educator (and public
speaker) for most of her life. She has lectured at many universities at
home and overseas (including MIT and Cambridge) and given more than 300
international keynote addresses She has authored/edited more than 30
books, including Nattering on the Net – one of the first books on
digital culture – and she has founded academic journals, written and
presented television programs (BBC and ABC), and is a regular (and
sometimes controversial) commentator in newspapers and other media.
During the past decade she has specialized in digital literacy and has
undertaken consultancies for Microsoft, Apple and Fujitsu: she has also
advised many governments and educational authorities. She is a former
Chair of CAL and raises money for homeless women http://www.dalespender.com/
Dr Garry Allan, PhD
Garry Allan is the Project Manager for Academic ICT Integration at RMIT
University. In this role he has responsibility for a number of
University strategic initiatives that utilise educational technologies.
He led the development of the University’s academic integrity initiative
in 2001 and has subsequently had oversight of the University’s
management of related systems. He is currently implementing Web 2.0
educational environments within the RMIT Learning Management System and
is leading the University’s ePortfolio project. In his academic
capacity, he teaches principally in the field of Medical Radiations, and
his research activities are focused on information structures for
clinical data storage, and innovative uses of video communication
technologies in clinical education.
Contact for interviews
-
Dr Tracey Bretag mobile 0410 303262 email tracey.bretag@unisa.edu.au
Media contact
-
Michèle Nardelli office (08) 8302 0966 mobile 0418 823 673
email michele.nardelli@unisa.edu.au