A7.3: Reflection on Discussion of 9/27/06

1. What was your primary contribution to the discussion?  My primary contribution was adding comments about plagarism and copyright infringement.  I also brought up the issue of free use.  When I was reading about copyright, I noticed that free use was not clear cut.  There is a lot of gray area in copyright laws regardless of the effort that has been made to make them more clear.  The group discussion also began speaking about formatting issues such as APA vs. MLA.  I contributed to this due to my experience.
2. What questions emerged from your group discussions?  We as a group wondered: Why are most students taught MLA instead of APA format in high school?  Why isn’t there a seminar on copyright infringement and plagarism for students?  How can we learn more?
3. What questions were answered for you in your group discussion?  We talked a lot about the guidelines for copyright and plagarism.  We decided as a group that in order to understand more about both that we need some guidance.  One question that was answered was : Do I need permission to use a picture from a different website?  The answer was that it depends on the site but it is always safe to ask for permission.
4. How will you apply what you learned in the readings and discussion to your own work?  I must say that I am now an advocate for a seminar on plagarism and copyright.  I think that it needs to be discussed and taught.  I will definitely be more aware of what I put into my work and give credit where credit is due.  I feel like I have gained a lot of knowledge on the issue and will be very aware of it.  I plan on using all that I have learned to insure that I do not commit plagarism or infringement.

Additional Information:  Our group also talked about some of the issues that NSSLHA had with their website.  I really found it quite extreme what NSSLHA had to go through in order to use a logo.  We discussed using copyrighten products to help with fundraisers and how much it would cost to get permission.  One thing that I think should be considered when a group asks permission to use something is why do they want to use it?