Computers and the Internet :: Computers Technology Technological Essays

Computers and the Internet For most of my high school career, I have used the Internet for my research. My method relied on printing out the material, highlighting the important sections and trying to interpret these sections into my own words to incorporate this research into my papers. I feel that the Internet has made it harder for students to use research in their work. Copy and paste are two of the best tools in the computer. When you do take information, there is no typing at all. With two clicks of a mouse, you could have a complete term paper after only a few minutes of searching. The temptation is there and with the increased academic pressures at college, many students succumb. The web is always available. In the middle of January, you don’t have to bundle up to go to the library all you have to do is type in a few â€Å"search† words and instantly you have all the information at your fingertips. Resources, when readily available, often get abused. This is the case with the Internet. Most college students feel that they are invincible. Who would be able to catch them cheating? No one. They go ahead and do it. Any person who cheats and gets away with it may feel a â€Å"high† of some sort. This might tempt them to try it again. The student then does it and gets caught. The ramifications could throw their life into shambles. What about a job or getting into another college? If a stricter cheating, copying and plagiarizing policy were in effect from middle school on, I believe that the problem may be cut in half. College may be the first place where a student is under a lot of stress to produce for him/herself and their families. If that student were confident in the writing and researching abilities, then they would have less of a chance to â€Å"crack† and plagiarize. Tough and earlier enforcement of plagiarizing consequences would help to cut back on the student’s temptation to plagiarize. Many people don't know about copyright laws. Therefore no one understands the term â€Å"copyrighted† According to Open Spaces magazine, â€Å"the core purpose of copyright laws as expressly stated in the constitution is: to promote the process of knowledge and learning.