Where do great ideas come from?

Most great ideas come from sharing, talking with other people, seeing things from a different perspective, and combining old thoughts in new ways.

Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web in 1990. He initially created the Web as a means for physicists in labs around the world to collaborate. However, it rapidly revolutionized the way we all think, communicate, and live. The ability to adapt and add to the World Wide Web enables us to share information and form exciting communities on sites like Wikipedia and Facebook.

Scriptovia builds on the spirit of collaboration that excited Tim Berners-Lee, helping you to share, discuss, comment, argue, chat, debate, question, and exchange in order to generate your own great ideas and get inspiration for your academic work.

Scriptovia – how can it help me?

Scriptovia is an online community for students; it’s all about making connections between people and between ideas. Linking up with other students is the most effective way to learn.

• You can upload all kinds of academic work including your notes, essays, study guides, lab reports, and presentations
• You can talk to students from around the world to get a different perspective
• You can receive feedback from fellow students to help you improve
• You can look at work on a similar subject to motivate you
• You can keep all your assignments together to record how you’ve progressed
• You can win awards and receive recognition for outstanding work

You can use Scriptovia at every stage of your learning process, from the initial discussion of ideas and gathering information, through writing up notes and redrafting, to sharing the finished project and getting comments.

With Scriptovia learning doesn’t have to be confined to the classroom or lecture hall, instead it’s like a good conversation with your friends – you can see where your thoughts will take you…

Scriptovia allows great freedom to students, but this also comes with the responsibility of using Scriptovia in the right ways.

So I just can’t copy somebody’s essay?

No! If you copy you’re guilty of plagiarism which is a serious academic offence and can incur severe penalties.

Plagiarism is presenting someone else’s ideas as your own, whether intentionally or unintentionally, for your own benefit.

The majority of students plagiarize without meaning to, simply because they don’t reference the work of others properly. Indiana University breaks it down like this:

A student must give credit to the originality of others and acknowledge their sources whenever:

• Directly quoting another person’s actual words, whether oral or written
• Using another person’s ideas, opinions, or theories
• Paraphrasing the words, ideas, opinions, or theories of others, whether oral or written
• Borrowing facts, statistics, or illustrative material
• Offering materials assembled or collected by others in the form of projects or collections without acknowledgment

From Indiana University’s Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct http://dsa.indiana.edu/Code/index1.html (See, we quoted directly, so we’ve acknowledged our sources.)

This is how the reference would look in a more formal bibliography:

Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct. 24 June 2005. Indiana University. 5 April 2007.

Let’s look at some examples of how to avoid plagiarism on Scriptovia:

Lee has to devise an experiment to measure velocity. He searches on Scriptovia and finds an experiment design that will do, so he uses it.

• He plagiarized - copying plans, notes, or outlines is still plagiarism!
• He didn’t think of his own design, which was the point of the exercise.

He should have tried to invent an experiment himself then posted his notes to Scriptovia to get feedback on how he could improve the design.

Carla has to write an essay on the causes of the Cold War. She searches Scriptovia for essays on the causes of other wars to get inspiration. Then she uploads her notes to get comments on where she can do further research

• She didn’t copy, but she looked for similar approaches to motivate her.
• She didn’t just rely on Scriptovia, but did background research as well.

How can I tell if I’m plagiarizing or collaborating?

A simple distinction: Plagiarism involves copying ideas in a deceitful way, whereas collaboration involves discussing ideas in an open and fair way.

Ask yourself the following question:

Would you be comfortable explaining how you’re using Scriptovia to your teacher or lecturer?

If you can say “yes” and would be happy to show them your portfolio, the comments you made to other students, and talk through how someone’s piece of work inspired you – all is good.

If you’re forced to say “no” and admit that you’ve been taking parts of other students’ work, lifting their notes, and reusing their essay plans – then you know you’re in the wrong!

But what if I get a great idea from an online discussion with another student, am I guilty of plagiarism?

Discussions with your friends and peers don’t usually have to be referenced, as they are private and informal. They are part of a thinking process that goes on before, during, and after any piece of work.

A basic rule of thumb is that talking through a problem, asking for another opinion, and getting feedback are all good academic practices and a helpful way of advancing your thinking. However, once you have discussed your ideas, it is your responsibility to write your assignment on your own without the help of others.

Share ideas, but don’t share out the task of writing them up!

What happens if I plagiarize?

Most likely you will get caught…Scriptovia takes plagiarism very seriously and has a number of features that make plagiarism very hard to get away with:

• Scriptovia works with all the major anti-plagiarism services.
• If teachers report users to be plagiarizing, they will be banned from the site.
• Scriptovia has moderators to ensure that the site is being used in a fair way for everyone.

Despite what you might think, your teachers and lecturers are not stupid. They know your usual writing style and will be able to tell if you’ve cut and pasted from different essays or copied work that is above or below your normal standard.

Plagiarism won’t just mean being banned from Scriptovia, it can affect your grades and even lead to you being suspended or expelled.

Collaboration – it’s a good thing

Learning is all about making connections, and building on what others have discovered or learned. To learn effectively you need to:

• Combine existing ideas in new ways
• Work together to solve problems
• Look at old information from fresh perspectives
• Find people who can teach and support you
• Share what you know with other people

Scriptovia helps you to develop these skills which are very useful in education, and in the 21st Century workplace where teamwork, communication, and IT expertise are invaluable. For more information look at http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/index.php

When Tim Berners-Lee launched the World Wide Web, he never imagined it would be used in so many different ways. Scriptovia is revolutionizing education in the same way. It is adding more dimensions to the way students learn. In addition to being taught in a classroom, Scriptovia enables students to engage with what they’re learning - use it, question it, and share it with peers across America and throughout the world.

There’s so much you can do with Scriptovia…get going!