Social study software could pay students for sharing notes, discourage class attendance
You can buy just about anything on the internet — students may be able to add a class' worth of notes to that list.
Scholastic publishing company McGraw Hill developed a website for academic networking where students can be paid to upload lecture notes, study guides and information pertaining to current class projects or writing assignments.
The Chronicle of Higher Education recently published an article describing a student who received nearly $200 from McGraw Hill for publishing 65 lectures during one semester.
The primary issue is the quality and content of information being posted by students said Alan Rudy, an associate professor of sociology, anthropology and social work.
“The social networking software being described tends to be more of a ‘buyer beware’ development,” Rudy said. “Students relying on good notes through networking sites wouldn’t provide the comprehension involved with actual classroom interaction.”
Northville senior Adam Jankovich believes these websites should definitely pursue further development if they can provide quality information.
“In health studies so much of the material is hard to comprehend independently and I feel being able to access other students' information would benefit anyone dealing with the stress of higher education,” Jankovich said.
Aside from questionable quality, copyright infringement may also be an issue for students attempting to profit from ideas shared during lectures.
Timothy Boudreau, associate professor of journalism, said there is definite evidence of copyright infringement if the professor lecturing has presented the class with a written outline for the material being shared.
“I don’t believe this information could be considered intellectual property theft,” Boudreau said. “But if a professor did present some form of written material and a student tried to profit from ideas based on that material, there would most certainly be an issue of copyright infringement.”
A bigger problem could be the incentive to skip class if all course material was available through the Internet, Monroe senior Nikolas Tsipis said.
“I’m sure several students would utilize this software to skip class or find quicker ways for cramming before exams"
