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Student Faces Facebook Consequences

Via Harold Jarche, we read that "Ryerson Polytechnic has charged a student with academic misconduct for creating a Chemistry study group on Facebook." As Mark Federman says, "This charge is wrong on so many levels, revealing the complete cluelessness of the Ryerson administration." We will find thta Ryerson will recant in short order - the charge is patently ridiculous. As student Kim Neale says, "actually it's no different than any study group working together on homework in a library." I remember my own Chemistry classes. Students were expected to work together. Someone who worked alone - like me - was at a serious disadvantage. Louise Brown, Toronto Star, March 6, 2008. [Link] [Tags: , , , , ] [Previous][Next]

Comments

Re: Student Faces Facebook Consequences

Anymouse, March 6, 2008

I agree that a study group on Facebook is the same as a study group in the library basement, but I'm curious if there isn't another layer to this story. Did the student ever advertise it as a place to get answers rather than as a study group? I know a lot of people are clueless about technology, but usually those people balk at taking a technology-related stance as strong as expulsion.

The interesting details would be knowing the office conversations that led to this. Did a student report it to the dean's office? What does a dean or faculty member do when something like this comes up and they've never used Facebook before? Who do they ask for help, and what kind of guidance do they get? [Comment] [Permalink] [Previous][Next]

Re: Student Faces Facebook Consequences

http://openid.claimid.com/ohegarty, March 6, 2008

Thanks for this Stephen...

This is quite relevant to me since I am a stats/math instructor at Ryerson and have created facebook groups for my courses....with the intent of providing a mechanism for students to create study groups and find tutors AND post questions and answers. I myself have also posted questions and answers in these groups and encouraged my students to do the same. There has not been a lot of activity in these groups but I do not design my courses with assigned questions that are easily plagiarized.


I have contacted the student and his representative to offer my support.

I just might be the only instructor (or faculty member) at Ryerson that uses facebook for educational purposes. And Ryerson is an institution with over 24,000 full time students and over 65,000 annual continuing education enrollments in the centre of downtown Toronto! This disciplinary action speaks volumes about how connected Ryerson is to what is going on outside of their hub.
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Re: Student Faces Facebook Consequences

Anymouse, March 6, 2008

Ryerson's academic policy, as quoted in the article, defines misconduct as "any deliberate activity to gain academic advantage, including actions that have a negative effect on the integrity of the learning environment."

Wouldn't going to class, doing homework, and reading the textbook also be considered a deliberate activity to gain an academic advantage? [Comment] [Permalink] [Previous][Next]

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