Plagiarism has the obvious black and white area where one can tell something is plagiarized when it is directly copied word for word without any parenthesis nor citations.  The Gray area is what one must learn to keep oneself from plagiarizing. Paraphrasing, though not directly copying ones work word for word, should still be citied, or is considered plagiarism. Someone else's ideas should be credited to that person or else it is also plagiarism. A photo, graph or table copied from a source should be citied precisely.

To keep oneself from plagiarizing, try these following techniques. Make sure to cite everything correctly; author, source i.e. book, journal, page number, footnote, etc. One should be sure to take notes carefully. If interviewing make sure to note your own thoughts differently than those from the person you are interviewing.  One should be careful in writing their bibliography page. Another thing that a person must do is to keep ahold of all their drafts. If a student gets a copy of another's draft they could use it as their own and then the original author might be accused of plagiarizing.

The sites I found information on plagiarism can be found at the following links.

Is It Plagiarism Yet?

Safe Practices

Writing Tutorial Services

Bates Plagiarism

Copyright

Alabama Learning Exchange

ALEX (Alabama Learning Exchange) has many tools to help educators. One can easily click on the "Courses of Study" link, click on any subject, and then select a grade level. There he/she will find different topics within selected grade and subject that they might need more information on in order to teach effectively. There are lesson plans that can be accessed from the subject section, or by clicking on the "Lesson Plans" link and selecting fields from the menu and then searching for what one needs. For even more education to help the educator become more proficient, the educator can click on the "Professional Learning" link for learning tools, latest educator news and the best practices.

ALEX also has tools for students. Students can click on the "Distance Learning" link and have access to AP classes, electives, and other courses that are not offered in their schools. There are also student web links offered under the "Web Link" link. 

If one has any problems with ALEX or just needs some help making lesson plans etc. There is a help link and a soon to be available "support round table".  ALEX is a wonderful resource tool and I believe having it available helps teachers educate better. The more resources and knowledge available, the better off we all are. 

To access ALEX click here

Web Accessibility

Many tools have been made to help people with disabilities access the internet and use computers as effectively as non-disabled people. People with vision disabilities might use a program that reads the page aloud, braille displays, and use the keyboard to select things instead of a mouse. People with low to no hand abilities, such as amputees or cerebral palsy suffers, use voice recognition software. This enables them to speak commands on what they would like typed or clicked on.

Laws have been put in place to make things accessible to people with disabilities. Everything must be readable by program designed for aiding these people. To not comply would be discriminatory. There are also instructional tools to help make a webpage that complies with with the set guidelines that help make accessible webpages. Wether as simple as making the screen larger and easier to read, or as complex as screen reader software for the totally blind, Tools are available for the needs of the disabled. 

About Me!

My name is Andrea Richards and I am 22 years old. I love to dance and have done so since I was 3. I also love to ski but it's hard to do so on a regular basis. I'm married and we daughter. I am currently pursuing a degree in Elementary Education at the University of South Alabama. I don't have a job, but school is work enough. We recently added a puppy into our family as well as a kitten about a month before. Well I guess you'll learn more about me in my presentation in class. Thanks for reading.