"I have gathered a posie of other men's flowers, and nothing but the thread that binds them is mine own." – John Bartlett

How do we prepare our students, coming from vastly different cultures, to recognize and avoid plagiarism? Differing cultural definitions complicate this issue. In the United States, using someone else's words without acknowledging the source is considered theft of their ideas; in parts of Asia, it is not. Is the inclusion of a citation a way to give 'credit where credit is due,' or does it insult the reader's intelligence by implying that he or she does not know the origin of the information? One of our responsibilities as educators is to give all our students, on all our campuses, a common understanding of academic integrity that will serve them well wherever they may find themselves in the future.

The Center for Teaching and Learning is offering an online workshop about plagiarism, and I invite you to participate. Some of our English faculty will be joining in as 'resource people,' providing their expertise and insight into the issue. Specific topics will include:

• deterring plagiarism
• using technology to recognize plagiarism
• using technology to teach students how to recognize and remove plagiarism
• helping students avoid plagiarizing
• additional resources

The workshop is asynchronous, meaning that you can read the materials and reply to emails at your convenience. All you will need is a web browser and an email account. Here's how it will work: On March 25, resources will become available on the web. Participants will then have a conversation by email for 1-2 weeks. Our goal is to bring faculty together from all our campuses, so we can explore the topic from all the cultural and societal frames of reference that comprise NYIT.

I hope you will join us! Please register to receive the link to materials and to be added to the email list. The registration link for the workshop is at: http://goo.gl/wis8c.