by:
  Michael Donnelly,
  Rebecca Ingalls,
  Tracy Ann Morse,
  Joanna Castner, and
  Anne Meade
  Stockdell-Giesler

  May the Conversation Continue...

Despite these problems, however, we continue to grapple with the presence and the possibilities of Turnitin. We are in some sense forced to do this, since Turnitin has become an institutional presence, one that cannot simply be ignored or dismissed. While faculty are by no means required to use it, its mere presence and accessibility give it some currency in the intellectual marketplace, and we should wonder what it might mean if students are subjected to it randomly-what happens when a student who was not exposed to Turnitin in first-year writing suddenly finds herself "caught" by it in an upper-level writing intensive course?

Likewise, the possibility(s) PDS may offer as a teaching tool are worth exploring. Thus, in the remainder of this article, my colleagues take up the various tensions, identify some of the threads that so far entangle and threaten to ensnare us. In the next section, Anne continues the discussion of "ethical, philosophical, and pedagogical" concerns, arguing that the use of Turnitin is actually counter-productive, inasmuch as it reinforces the historical divide between teachers and students, undermines notions of ethos central to rhetoric, and contradicts notions of process central to contemporary composition instruction. Rebecca then problematizes the issue of student "consent" by examining the intersection(s) of pre-constructed student identities (as "cheaters"), legal issues, and the definition of (student) "work." Any use of PDS must, she suggests, include not simply education about plagiarism, but information and discussion of the complex issues surrounding Intellectual Property Rights.

Joanna further explores the issue of student identity(s) by using Rebecca Moore Howard's notion of "patchwriting" to problematize our assumptions about academic writing and, therefore, plagiarism. In so doing, Joanna is able to explicate the relationship between students and writing-to demonstrate that an alternative approach to plagiarism itself can turn it into a way students can begin, usefully, to (re)construct their own identities as writers by exploring their own ideas about "skill and creativity" in writing. Tracy then discusses ways in which Turnitin may be useful pedagogically-not as a plagiarism-detection device, nor simply to teach about plagiarism, but to actually teach students about revision by helping them to see their own writing through a different lens. May the conversation continue.

• Dissimulation in the Writing Classroom
  Anne Meade Stockdell-Giesler
• Students Consenting to Turnitin.com: What Are We Asking When We Ask Them to Sign Away Their Work?
  Rebecca Ingalls
• Turnitin.com: A Teaching Tool
  Tracy Ann Morse
• Turnitin: Oversimplified Answer to a Complex Problem
  Joanna Castner Post
• Conclusion

• Introduction: A Writing Program Director's Dilemma
• Flying, Finally
• The Role of the WPA
• The Problems with PDS
• May the Conversation Continue...
• Dissimulation in the Writing Classroom
• The Devaluing of Growth?
• A Lack of Ethics
• An Ethos of Academic Integrity
• Students Consenting to Turnitin.com: What Are We Asking When We Ask Them to Sign Away Their Work?
• The Concept of Intellectual Property
• Roots of Consent
• Why "Consent" May Not Be Sufficient
• Turnitin.com: A Teaching Tool
• Responsibility for Writing
• A Focus on Revision
• Turnitin: Oversimplified Answer to a Complex Problem
• Skill and Creativity
• Self-Fulfilling Prophesies
• A Stimulus to Creativity
• Engagement and Success
• Conclusion
• References
• print version