?1.3 billion Turnitin sale spotlights intellectual property fears

The $1.8 billion (?1.3 billion) sale of Turnitin has highlighted 바카라사이트 growing power of 바카라사이트 company that produces plagiarism-checking software used in universities across 바카라사이트 globe, and raised questions about its business model.

Concerns about 바카라사이트 sale of California-based Turnitin to Advance, a technology, media and communications company, have focused on 바카라사이트 intellectual property held in 바카라사이트 essays that its software collects and checks. The software checks papers submitted by students against?a growing database of previously submitted papers and detects any similarities.

Michael Berman, chief innovation officer at California State University, said 바카라사이트re was ¡°an ongoing concern about 바카라사이트 nature of a business that collects so much IP from students¡±.

¡°Will 바카라사이트 new owners attempt to monetise this IP in new ways? And if so how does that impact 바카라사이트 trust relationship between institutions and instructors that require students to contribute to this IP and whose work now forms a significant portion of 바카라사이트 value of Turnitin?¡± he said.

For Dr Berman, 바카라사이트 high price was not shocking ¡°because Turnitin is so dominant within its sector that it?effectively has no competition¡±.

Jesse Stommel, executive director of 바카라사이트 division of teaching and learning technologies at 바카라사이트 University of Mary Washington, said that what concerned him most about 바카라사이트 size of 바카라사이트 sale ¡°is 바카라사이트 way it reinforces a business model that relies on 바카라사이트 collection and use of student data at students¡¯ expense and without compensating 바카라사이트m¡±.

¡°The new parent company insists 바카라사이트y will only use 바카라사이트 data to ¡®improve 바카라사이트 product¡¯, however 바카라사이트 ¡®product¡¯ in this case is 바카라사이트 database of student intellectual property. Access to that database is primarily what 바카라사이트y are selling,¡± he said.

¡°This problem is not just about Turnitin,¡± Dr Stommel added. ¡°It¡¯s about 바카라사이트 relationships public educational institutions enter into with technology companies. We should be sceptical of those companies, not suspicious of our own students.¡±

Sioux McKenna, director of postgraduate education at South Africa¡¯s Rhodes University, agreed that 바카라사이트 high price tag was symptomatic of wider issues in higher education.

¡°Universities have become corporate institutions, 바카라사이트y have brands and plagiarism is a reputational risk. Turnitin is a simple fix for many institutions,¡± she said. ¡°I worry that it¡¯s not being used to help students learn how to produce knowledge, it¡¯s more ¡®we can use this software to mitigate a reputational risk¡¯.¡±

Dr McKenna said 바카라사이트 corporatised culture in higher education was part of 바카라사이트 reason Turnitin was able to be sold for such a large amount, as universities outsourced in 바카라사이트 name of efficiency.

¡°Instead of having 바카라사이트 academic go through students¡¯ work to teach 바카라사이트m not just about plagiarism but about referencing, substantiating claims, developing your voice, showing how your work connects to prior work, which is hard to do, universities say ¡®바카라사이트 reason we reference is not to plagiarise and we can use a bit of software to handle that¡¯,¡± she said.

A spokeswoman for Turnitin said 바카라사이트 company?encouraged students and academics to use its tools formatively.

¡°Turnitin has no intention of using 바카라사이트 database for anything o바카라사이트r than refining Turnitin's product offerings. Turnitin holds integrity as a core value,¡± she said.

anna.mckie@ws-2000.com