Most educators frown heavily upon the practice of students “sharing” their work with each other. Whether someone gives an old paper to a friend, or sells an essay online, instructors reject such forms of plagiarism. But now, through a new website, teachers are invited to participate in an information market of their own.
The “revolutionary” TeachersPayTeachers.com is, as stated on its homepage, “the world’s first marketplace . . . where smart educators can buy and sell original course materials.” And if that’s not clear enough for you, it goes on to say “we will pay each other for our teaching materials.”
A site FAQ gives detailed information about copyrights, and users are warned not to share protected materials. As for plagiarism, the site’s owner said (as reported in an Associated Press article on CNN) “that scenario doesn’t apply here. Teachers are willingly selling their work, and those who buy it still have to apply it in their own way in the classroom.”
Whether TeachersPayTeachers is in the moral clear or not, the site isn’t exactly thriving. It has just 949 registered users at the moment, and only 99 “member-teacher authors.” The selection of “products” is limited to 269. Maybe it’s the annual fee of $29.95 (for sellers) that’s keeping people away.
None of the TeachersPayTeachers users interviewed in the Associated Press article came off as “bad,” or even “lazy,” people. The site’s owner, Paul Edelman, seemed just fine, too. Just the same, the site makes me a little uneasy. But perhaps the homepage’s claim is right: “the real winners will be our students,” it suggests.
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Doug is a staff writer for Murdok. Visit Murdok for the latest eBusiness news.
