TORONTO – Controversial plagiarism detector Turnitin, which has been the subject of privacy concerns at Canadian universities in the past, is coming to Ontario high schools this fall.
The Oakland, Calif.-based creator of the system, iParadigms, said in a statement Wednesday that the Ontario Ministry of Education has licensed Turnitin for use in all public and First Nations secondary schools in the province, effective Sept. 1, 2010.
"Ontario is Canada’s most populous province, and this is the largest adoption of the complete Turnitin solution by a secondary education agency anywhere in the world," Chris Caren, chief executive with iParadigms, said in a statement.
The statement released by iParadigms did not say how much the move will cost Ontario schools.
Turnitin works by scanning and comparing student assignments against a database to determine how much of the text is original.
This database is built on past student essays, as well as other sources from the Internet and various journals and books.
However, students at Canadian universities such as Toronto’s Ryerson University have railed against the software, saying it violates their copyright by keeping their assignments in a database for profit.
Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax was the first Canadian school to ban the software in 2006.
As well, students have expressed privacy concerns as essays and assignments are stored on U.S.-based servers, making them vulnerable to the U.S. Patriot Act.
The anti-terrorism legislation, passed in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, allows the U.S. government increased access to personal information and communications in the United States.
Ryerson University currently allows students to opt out of Turnitin, but they are required to set up alternative arrangements with their professor.
Comments