Dr. Heidi Estrem

--Heidi Estrem, Ph.DDirector of First-Year WritingDepartment of EnglishBoise State University

--Heidi Estrem, Ph.DDirector of First-Year WritingDepartment of EnglishBoise State University

Dr. Heidi Estrem, Ph.D., director of first-year writing at Boise State's English department, is currently running workshops for instructors at Boise State with Writing Center director Michael Mattison that deal with issues of plagiarism.
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Estrem and Mattison are optimistic that faculty can design assignments that will reduce the amount of plagiarism and improper citing.
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Estrem is enthusiastic about the talk surrounding the serious issue.

"The one positive benefit of this focus has been the opportunity to have broader discussions about it," he says.

Estrem is quick to point out that the many resources students have at Boise State for assistance with writing.More than 30 professors teaching different courses have spoken to English 102 students about writing in their disciplines.Estrem considers this to be an invaluable asset for younger students, to be able to learn how historians, chemists and economists each cite cases and references differently.
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"There are lots of legal and ethical issues we're thinking through as a campus," Estrem says."There is a cultural moment happening now, where lots of focus is being pointed to how we use text."

This spring, Boise State will test out an online student database called "My Drop Box," aimed at helping students work through citation and writing rules.Through the service, students can submit their work and have its content checked for originality.Estrem is hopeful that faculty will use "My Drop Box" as a learning tool, instead of using it just to catch plagiarism.