14 DAY TRIAL // Starting a study group is something most schools, high schools and universities encourage, as it is an almost sure means of academic enlightenment for the members. Better grades and recognition, perhaps contests won are the upside for students while making a name as one of the best schools is what the learning institutions are after. The only condition, it seems, is that the study groups be in real life and not online.
Toronto's Ryerson University was the first one to shun such activities from a student's extra-curricular activities, despite the above-mentioned advantages, for the huge cheating potential they host. Learning together is one thing, but seeing another person's notes and homework might tempt some to simply copy it, rename the paper and submit it as their own, according to the University.
The Facebook group created by Chris Avenir last week almost got him expelled, a decision that instituted something of a fear culture, according to Reuters. The expulsion threat has been since removed, but Chris will not get any credits for the course, and a disciplinary notice has been attached to his record. All of that for wanting to use the latest technology for a tech project.
Jesse Hirsh, a Canadian media analyst, said that Ryerson's action "sends a clear signal to all the kids that innovation is not only frowned upon but will be punished and that if you use emerging technologies in innovative ways, you risk being expelled from the school." A digital study group, because of the obvious traces it always leaves for closer investigations that might occur, is something that most definitely would benefit the academic world, being very easy to check on and providing the means of connecting students from all over the world, an exchange of experience sought after everyday, so Ryerson's decision to outcast it is difficult to understand properly.