Wired has two articles today which address the issue of improper use of the Internet by students.

The first, Thin Line Splits Cheating, Smarts, states that students are improperly using Google Answers, an online service which provides answers to questions via "a cadre of 500-plus freelance researchers" for a fee.

The second, Got Cheaters? Ask New Questions points out that teachers who continue to teach traditional book reports and research papers need to be revised into writing which requires students to "analyze, interpret, infer or synthesize." I would speculate that merely blaming students and the Internet for the rise in plagiarism without taking action to change assignments is an easy out for teachers that are uncomfortable with or unwilling to change. Besides, the traditional assignments mentioned in this article just don't take full advantage of the resources that the Internet makes available to the classroom.