SparkNotes
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| SparkNotes | |
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| URL | http://www.sparknotes.com |
| Slogan | Today's Most Popular Study Guides |
| Commercial? | Yes |
| Type of site | Internet Study guides |
| Registration | Optional |
| Available language(s) | English |
| Owner | Barnes & Noble |
| Created by | Sam Yagan, Max Krohn, and Chris Coyne |
| Launched | September 1, 1999 [1] |
| Current status | Active |
SparkNotes, originally part of a website called The Spark, is a company started by Sam Yagan, Max Krohn, and Chris Coyne in 1999 that provides free in-depth commentary, analysis and study guides for literature, poetry, history, film and philosophy.
Barnes & Noble acquired SparkNotes.com in 2001 for a price of $3.55 million.[2]
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[edit] History
TheSpark.com was launched January 7, 1999 as a dating website by four Harvard students. Most of TheSpark's users were high school and college students, and so the first six literature study guides (entitled "SparkNotes") were published on April 7, 1999 in order to increase its popularity. [3] [1] [4] The SparkNotes.com website was launched on September 1, 1999. In 2000 the site was sold to iTurf Inc. The following year SparkNotes were bought by Barnes & Noble[4] and fifty literature study guides were chosen to be published in print form. When Barnes&Noble printed SparkNotes, they also stopped selling their chief competitor, Cliff Notes.[5] Until then, the only content on the website were literature study guides but in January 2003 the The SparkNotes Test Prep, a practice test service, started. This project was followed by SparkCharts, which are meant to serve as reference sheets summarizing the topic, and No Fear Shakespeare, a transcription of Shakespeare's plays into modern English. [1]
[edit] Other features
SparkNotes also offers content and services related to the SAT, ACT, and AP tests, paraphrases of Shakespeare into modern English, exercises for high school teachers, and a message board.
Its current owner, Barnes & Noble, sells printed versions of the study guides in the United States and Chapters in Canada, in a format similar to that of CliffsNotes.
SparkNotes has moved into educational publishing with books like Poetry Classics and FlashKids, a series of educational books for K-8 students.
[edit] Criticism
Many school teachers have blamed the website as a cheating tool for students[6][7], who use Sparknotes as a replacement for doing reading assignments [8][9][10] or during tests using cellphones with internet access. Sparknotes has many "study guides" for different works of literature, and these study guides have summaries of each chapter which can be read by students instead of reading the actual material.
SparkNotes say they do not support any form of academic dishonesty [11], including plagiarism[12]. Students can read the actual book, and then check SparkNotes to compare their own interpretation of the text with the SparkNotes analysis. [8] [13][14][15]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c A Brief History of SparkNotes. SparkNotes. SparkNotes LLC. Retrieved on 2008-02-04.
- ^ Barnes & Noble inc - BKS Quarterly Report (10-Q) Item 1: Financial Statements. Edgar Online (2001-06-18). Retrieved on 2008-02-05.
- ^ Martin, Stacy. "SITE SPECIFIC-www.sparknotes.com", San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco: Hearst Communications Inc., 2004-09-05. Retrieved on 2008-03-19.
- ^ a b Borja, Anais; Lester, Amelia. "The Rise and Success of Sparknotes", The Harvard Crimson, Harvard: The Harvard Crimson Inc., 2001-10-18. Retrieved on 2008-03-19.
- ^ Bowman, James. "Murder Most Foul", The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones & Company, Inc., 2003-08-08. Retrieved on 2008-03-24.
- ^ Simnauer, Lauren; Dumler, Christie. "There's room for sparknotes, too", The View, Zip Publishing, 2007-06-20. Retrieved on 2008-03-24.
- ^ John, Sutherland. "US students log on to the internet for a cheat's charter", Guardian Unlimited, Guardian News and Media Limited, 2000-06-02. Retrieved on 2008-03-25.
- ^ a b Eger, Andrea. "Students love study guides", Tulsa World, World Publishing Co, 2008-02-22. Retrieved on 2008-03-02.
- ^ "Competition for CliffsNotes arrives on the scene – in print", The Christian Science Monitor, 2002-06-25. Retrieved on 2008-03-24.
- ^ Saltz, Molly. "No, it's a cheap shortcut that does no one any good", The Register-Guard, 1006-01-02. Retrieved on 2008-03-25.
- ^ About SparkNotes. SparkNotes. SparkNotes LLC. Retrieved on 2008-02-06.
- ^ Kestler, Justin. Help:The Plagiarism Plague. SparkNotes. SparkNotes LLC. Retrieved on 2008-02-06.
- ^ Miller, Erin. "Is SparkNotes worthwhile? Yes, used properly it can enhance our education", The Register-Guard, 2006-01-02. Retrieved on 2008-03-24.
- ^ Nguyen, Kim Ngan. "SparkNotes A Hit With High School Crowd", The Denver Channel, Internet Broadcasting Systems, Inc., 2003-10-02. Retrieved on 2008-03-24.
- ^ Formato, Brynne. "A quick study: online sites speed up reading", The Mirror, 2004-02-05. Retrieved on 2008-03-25.
