Copyright Law and Resources
Tim and Moby teach students the basics about copyright law. A subscription is required to access this material. Note: Some of the other modules are free, including Online Safety, Information Privacy, Digital Etiquette and Blogs. See: http://www.brainpop.com/technology/digitalcitizenship/
Be prepared to answer questions when the law seems to make little sense, when a law is inconsequential, when a law is widely ignored, or when breaking the law may serve a higher moral purpose. [Doug Johnson]
Teach copyright from the point of view of the producer, as well as the consumer. [Doug Johnson]
Except for the occasional plagiarized passage or unattributed reference in student research papers, most veteran K-12 educators have had little experience dealing with copyright issues in their classrooms. With the advent of the Internet, however, their need to know about copyright law and to understand its implications for such activities as Internet research, downloading programs and documents, creating class Web sites, and installing software on school networks has increased dramatically.
From the Center for Intellectual Property, University of Maryland. The Center for Intellectual Property provides education, research, and resources for the higher education community on copyright, academic integrity, and the emerging digital environment. The Center accomplishes its mission through the delivery of workshops and conferences, online training, consultations on campus, and electronic and print publications, and it provides continuous updates on legislative developments at the local, state, national, and international level.
All you need to know about copyright use and citations.
<b>Define the Line</b> is an awareness program designed to educate students about using commercial software legally, respecting copyrighted works online and understanding the impact of software theft on all of us. Sponsored by the Business Software Alliance (BSA).
Merle Marsh wrote this highly informative article on Teaching Children to Be Responsible Users of Technology, which includes real-life incidents involving legal and ethical abuses of technologies. She also provides recommended educator activities and teaching suggestions.
In 2005, over 20 billion music files was downloaded illegally. The music industry is trying to come to rights with the problem by working on new and better solutions for legal downloading. The purpose of this site [from Norway] is to work as an eye-opener and to raise a debate around the attitudes towards illegal downloading of music. The campaign site is a movie, especially made for the net, mixed with interactive exercises. In addition to the movie, there are 11 clickable myths & facts.
The Entertainment Software Association has put together a comprehensive web site on intellectual property geared for K-5 and middle school students. Through hands-on learning activities, students explore the significance of intellectual property in their everyday lives. There are suggestions for integrating content with classroom curriculum, teacher's guides, reproducible worksheets and Powerpoint templates. All of the activities are designed to raise copyright awareness and build respect for intellectual property.
Real world, practical and relevant copyright, fair use and public domain information. Covers copyright in the <b>visual domain </b>(movies, tv shows, photographs, screenplays, art, sculpture), copyright in the <b>audio domain</b> (musical compositions, lyrics, sound recordings) and copyright in the <b>digital domain </b>(web, Internet and software).
Educators are closely watching a $1 billion copyright infringement lawsuit challenging YouTube's ability to keep copyrighted material off its popular video-sharing web site—a lawsuit that could have important implications for the future of Web 2.0 applications, observers say.
Learn about plagiarism, how to avoid it, and how to cite resources appropriately with this guide from Indiana University.
John Palfrey & Urs Gasser [Berkman Center] identify 9 myths about Digital Natives and offer succinct interpretations based on research and observations of youth. Educators involved in digital citizenship efforts may find a shift in thinking is necessary in how we educate students about issues related to online safety, copyright, privacy etc....where their confusions are and what they do/don't understand. It's also important to understand the significance of social groups and online communities on our youth and how they motivate development of friendship-driven and interest-driven content.
This is the most recent, and less seen CC video clip translating into simple terms and for a wide, generic audience, the explanation of what Creative Commons is all about. Taking advantage of its free re-use and re-mix license, Robin Good and team have taken the time to re-dub the whole video, selecting a new music soundtrack (obviously with a Creative Commons license attached to it), and republishing on their web site for many to see.
Jordan School District policy for use of copyrighted materials.
Many Flickr users have chosen to offer their work under a Creative Commons license, and you can browse or search through content under each type of license.
This excellent video from Temple University's Digital Media Education Lab illustrates the reasons why media literacy educators are at the forefront of the user rights movement because of their reliance on the use of copyrighted materials in their teaching. We see how teachers' confusion about copyright affects the quality of teaching and learning, the ability to share innovative teaching practices, and students' understanding of the law. Download the report, "The Cost of Copyright Confusion for Media Literacy" for more information.
Temple University Media Education Lab provides this helpful document: 10 common myths about copyright and fair use for educators.
Justin Cone won the Moving Images Contest with this clip, created to demonstrate how CC (Creative Commons) works.