About this list
Resources to help you understand copyright law, fair use, creative commons licensing as well as resources to use with students - to help them understand same concepts. Forms to request permission to use work of others, and assistance with citing sources and avoiding plagiarism.
Understanding copyright & fair use
This May/June 2000 article written by Connie Bakker for an online journal called Multimedia Schools published by Information Today. It explains the background and use of the fair use guidelines as they relate to education including when/under what circumstances fair use can be claimed, how long projects that claim fair use can be kept, how many copies can be kept, portion limits, and what must be included in any presentation that claims fair use.
This page from the NC Department of Public Instruction provides easy-to-understand explanation of fair use guidelines for educators and students when using multimedia.
Creative Commons Licensing
Teaching students about copyright - all grades
From Common Sense Media, this curriculum has great lessons and resources. Check out the scope and sequence chart for lessons organized by grade level (K-12) that cover important topics like online safety, privacy, cyberbullying, information literacy, and giving credit. Also check out links to curriculum toolkits, the blog, and resources for educating families. Lessons and other materials are FREE, but you may need to register once and sign in to download lessons.
Great set of lessons, resources, and support documents for teaching students about copyright and fair use.
Check out this student-oriented list of frequently asked questions from NC Wiseowl. There are links to this page from the homepage of each NC Wiseowl "zone" - elementary, middle, and high school.
Copyright sites for young students
Click on graphic of kids' faces to link to interactive questions and answers about copyright - even if you are teaching older students, check it out - you gotta see this one to believe how cute (and effective!) it is.
Sponsored by Friends of Active Copyright Education (FA©E) that is part of the Copyright Society of the U.S.A.
Asking permission to use work of others
Check out this template from Landmarks for Schools - for STUDENTS. Note HOW it works and how it can be used - read the directions in the left column.
Check out this template from Landmarks for Schools - for TEACHERS. Note HOW it works and how it can be used - read the directions in the left column.
Citing sources
Good guide for young students on how to take notes and avoid plagiarism. Links across top walk students through the process of planning, researching creating, and presenting. Also a link at top to
"Cite my sources" that goes to a citation maker that creates a running list of citations in MLA style.
Not only has link to citation makers that create a running list of citations in either APA or MLA style, but ALSO has lots of great links for older students on plagiarism, when and how to cite, and examples of correct citations. Great links across top to walk students through the research process.
Good explanation of why and how to cite and what plagiarism is and links to THREE different pdf files with examples & general rules for MLA, APA, and Chicago & Turabian Styles. From University of California, Berkeley.
Understanding Plagiarism
From Writing Tutorial Services, Indiana University