Though I've always known about copyright laws and licensing, I never really thought it about how I much I would need to know just to conduct lessons in my own classroom. After this class, I realize now that I really should brush up on my copyright knowledge, not only for my future classroom but for my life in general.
I think it is important to introduct students to copyright from the get-go - to show them the importance of crediting someone for their work. I might do this by having everyone submit something and then making a copy of them. I will then put it on the overhead and act as if they were my own. I expect the students to take ownership of their work. This will put them in the position of people that they could potentially be "stealing" from. (That's how I see copyright infringement, as stealing...)
Overall, I believe that copyright is something that needs to be more emphasized and made to be more important in schools. I feel that it is not priority in schools and needs to be - especially in an environment where plagarism and copying from others is strictly prohibited.
I totally agree with you about the seriousness of copyright infringement. As I discussed in my own blog, this could be done with something as innocent as showing a movie from home in your classroom, or as serious as using another persons work as your own. I feel that while at times I'm sure inappropriate use of another's work is done on purpose, more times than not I think it is done unintentionally and without knowing. Even myself, so many times I have used photos off the internet to liven up a powerpoint presentation or portfolio. I guess I never really thought of that as taking someone else's work without credit, but it is. I think it is definitely important that we teach students early on about copyright laws and how to cite sources so that they can legitimize their work, and really understand why it is so important to give credit where credit is due.
ReplyDeleteI think your project idea is a really good one! Having a project where each student writes up a research paper, and then everybody has to create a works cited page for the class, would be a great exercise. However, it would probably be a good idea to have students create different projects to be cited. One student can create a powerpoint, another can compose a diagram, while another does a podcast. This way, the works cited is not just citing one kind of work. It would introduce the idea that there are many kinds of media that need to be cited in different ways.
ReplyDeleteI would agree with you that the issues of copyright are neglected in the classroom. Most of the time teachers themselves are unaware of the copyright laws for the materials that they are using.Ignorance is not an excuse to justify the breaking of the law. Teachers need to inform themselves.
ReplyDeletei agree too, i feel that students would not want their ideas stolen, so we must instill in them now the ideas of copy right infringements. if you barrow someones work, be mindful of how to barrow it.
DeleteI like your idea for the copyright activity! I think that students would take more responsibility for their actions when it comes to copyright laws if they knew how it hurts the creators of materials when those laws are violated.
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