MAC Week 1 Post - Why is Copyright so Hard????
Since we are reading and discussing copyright, I thought this was the perfect time to get feedback on an ongoing problem with students today. I teach 8th grade Computer Literacy and I think I really have some really great students. I teach a three week unit on Copyright where we discuss what is copyright, what can and cannot be copy-written, and fair use guidelines. Our students have a lot expected of them and are required to complete Science and History Fair projects where they must do research. The problem is when doing their research, they tend to just copy just what they see instead of rephrasing and/or siting their sources.
This really becomes a problem when they attempt to compete in district and state fairs and are often disqualified because of copyright issues. Some say they are too young to really understand that using someone else's material and claiming it as their own is not really a big problem. But they tend to understand everything else.
Please feel free to comment on this issue your thoughts and or solutions. Thanks
I said...
A recent incident in my class makes good fodder for the copyright debate and when it might be acceptable to use copy written material without “authorization.” It also sounds all too familiar. During my cycle 2 phase, I explained to students that they would have to get express permission (from the artist) to use any popular music. In each instance, they informed me of fair use practice information. Their source: the iTunes store. Their attitudes also indicated that if the artist didn’t know, what did it matter? During their final presentations, a maverick by the name of Jason used popular artist Wiz Khalifa’s “Roll Up” as a soundtrack to his digital story. I saw this as teachable moment for information literacy skills. As a result, I did some research in hopes of getting students to understand the legality of the issue and found information from Washington State University http://publishing.wsu.edu/copyright/music.html#Education After reading it and a class discussion, it was determined that students were correct in their assertion that popular music could be used for their projects because it was for educational purposes and would not be played in it’s entirety. Now I am not so sure. “Roll Up” wasn’t necessary for Jason to share his story. It was appropriate, but not necessary. Which is why I will revise the project and add Creative Commons as a resource.
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