Teaching your Students about Copyright

What is Copyright?

        Original work and resources that you may find online are protected by copyright laws. This means that only the author of the original work has the right to use the resource, and others must recieve permission in order to use the resource. This being said, if the copyright laws have been released through creative commons the public can use the work by properly citing and giving credit to its author or creator.

Implications for Teaching: 

(2008). SmartBoard [Online Image]. Retrieved from
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/SmartBoard.JPG   
 

        Copyright laws have specific implications for teaching, especially in a 21st century context where digital citizenship becomes so important. As teachers, we may not show resources in class that are not our original works unless they have a creative commons license. Copyright also has implications for the sharing and use of documents and worksheets that we may find online. We may not use these copied documents unless payment is made to the copyright owner. In these cases, a paid subscription to a site is usually required.

Implications for Students: 

Ribeiro, L. (2008, June 30). Children at School [Online Image]. Retrieved from  https://www.flickr.com/photos/lupuca/8720604364/

        As we encourage our students to become digital citizens it is essential that we teach them about copyright and how it effects them. In order to do this, we must show students how to know if a resource has the correct licensing, encourage them to only use works with a creative commons license, and help them to understand and practice correct citing.

        I think it is important that we also encourage students to copyright their own images that they may share on line in order to further their understanding of the concept. One way this can be accomplished in a classroom setting is to develop a class file consisting of images, videos, and other works that your students create. When students upload these resources to the class file they should give their work a creative commons license where they can choose the circumstances under which their work can be used by others. Not only would this create a compilation of resources that can be shared within your classroom, but it would also encourage the important practice of checking for copyright regulations before a resource is used.