If you use anything from lessons, to books, to worksheets for your classroom, you have probably heard the word "copyright". Even though you have heard it, do you actually know what it means? I thought I knew what copyright meant, but now that I have dug into the concept further, I have realized I haven't really understood it. I had always thought copyright was a legal document that you had to apply to get. I have been confusing copyright with getting a patent, though similar they are not the same. Before learning more about copyrights, I didn't realize that anything a person creates and shares, comes with an automatic copyright attached. Like I mentioned above, I always thought it was something you had to buy and get legalized. I am relieved to know that all of the items I post online actually is protected by a copyright.
Since sharing is a large part of teaching, I think creative commons is another vital part of the copyright process. I wasn't very familiar with creative commons when I first began this assignment. Through watching various informational videos and reading articles on the matter, I understand creative commons a lot better. Creative commons is a way for owners to have more control about how their work is shared. There are options that allow for remixing or that prevent the use of the work being produced commercially. I think this effects teaching the most. As mentioned in my past posts, sharing is a large part of the teaching process. As a teacher it is important that I understand the laws of copyright and creative commons licenses. Being more knowledgeable about these items allows for me to be a better model of digital citizenship for my students. It is also important that we teach children about the laws and regulations of copyright and creative commons so that they do not grow up with misconceptions like I did.
It is our responsibility as educators to follow copyright laws when selecting the media we use in our classroom. Once again, selecting media the right way is a great way to lead students by example. I know from experience that if a teacher doesn't "practice what they preach", they lose a lot of respect and credibility from the students. An example for me is when I was in seventh grade English and I had a teacher using proper grammar and slang. It made me not want to listen to what she was saying anymore because I wasn't sure if she actually knew what she was talking about. This is an example of how that teacher lost credibility. By teaching students the proper way to use media and how to cite it, we are protecting them from any hardships that can develop from not following copyright laws. As educators, we should always have our students' best interest in mind.
A common area that copyright laws get disobeyed is when it comes to movie sharing and music sharing. I think it is important for us to remember that getting video and music files illegally through file sharing and from pirating websites, it is no different than stealing the movie or CD from the store. We know that ethically physically walking out with an object is stealing and that is wrong. So why does stealing movies and music digitally not feel so bad? I don't really have a good answer for that. I think that we are always in the mindset of needing things immediately, that we try to gain access to them in the quickest and cheapest way possible, forgetting that we are stealing from the musicians, actors and artists responsible for them.
In a classroom like mine that is constantly using technology and different types of media, I feel it is my responsibility to make my students the best digital citizens they can be. If I don't remind them the importance of respecting copyrights and creative common licenses, who will? Hopefully as more people become knowledgeable about these laws and begin to think of the people who create the items being stolen, we will begin to have a positive and safe digital world.
Here is a list of resources that helped me to gain my understanding of copyright and creative commons licenses:
The teacher in this next video really impresses me by how she teaches her students and how she leads by example. Her students also seem to fully understand what is expected of them and they understand what is being taught to them.
Other resources:
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