Know Your Copy-Rights
The recent push to create 21st Century educational experiences for students has resulted in a revolution of multimedia projects and authentic assessments in schools. As teachers continue to find ways to engage this generation of students in meaningful, relevant content, they must understand that this type of teaching and learning is coupled with the responsibility of becoming knowledgeable regarding copyright laws and fair use guidelines—topics that have emerged alongside the integration of technology into the K-12 curriculum.
Educators today not only have the challenge of teaching students how to utilize various Web 2.0 tools and applications that often involve the incorporation of images, music and/or video, but they must also show students how to become conscientious digital citizens—which includes but is not limited to properly citing sources and seeking permission for use of copyrighted materials.
With that said, I created the Getting to Know Your Copy-Rights wiki page to assist teachers in better understanding copyright and fair use in the context of the classroom—information that will ensure compliance with U.S. Copyright regulations. In addition, this page includes a variety of links for copyright and royalty free images, music and audio than can be incorporated into lessons, projects without the worry of copyright infringement.
The Getting to Know Your Copy-Rights resource also contains a “Copyright 101 for the 21st Century Classroom” newsletter/quick reference guide I developed to explain fair use and copyright guidelines as they pertain to the educational setting.
Classroom Connection:
The resources located on the Getting to Know Your Copy-Rights wiki page can help teachers to become more familiar with copyright laws. This information can also be used to teach students how to be responsible digital citizens. It is important that they understand what media types are legal to incorporate into their projects as well as how to properly cite the images, audio and videos that are utilized.