Wednesday, August 04, 2004

What Do You Mean COPYRIGHT Does Not Mean I Have the Right to Copy?

Diane Painter begins her story:
A few years ago a sixth grade student came up to me and asked,


"I really like that
CD Explorers of the New World. Can I take it home this weekend and make a copy? I will bring it back on Monday.
I responded by saying, "No, you can't do that."

He said, "Oh sure I can. I have a CD burner!"

"No, that's not what I meant," I replied. "You MAY NOT copy the CD. It is copyrighted."

"I know," he answered.

"What do you think I mean when I say, "copyrighted?" I asked.
"I have the right to copy it," he confidently replied.

Returning, as is my wont, to some subjects more than once (or twice even), I'm back to the challenge of copyright and fair use principles. In this age of digitized information and multimedia, how do those prinicples -- and the law governing them -- apply or not apply to our work as teachers. And how aware are our students of all of this?

The above is the title and the beginning of a very interested, thought-provoking, and motivating article at techLEARNING. It looks at the whole question of cyberethics and copyright in our age and addresses it to 5th and 6th graders. Reading this also provides a reminder, if any were necessary, that we can't really ignore or plead ignorance about this issue, particularly since it boils down to one of ethics.

For me, this article also reminds me that I need to be more intentional and proactive about working with and talking to students about this issue.

Take a look at "What Do You Mean COPYRIGHT Does Not Mean I Have The Right to Copy?" by Diane D. Painter. I suspect you'll see what I mean.