Copyrights & Copywrongs
In my third week of Digital Citizenship, one of my Digital Leading and Learning courses through the Ed Tech Program through Lamar, we learn how to be a good and conscientious digital citizen. This week we focused on the importance of "Copyrights and Copywrongs". We focused on the do's and don'ts of what to do regarding copyright laws and using resources associated with intellectual property. We discussed various topics that deal with copyright laws, such as copyright infringement, plagiarism, attribution, and transformation. While reflecting on this week's content, I learned the importance of distinctly telling the different laws' similarities and differences.
The original copyright law was designed to promote creativity to ensure that credit was given where credit was due. Basically, making sure that the original author or creator of a piece of work, whether written work, art, music, or anything, was given full credit when used for other purposes. We also discussed Fair Use. Fair use permits limited use of copyrighted material without having first to acquire permission from the copyright holder. Copyright infringement is when someone violates the rights granted to a copyright owner by unauthorized use of the original work. Plagiarism is when a person takes someone's ideas and uses them as their own such as using a paper, article, or type of artwork without giving the author or creator credit for using their work. Attribution is granting credit to the source of work that was used in any manner. Transformation is when your work is being used completely differently than what you originally intended for it.
By reflecting on the content this week, I also learned that finding and using copyrighted materials and using them for learning is vital to the learning process. As a teacher, I always want to provide my students with the resources that will help set them up for success later on in life. Utilizing various classroom resources can help enrich learning opportunities by making them more engaging for the learner, but these resources must be cited correctly. In my five years of teaching, I have learned that it is essential to use good judgment and follow the law when planning the curriculum and activities for my class. I take all of these issues into consideration when doing research and planning out lessons for my class.
In conclusion, I have learned that it is crucial to understand the importance of copyright laws and fair use as a tool to increase the overall learning process happening in school effectively. Moving forward into my educational and professional career, I will continue learning how to cite resources that I use properly. Having the opportunity to utilize other's research and work has truly enhanced the overall learning process. I also think it will be important to make it a point to educate others as well. Although some rules and requirements apply to the various copyright laws and can be overwhelming and frustrating when ensuring that the citations are done correctly, I will not let this prevent me from becoming a responsible digital citizen.
Resources:
Below I have added some videos and resources from our course that helped me learn more about our topics and content for the week.