flickr photo shared by avatar-1 under a Creative Commons ( BY-SA ) license
An ode to copy and paste:
Oh ctrl c and ctrl v,
Without you where would we be?
However, if you copy and paste
Don’t do it in too much haste
Make sure the resource is license free!
Two simple shortcuts but they are just the best aren’t they? (Please if you have any better ones, I would love to know about them!)
The ability to copy and paste is one of the best things about technology allowing you to edit documents quickly, re arrange a presentation, complete a spreadsheet, take and share a link. However when the internet is involved it does lead to some problems with copyright issues. To be honest, up until beginning this course, when I am creating media for school copyright and attributing credit were the last thing on my mind. The ease of copy paste as well as the innocent nature of the use were the main reasons for this. However from the readings over this course I am learning that I need to be more responsible with my internet usage in order to set an example for the children in the class. From reading Wesley Am Fryer’s blog you can see the importance of being aware of accreditation of a resource you are using especially when using photographs from the internet. To help me with this I now have cc search bookmarked and have been playing around with CogDog (Alan Levine)’s attribution extension that Robert explained on the coetail page which should speed up the process.
flickr photo shared by takomabibelot under a Creative Commons ( BY ) license
Using accreditation in the classroom:
So far my use of accreditation in the classroom has been limited. My children are currently focusing on improving their general research skills so moving them onto accrediting formally at the moment might be difficult. However there has been an focus and an improvement in not using copy and paste and “remixing” what they read by putting it into their own words. The children are also beginning to use simple bibliographies at the end of their research in a “Where did I get my information?” section. i will be hoping to progress this further over the remainder of the year so that they are prepared t accredit properly before moving into secondary school. I think I will also be using the PLAY system as inspiration in future lessons and how they can improve their collaboration and circulation skills by accrediting properly which gives others the opportunity to use the sources that used to help them to remix the new idea.
flickr photo shared by feedmerobotfood under a Creative Commons ( BY-NC-SA ) license
Fair use a window into simplifying copyright:
In thinking about copyright in future I will focus on fair use both for myself and in discussions with children Seth Godin gives a simple explanation of fair use and what to think about when using other people’s creations. I also think this is an easy way to explain copyright to children as even when you encourage them to use other children in the classes ideas (eg an interesting vocabulary word in writing) there is a natural offence to copying! I often tell them with the vocabulary idea that they should be proud if other children want to use the word the are thinking off and that it is fair to take someone’s idea if it is helping them improve and you thank them for it. I can match this to copyright and accreditation by putting it as a “digital thank you”
And finally, I had some great fun this week as the children examined their digital footprints and how it reflects on them. Some of them were very disappointed with how little of a positive footprint they had left on Edmodo and are motivated to change. This more came from a lack of engagement rather than negative comments so I am starting to see more use from these children. Others were very proud of how their digital footprint reflected on them saying “I have helped children in class by answering their questions” I have posted information to help other’s learn” and “I have commented on other’s work to tell them what was good and how they could improve it”. They are now starting to write their own AUP’s which I will share when they are finished.
Cheers,
Paul