March 2008 — Digital Content
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Do the (Copy)right Thing
With administrators generally indifferent to their urgings, librarians are taking their case directly to the students, who may one day find themselves on the other end of copyright violations. "A lot of these kids are going to be making their livings with their imaginations, selling their intellectual property as writers, producers, programmers, artists, etc.," says Doug Johnson, director of media and technology at Minnesota's Mankato Area Public Schools. "Do [they] understand how to protect their own intellectual property?"
Kardick makes a point of teaching her students about copyright practices. She says they take notice when the discussion turns to being kicked out of college for distributing copies of downloaded music. "These things are a part of their lives now, or soon will be," she says.
Aside from the specter of lawsuits, teaching ethical behavior is also reason for educating kids on copyright law. In Cyber-Safe Kids, Cyber-Savvy Teens, Helping Young People Learn to Use the Internet Safely and Responsibly (Jossey- Bass, 2007), Willard urges respect for the rights of creators, offering the example of downloading songs: "If you're going to enjoy someone's music, there is an ethical obligation to support that creator... You owe them-either money or the courtesy of asking for their permission."
"A lot of these kids are going to be making their livings with their imaginations... Do [they] understand how to protect their own intellectual property?"Doug Johnson, Mankato Area Public Schools
Simpson points out that it is not enough for educators to teach ethical behavior, but to demonstrate it as well, even if the chances of being nabbed for copyright infringement are low. "The fact that you may not get caught is not a sufficient reason to not obey the law," Simpson says. "It sends a very bad message to students: You only need to obey the laws that you think might get you into trouble."
Teaching copyright "can be incorporated into virtually everything students do," Simpson says, as a part of teaching appropriate documentation in written work. "Even young elementary students can be taught to attribute, and acknowledge that they are 'borrowing' information that was written by someone else."
Ultimately, says Simpson, copyright doesn't rate as priority with administrators because their focus is so squarely on state testing. "Copyright isn't on highstakes tests, and these days only what is tested on high-stakes tests gets taught," she says caustically. "There is immense pressure on administrators to maintain or raise test scores. If that means pirating test workbooks, then that's what they're going to do. They feel like the ends justify the means. They set a really bad example- students are watching. A teacher may say, 'If we right-click this and save it to our computer, we can use it anytime we want.' Excuse me, who did that belong to? It's not free! What kind of example are we setting for students when we tell them you can take anything you want and call it yours?"
Neal Starkman is a freelance writer based in Seattle.
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