Educating students on the ethical use of computer software and informing them of copyright laws is essentially teaching students to respect the intellectual property of others, a key aspect of being a good digital citizen. In a world where information and resources are at almost literally at the fingertips of our students these lessons are important tools in promoting ethics in their digital generation. One of the first steps that teachers must take is to model ethical use of software and copyrights in their classrooms.Teachers must have a clear understanding of software ethics, copyright laws, and fair use guidelines. A Teacher's Guide to Fair Use and Copyright is a website that teachers can use as a resource to help answer questions about these topics.When teachers discuss software ethics and copyrights with their students they may address the issues with software piracy, in particular with music, movies, or games. Many students may not fully understand the consequences for piracy or the impact that it has on the industry. Articles such as Arizona student guilty of Web piracy or To Students, Music Piracy and Shoplifting Are Worlds Apart can be resources used in lessons to give students examples of these consequences. Teachers should also discuss information piracy and plagiarism with their students. Many students find it easy to simply copy and paste text from web resources into assignments, turning it in as their own. Websites such as Turnitin can be used by teachers and students to help evaluate their work for originality.
There are many ways that teachers can incorporate lessons about software ethics and copyright laws with their students. Listed are some examples:
- Develop a project in which students must investigate actual cases of software or information piracy. Students can take these cases and set up their own trial with judge, prosecutor, defender/defendant, and jury. Throughout the trial each side must prepare their case while the jury and judge determine the outcome and consequences.
- After research and class discussion students can create PSA videos, announcements, posters, or a podcast that can be presented to the school about avoiding piracy or copyright infringement.
Additional lessons and resources that teachers may use to address this topic can include the following websites:
Heather, I highly agree with you that students need to be taught about copyright issues and ethics of software. It reminds me of an incident that happened at my school this past year with that same issue. A student got in trouble twice in about a two week span for copying information down and claiming it as his own. There was miscommunication between two teachers causing this student to interpret the policy two different ways. I think that the link that you gave as a guide to help teachers will be very beneficial and I will pass along to my fellow coworkers. Thanks for the information.
ReplyDeleteThe turnitin site seems very helpful. So if I understanding this site correctly you have your students turn their work in electronically?
ReplyDeleteI liked the comparison between shoplifting and music piracy! I also liked your project ideas with students looking at real cases and setting up a trial. I am thinking through how I might manipulate this for my sixth graders. I believe that a lot of this information might freak some of my kids out and only because they have probably never thought about some of these issues and how it pertains to them.
ReplyDeleteHeather great blog. I liked the specific ways in which students can have hands-on engaging activities, in order to truly wrap there brains around the importance of ethics within the technology world. Yes, teachers need to model appropriate ways to use the web, but like you mention it needs to be done in a way that captures their attention so they can impress upon others how it important it is to respect and use the web with integrity.
ReplyDeleteThank you Heather-great job!