Introduction to Copyright

Lesson Content

• Lesson Plan Template:

  CTE Lesson Plan

• CTE Course Info and Benchmark Notes

  
  

  Program Title (as applicable): Digital Multimedia/Media Design

  Course Title: Digital Multimedia/Media Foundations 1

  Course Number: 8201210

  Career Cluster: Arts, A/V Technology and Communication

  CIP Number: 0609070220

  Course Type: (Program Type:) Career Preparatory

  CTE Standard(s) or benchmarks:

  Focus: 1.05 Demonstrate knowledge of copyright laws (e.g. Copyright Statutes, disclaimers, filing procedures.

• Unit Outline

  
  

  This is a first in a series of lessons introducing and explaining copyright laws. Lessons suggested after this lesson include an in-depth comparison on copyright infringement, highlighting real cases of copyright infringement, and safely finding and crediting source images for projects.

• Career Connection

  
  

  Designers don’t always create all the raw assets that they use when creating a final design. A designer needs to understand what they can and cannot use in their designs/artwork as well as when to properly cite the original creator of the items that they use within their designs. A designer should also understand how they and others are protected under copyright, how it comes into effect and what to do if they find that their work has been infringed upon.

• Learning Objectives

  
  

  Students will be able to:

  • Recognize materials that they have permission to use and not use.
  • Find materials that they are allowed to use for their work.
  • Recognize different types of copyright and Creative Commons symbols.
  • Research information about copyright, Creative Commons, and fair use.

• Prior Knowledge

  
  

  Students should be able to:

  • give a general description of what copyright is.
  • conduct online research.
  • collaborate in a group.

• Guiding Questions

  
  
  • Why is copyright so important in protecting artists, including yourself?
  • What should you be aware of when searching for materials to use in your projects?
  • How do you know you are able to use an image you found online?
  • How do copyright laws apply to creative works?

• Procedure

  
  
  1. Ask students to talk about their previous knowledge of what copyright is and complete the K column in a KWL chart.
     • Students will refer to the KWL chart at the end of the lesson.
     • Have students volunteer what they know and as a class determine what they want to know about copyright to complete the W column.
  2. Break students into groups divisible by 4.
     • Assign one of the following topics to each group: Copyright, Public Domain, Fair Use, and Creative Commons. Give the Guided Notes (see attachments) to students to fill out the group's assigned section.
     • Groups should research the topic and give the following information: definition and 2-3 examples of images that fall into their topic (i.e., fair use images vs. copyrighted images).
  3. Break groups into new groups using a jigsaw format.
     • Have the students form new groups that represent each of the topics to share their information with the new group so everyone can fill out the rest of the guided notes and learn the new concepts:
       • Definitions of each item.
       • What each item covers/protects.
       • Differences between each item and how they relate to each other.
       • Parameters of important items such as creation dates.
     • Check students' guided notes for understanding as they finish sharing information in groups.
  4. Review the Intro to Copyright PPT (see attachments) with the students. Have students share their findings and add information to their guided notes. This is a good time to check for understanding or clarify misconceptions.
     • The last slide has the different versions of Creative Commons icons. Review with students so they can do the following activities.
  5. Have students (individually or in pairs) match the icons to their definitions.
     • See lesson attachment - "Creative Commons Match."
     • There are two versions of the same worksheet (see attachments).
       • Creative Commons with Initials
       • Creative Commons without Initials
  6. After students match the icons and definitions, have students put the licenses in order from less restrictive to more restrictive.
     • See lesson attachments - "Order the Licenses" (answer sheet included).
  7. To close the lesson, re-ask students what they know about copyright.
     • Have students finish the KWL chart.
     • Have students compare their knowledge of what they knew before to what they learned during the lesson.

• Teacher Notes

  
  
  • This is the first time a lot of students will dive into copyright other than it is something that protects an artist. The teacher will need to come up with relevant examples for your students to help them understand how it can affect them. A quick search for "famous copyright infringement cases" will result in several great examples to use. creativecommons.org is a great place for a more in-depth view into Creative Commons.
  • The presentation and guided notes can help serve as a highlight of what is to come for the groups or as a check for understanding on what the individual groups have done.
  • Be sure to prepare groups in advance for the jigsaw activity.
  • Helpful Websites:
    • Copyright.gov
    • CreativeCommons.org

• Optional

  
  

  Formative Assessment Ideas:

  • Have students name the different types of creative commons by their symbols.
  • Check students' guided notes for understanding as they finish sharing information in groups.

  Accommodation Suggestions:

  • Two matching handouts available:
  • 1 with the icon and the initials paired.
  • 1 without the initials included.

  Extension Ideas:

  • Have students find images online for an upcoming project. Have them properly cite their sources with the copyright information included.
  • Present students with examples of copyright infringement, fair use, and properly used Creative Commons. Have students determine what each example falls under.
  • Give students examples of images with Creative Commons and citations. Then have students assess if given image citation is correct to the Creative Commons type. If not, what needs to be added or taken away to the citation.