Teaching Kids About Copyright
What we need to know to get along in society changes periodically. I’m reading a book my daughter recommended about two twelve year old girls that switch places a hundred years apart. The present day girl that goes back to 1891 is dismayed to learn that in 1891 she’s only at a third grade history level - because she doesn’t know the names of all the presidents!
Present day students have a need to learn a fair amount about copyright law, because for the first we have the ability to copy and mass distribute almost everything that exists. Twenty years ago there was little need for the average person to know more than the basic concept of copyright, because you couldn’t copy very much and even if you did, you could only share it with a few people.
Now, even very young kids need to understand what they can do with material on the internet, the same way they need to understand that you can’t just walk out of a store without paying for what you want.
This site is devoted to tools for teachers to help teach copyright concepts in the classroom. I haven’t reviewed all the material, but it seems to be a good resource and at the very least, a starting place for teachers looking for ideas on teaching copyright in the classroom.
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