What you might not know about copyrights

Teaching in the 21st Century can be an amazing thing, however, there are many concerns that students should be aware of. During my first teaching Block of Teacher's College, I noticed that many students fail to understand the significance of citing work. There were two major incidents where students were caught plagiarizing. In both situations, when being confronted about the originality of their work, openly said they used information from online that they copied. I was surprised that by grade 7 students were unaware of what it means to cite, and how important it is to give credit to the authors. This make me wonder what else students do not know about copyrights and citing.

During my elementary and secondary education, I was under the influence that everything online can be used as long as it was properly cited. However, in my Post-secondary education, it has come to my attention, that not everything online can be used freely, even if cited correctly. Looking at images as an example, how could I determine what images are appropriate to use. The image below can be used as an anchor chart for students to use to help determine if their image should be used or not.

Lee, J. (January 21, 2015). How to determine if it is ok to use a photo. Retrieved https://www.flickr.com/photos/csdewittphotography/16336121161/in/photolist-9muk18-6TMurZ-dSNE8Q-ngNnmg-nc6aRG-cRfdjQ-arkWHe-5Hxjg4-9N6JeX-qTyTFp-fpXBic-nN6Vf9-nZXAWp-nRwTyK-73Pkv4-7QSzfy-dKH81A-dBf33T-6K4xd7-7Y1FXB-9wXPQM-dyN8UE-a5K9eE-mnVZJa-dxeh9k-nd1vPW-fwgRn7-mBUFem-bkVZoV-9CiccP-dyWzKc-bqbjQd-9wHaMy-dMpbcK-7QMu3D-9Ke6md-haoQDn-5hZKxZ-ae8EQo-bqdLw8-dDvnFq-aEUdNP-dKGZCG-dKBVnv-hyPDNY-7QSnoj-haUVLz-ayjx6W-5xJ9sz-72V3sv

Additionally, I think it is appropriate to teach students how to find appropriate images. I was recently introduced to Flickr (https://search.creativecommons.org/), which allows users to search pictures that have credible sources, who have appropriate copyrights that allow for personal use. Within seconds I was able to find the following image. 

Inkles, P. (September 25, 2011). Business Baby Pointing. Retrieved https://www.flickr.com/photos/dumfstar/8553474140/in/photolist-e2QMS5-abfPT5-28rtGN-fvT5PN-5b495D-bqVQtj-6WtbrL-e2QMHQ-8vBVTe-8vEXjo-4m5ojv-8vEXd9-8vBWaH-6Wp8Nk-8vEXtU-8vEXmG-5r6ss8-8Jzfg7-8Vy1nk-3oxYh-pyrM81-bFrCvg-9iEkhF-8GmvbX-68mS5h-CH3be-6wnx18-8vEXbY-5bwe6M-8vEXpw-8vBVYn-sjCDK-62Y6XP-8vBVWt-eenL8S-62Yv2h-7DAUZj-8uVTTM-8vEXvJ-8uVpXv-5k2wrs-7Cj5Uu-A8zQK-6T2Wt9-hccN5T-7M6JDi-fefJT-nfSTMX-8XHKbe-8vBVPR/

When looking through Google, I found many images, which were subjected to copyrights. After several minutes of sifting through images that all were not appropriate to use, I thought of a better idea. I then used Google's advanced search to filter pictures to find an image that is free to use, share or modify or even for commercial use. I was hen able to find the following image.

Toniolo De Carvalho, A. ( 2017). Child With Laptop. Retrieved http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/view-image.php?image=6884&

From my own quick experience with using different search engines, I can see the importance of teaching students how to perform appropriate searches, how to determine if the information is usable or not, and finally how to properly credit the authors. In conclusion, it is important to teach students how to research, and cite prior to beginning a research based assignment. Additionally, teachers should not wait until post-secondary to teach students about proper copyright laws, and the importance of citation.