Modern technologies have made it easy for students to get into serious trouble for overstepping the bounds of copyright laws or rules about plagiarism. But technology has also made possible a vibrant participatory culture in which all creators, including students, can choose to publish their creative works and share them in varying degrees. Understanding the options that are available for sharing and protecting intellectual property will help students make wise, well-informed decisions about both their own work and the intellectual property of others. Introducing the subject in relationship to the student's own creative work provides concrete, personally meaningful examples of the issues and encourages respect for the intellectual property of others. These activities are designed to be one aspect of an extensive creative-arts project. The module does not include a specific creative project; instead it can be used with any publishable creative work, including:
- Music
- Dance
- Drama
- Video
- Fiction and Nonfiction
- Poetry
This module includes suggestions for:
- An active-learning Activity 1: Inquiry into copyright licenses into the types of licenses and copyright protections that are appropriate to your project.
- A classroom Activity 2: Presentation and Discussion of intellectual-property issues and options.
- A basic Activity 3: Choosing a License activity that can be done, separately, after a creative project is finished.
- A more complex Activity 4: Sharing and building on the creations of others the creative work of others. This activity needs to be part of the creative process from the planning phase of the creative-arts project.
If you do not have a creative project in mind already and would like some suggestions, the following Connexions modules include activities that could result in publishable creations. (If you would like to add other Connexions modules or links to other creative-activities sites, please contact the author.)
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