Student Press Law Center-Student Conversations Need to Take Place

My students are part of the group that when asked to get a photo they go to Google because they think it is free, I cringe but then go on to discuss fair use with them, it is one of those teachable moments. I all too often wonder if they will remember this lesson or how they think it applies to them. When the internet comes into view it lets our students think that everything is fair game. When creating our promotion video this year I had a huge debate with students on using songs that we did not own rights to and why that was wrong and had several students lead me to websites where I could get music for free, really it was not free it was taken from some place else. No matter the viewpoints I brought up or the administrators and SRO I had come into the classroom to discuss it, the kids were still perplexed by the idea of items online being free but being illegal.

I remember the issue of Napster in college and being scared out of my mind to use it because I might be caught. When I became a teacher I was told to beg, borrow, and steal as much as I could because I should not be recreating the wheel. I know were my kids are coming from, I was there too but with different applications. 

With the information presented today by the Student Press Law Center I realized that there is a ton of what ifs out there with copyright and fair use. Our students need to be aware of this law and own it when they are creating in our classrooms. As a teacher I need to be able to guide them into the healthy way of using it to protect themselves and their journalism works.

I need to make sure I use the lessons and handouts from splc.org this year and have conversations with students. I am excited to use this resource in a responsible way. I need to make sure that I incorporate the conversations of fair use and copyright into my students minds with Facebook Groups or perhaps hash tag topics. I really want to be a moderator on this topic and allow students to become the 21st century learners they need to be.

Heather Jancoski
Desert Sands Middle School
Phoenix, AZ