As far as learning this week, it feels like there's a lot of information in week 1! I'm glad I had time last night to sit and watch the videos on copyright. Two I especially liked were the Disney (not Disney) clipped together statement (very creative, but must have taken FOREVER to make!) and the one on the DJ in Pittsburgh. The first was comical and made it's point by using clips from Disney movies to talk about copyright laws and how confusing they were. It was also extremely ironic, it being made up of only clips from disney movies, showing that a completely different creative innovative piece of work can be created by combining elements from other pieces of work. Obviously the Disney movies were not being copied, but they were being used in a completely different way that they were not intended to be used in. I suppose since it was used for educational purposes to teach the meaning and rules of copyright issues, that it was fair use.
Copyright laws kind of remind me of my students with rules. They always say things like, "Cops shouldn't give out tickets for speeding, people should just drive however they want, as long as their careful." Then I have to ask them, "Well how do you know what 'careful' looks like? What kinds of things make a safe driver? How would the police be able to prove that someone was being unsafe?" Then I continue to explain that is how rules get started, once people start fighting back, rules become stricter and more prohibitive in order to cover all bases. I feel like copyright started as a good a moral idea, but it spun way out of control and now it seems a little ridiculous.
The week continues, time to go back to my glass painting with my 3rd block. My one student decided to paint the whole window, and then scratch away a portrait of Salvador Dali. Is this a copyright issue? The photograph is below, I hope I don't get sued.
Your student is amazingly talented! I've visited the Salvador Dali museum in Tampa many times and I'm sure he would be honored to be scratched out of dried paint on a window.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading about how your class discussion on rules (like speed limits) took you to the conclusion that copyright laws are well meaning but might have evolved into an unyielding monster. Those kind of student conversation set you apart in a category of dream educators, helping young people grow into responsible adults. Keep it up!