Thing 8

Most my students don't know what copyright is, those that do are confused by it.  Asked about what is copyrighted on the Internet, very few students knew that everything is considered copyrighted. Since most teachers don't require students to site or credit the images the students use in projects, students assume that all images are free to use. When asked who should be credited for the images found through a Google image search, most said Google.   Most students felt that if they could download music from the Internet, they could use it and didn't need to have legally acquired it.  After reading and listening to many of the resources on copyright, I have to say I'm just as confused as before and most of my students are too.  I tend to error on the side of caution, the students tend to lean towards everything is "fair game."  I intend to continue to read about the topic, encourage teachers and students to be respectful of others' creative property, continue to promote use of creative commons sources, and give credit to sources that we do use.