Books
- James Boyle's
The Public Domain: Enclosing the Commons of the Mind (2008, Yale University Press) explains the implications of various aspects of copyright law and their impact on culture and creativity, and makes good arguments for a strong and healthy creative public domain.
- Lawrence Lessig's
Free Culture (2004, The Penguin Press) recounts the history of intellectual-property law, including some very instructive and engaging stories which students might enjoy. He also details the consequences of current laws and makes a well-reasoned argument for policies that allow, encourage, and reward creative activity by individual citizens rather than favoring powerful media corporations.
Create, share, reflect
As a group, the students should create a presentation that will clearly relate to the rest of the class the most important points that they have learned in their investigations. You may want to also require a written report that includes their answers to all of the research questions, and a reference list that includes all of the resources they used. The type of presentations you permit will depend on your goals for this activity as well as the equipment available to you and your students. You can require a particular type of presentation, or give groups a choice of format. Here are some suggestions for possible formats:
- Poster or other visual presentation of their findings, with students taking turns speaking about the most important points
- Powerpoint or other computer-based slide presentation, with student taking turns speaking about the information on the slides
- Audio/video presentation or web tour, narrated by the group
- Blackboard/whiteboard/overhead-based lecture with handouts, prepared and presented by the group
- Mini-drama, acted out by the group, illustrating the most important information they have learned, accompanied by a more formal written report to be turned in to you
- Poem, song, story, or visual work featuring what they have learned, to be presented and explained to the class, accompanied by a formal written report to be turned in to you
Groups will
share their presentations and
reflections in the presentation/discussion activity (in the following section).
Activity 2: presentation and discussion
If the class did not do the inquiry activity, you will need to research and prepare a presentation that gives an overview of the types of licenses that might be appropriate for the students' creations in Activities 3 and 4.
Activity summary
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Goals - The students will learn about various options for licensing creative works, including the consequences and legal ramifications of each and the differences between them.
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Grade Level - Recommended for secondary and adult students
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Student Prerequisites - Students should be capable of thinking critically about law, ethics, and consequences as they relate to intellectual property.
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Teacher Expertise - Expertise in copyright law is not necessary, but the discussion will be more lively if the discussion leader is prepared with facts, points, and stories that are relevant to the students' creative and publication interests.
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Time Requirements - Allow 15-20 minutes for each group's presentation. If the students did not do the inquiry activity, you can prepare a 20-30 minute overview of the information you have gathered. Also schedule time for questions and group discussion following each group presentation (5-10 minutes) or after your presentation (15-30 minutes).
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Objectives - The students will discuss a variety of licensing options that are relevant to their creative work, including the ramifications of each for the creator and for others.
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Evaluation - You can assess student learning based on engagement in the discussions of other people's presentations, including asking thoughtful questions and making good points in discussions. Alternatively, you may ask students to create notes, charts, or diagrams that organize the information they learn from each presentation.
