One of a kind is defined as the only item of a particular
kind. How rare and extraordinary this one of a kind must
be. Humans appreciate and revere the
individual. But, when you breakdown that
one of a kind, elusive, can’t-find-it-anywhere-else thing, you begin to see
that it is really just a transformation of something familiar. Like a magic eye poster, the longer you look,
you notice that what you may have seen at first is now something completely
new. Voila, a one of a kind!
As I read about copyright law and fair use, my mind
continually came back to this idea of one of kind. I debated with myself if I could conjure up
something, anything that was completely original. Humans evolved from apes, my grandmother’s
original cookies are comprised of ingredients, and my new goddaughter is the
perfect composite of her parents. If the
universe struggles to create something 100% novel, why should producers not be
allowed to build on or alter works that generate new ones? “Because copyright law supports the goals of
creativity and the spread of knowledge, the more strongly transformative a new
creative work is” the less likely one needs to fear copyright infringement
(Hobbs, 2010, p. 53).
These idea of transformation, originality, creativity and
copyright are swirling around our students.
As prosumers they not only want to visit blogs and websites, but create
their own (Hicks, 2013, p. 29). I know
my students would much prefer to use (and hopefully create) digitally enhanced
texts that become interactive and “use hyperlinks, embedded media, and other
features that make web-based texts dynamic” (Hicks, 2013, p. 35). But, as with any crafting, comes the responsibility
to give credit where it is due. Students
need be literate about media literacy. “Media
literacy is the capacity to access, analyze, evaluate, and communicate messages
in a wide variety of forms” (Center for Social Media, 2009, p. 2). This is where our students will weld what
they find with what they create.
An overt theme of the Common Core Standards is critical
thinking across all curriculums. We want our students to be thinkers not just
encyclopedias (isn’t that what Google and Wikipedia are for anyway?). Fair Use is a fabulous way to discuss
critical thinking because it is flexible (Center for Social Media, 2009,
p.6). Before students craft web based
texts, they should discuss and determine their opinions and stances on fair
use. Because there is “no numerical rules of thumb that can be relied upon in
making this determination,” students have to really think about each issue
separately and analyze how the material was used and is a transformation occurred. If not enough change happened, then we have
created more of the same. But, if
students analyze a work and synthesize that a true transformation has occurred,
well then, they have created a new one of a kind.
Growing up in the age of Napster, I vividly remember the
lawsuit Metallica filed over music sharing as a violation of their copyright. In looking for other’s who have taken
litigious stands, I was lead to Disney. and also this video mash-up. In no way does it resemble the original and
yes it is transformative. I would have
to say a derivative audience was found.
References:
Center for Social Media. (2009). Code of best practices in fair use for media literacy education. Retrieved from: http://mediaeducationlab.com/sites/mediaeducationlab.com/files/CodeofBestPracticesinFairUse_0.pdf
Hicks, T. (2013). Crafting digital writing; Composing texts across media and genres. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Hobbs, R. (2011). Digital and media literacy : connecting culture and classroom. Thousand Oaks, Calif. : Corwin Press, c2011.
I enjoy reading your blog which brings something new like Media literacy into my knowledge. I googled “Media literacy” and found that media literacy is often applied to develop critical thinking skill. Kayia also pointed out the critical thinking in her blog. It seems to me that the critical thinking ecomes the most important skill in this digital world.
ReplyDeleteI like the way that you have discussed media literacy in terms of the critical thinking skills that it can develop/encourage. I believe that critical thinking skills are some of the most important skills to develop, particularly in terms of a younger child's education. I teach Kindergarten, so while our critical thinking skills will look a bit different than those of sixth grade students, I still believe it is important to include in any lesson nonetheless. It could be neat to do a couple of mini lessons on Fair Use before actually having students create their own web designs. I also believe that this is an important concept that needs to be revisited throughout the year because as always with the digital world it will be constantly changing.
ReplyDeleteI appreciated reading your thoughts on creativity and originality. I have thought about that a lot and been frustrated by the fact that the work I produce isn't completely original. It can be discouraging and stultifying to take up that attitude. I think that it's important to stress to our students, who we want to be both critical and creative thinkers, that creativity through transformation and collaborate is as valuable as that elusive 100% original idea. Keeping that in mind will be much more empowering for our students. I think it's great that Copyright and Fair Use were designed to promote creativity and the spread of knowledge, and it is incredibly important that students are made aware that these laws are in place to help them, not block them.
ReplyDelete"An overt theme of the Common Core Standards is critical thinking across all curriculums."
ReplyDeleteThe quote you made above is all too accurate. I teach 3rd grade and I am constantly asking my students to criticize what they’re learning, question it and respond. Preparing students for the future will take on roles more complex than learning the subjects only. They need to have life skills to think like an individual and grow. Sometimes building their individual self is complicated in a public school setting, but having the online outlet as an option encourages them to unique!
While many people despise the common core standards, I find them extremely refreshing. Compared to the Georgia Performance Standards, the Common Core are by far more relevant and useful. Developing critical thinking skills is essential to student success. Without these skills students are left to navigate and ever-changing and dangerous digital world. Analyzing transformative content is just one way the students can utilize and develop the skills. In the past I provided students with various advertisements and ask them to interpret and analyze the hidden purpose within the content. Students are amazed by how much of what they encounter on a daily basis is meant to persuade or influence the audience. Sadly this type of manipulation is not seen only an advertising. Opinions and fictitious material are presented as fact and common knowledge. Without a well-developed skill set, students accept the information as true which can lead to a number of issues.
ReplyDeleteThis blog post resonated with me in two different ways:
ReplyDelete1. Everything artistic is derivative in some way. Although this concept may be a bit frustrating to someone who wants to be 100% original, I think that it is also refreshing to think about how some of the great artists that are revered today borrowed from artists who came before them. "Borrowing" is how we improve and progress.
2. Critical Thinking can be practiced by talking about Fair Use in the classroom. What a wonderful way to teach critical thinking! By challenging students to apply fair use practices to their own work, we can encourage them to evaluate and consider what they are producing.