Around the same time that I was contemplating my first assessment for Digital Citizenship, I listened to two colleagues discuss a copyright issue around sharing third-party content. There was an incredible amount of confusion which caused quite some anxiety in the office. One staff member was a Digital Technology expert/ TL and the other a STEM leader.
We all tried to recall the 3-hour session we attended some 2 years ago from one of the lawyers at Smartcopying. It was an informative workshop, however, the information we needed was not on hand. We also noted, if this is confusing for digital technology experts, then how confusing is this for every teacher in the Northern Territory.
This being such beautiful timing, it convinced me to create a copyright web guide for this assessment which could also be used by teachers and education department staff in our sector. The aim would be to present concise information that is accessible and user-friendly for teachers where they could find quick answers to their questions around copyright without having to wade through copious amounts of information. The challenge was to present information that is available online together in one place.
In discussion with NT School Library, I have been since asked to produce another guide for students to be posted on the NT School Library’s website. It has been a great opportunity to explore different presentation formats such as Prezi to present information in the most engaging way, already I will be sharing this skill with the NT school library staff.
The challenge has been in presenting large amounts of information as concisely and clearly as possible, without excluding what is essential. It has been a test to present it as academically as possible, but not detract from making it clear and simple for teachers who need information in a hurry. As stated by Hoffman (2009, p.iv), “deciding what to put in, what to leave out, and how to say it in language that was plain without being puerile took more time than I had anticipated”. The way around this, I found was having links to further information but providing immediate answers for what most educators need when creating quality teaching resources. Overall it was a valuable exercise where I learned so much for myself, but was able to produce something that will be used by our teachers.
References
Hofman, J. (2009). Introducing copyright: A plain language guide to copyright in the 21st century. Commonwealth of Learning (COL). http://oasis.col.org/bitstream/handle/11599/65/Introducing_Copyright.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
Image Attribution
IStock Images ( 2019, August 21). Bored woman with laptop and paperwork making notes at her table at home office. https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/bored-woman-with-laptop-and-paperwork-making-notes-gm1169136028-323070158
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