Introduction

Teaching copyright is mandatory for any school seeking to receive a technology grant from the State of California. But what is copyright really? Like any category of laws--like free speech, or campaign finance--copyright is a balancing act between necessary freedoms and purposeful restrictions. Some believe that copyright should be more protective and others believe that copyright should be more permissive, just like some people believe that speed limits should be more strict and vice-versa.

Teachingcopyright.org is a resource for educators to better understand what copyright is and how it works. Perhaps a student has recently been disciplined for downloading a song from the Internet, or maybe you're looking for creative ways for students to be able to use truly legal photos and music, all downloaded from the Internet, as a way of teaching copyright for what it really is in this day and age--a rich topic for educational exploration.

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