Emily Arrow: A Lesson on Copyrights

How can one make teaching about copyrights interesting? Really. This is what I wanted to know. We have a lot to teach and when you look at the information, it's not terribly interesting. One day while using an Emily Arrow video with a class, an idea came to me. Emily Arrow has fantastic credits at the end of her videos and my students love her music. Why couldn't we look at how she does things as a model? 

At the time, we were watching Louise Loves Art. The next time our class met, we re-visited the video. We stopped at a spot when the words were some that were directly from the text of the book. We discussed the fact that those words were actually the idea of Kelly Light and so was the artwork. We talked about how Emily got permission from the author to use the ideas, words, and art in her song and video. Because she has permission, she also gives credit to the creator at the end of the video. It's like a thank you.

We also listened to Stand Here. This is a great example because in this video, Emily Arrow is using art as inspiration rather than a book. This shows that you also need to give credit when using anything created by someone else. Check out the credits at the end of the video. She again credits and links to the artist. She also gives credit to the photographer and animator for the video. 

As a class we discuss how to be responsible when creating things for the Internet. Emily Arrow is a fantastic example of respecting copyrights and avoiding plagiarism by getting permission and citing her sources. Her music is also fun. In my year-end survey last year, several students noted our copyright lesson as one of their favorites. Who would have guessed?