The Electronic Frontier Foundation recently launched a website called Teaching Copyright "to help teachers present the laws surrounding digital rights in a balanced way."
In five distinct lessons, students are challenged to:
- Reflect on what they already know about copyright law.
- See the connection between the history of innovation and the history of copyright law.
- Learn about fair use, free speech, and the public domain and how those concepts relate to using materials created by others.
- Experience various stakeholders' interests and master the principles of fair use through a mock trial.
Teaching Copyright will require your students to think about their role in the online world and provide them with the legal framework they need to make informed choices about their online behavior.
It's based on US Copyright Law, but there are lots of good resource links and questions to ponder regardless of your location.