AHE 591: Lesson 8

According to copyright.com, "copyright protection exists from the moment a work is created in a fixed, tangible form of expression. The copyright immediately becomes the property of the author who created the work." As we have discussed at length in this course over the summer, online learning has grown immensely in the 21st century, and will only continue to grow in the years to come. This means that the amount of original content that is produced by students in these online courses will only continue to grow, and will be permanently available in digital ink forever. Dr. Major posed the question, "Why is student intellectual property an important concept?" It's important because as human beings, we should strive for what is right and fair, and when it comes to intellectual property created by students in online courses, it is right and fair for every student to be given credit for what they create.

Dr. Major also asks, "What copyrightable materials might students create in online courses?" In my opinion, the list is endless. Prior to online courses, these materials mainly included written text. Now, students produce videos, PowerPoints, audio recordings, photography, music, and other media with relative ease. All of these materials can be considered copyrightable.

"How can we help ensure that students retain their right to their own content?" There is not a simple answer to this question, as I don't know of a perfect way to police it. Services like turnitin.com can use technology to compare student's original content to what has already been written. But, when it comes to the other types of media mentioned above, students must take it upon themselves to give credit to the original author, and teachers must make sure their students are creating original content and citing other's work.