The International Journal of Learning and Media (IJLM) provides a forum for scholars, researchers, and practitioners to examine the changing relationships between learning and media across a wide range of forms and settings. Our focus is particularly, but by no means exclusively, on young people, and we understand learning in broad terms to include informal and everyday contexts as well as institutions such as schools. We are especially interested in the broader social and cultural dimensions of these issues and in new and emerging media technologies, forms, and practices. We publish contributions that address the theoretical, textual, historical, and sociological dimensions of media and learning, as well as the practical and political issues at stake.
New digital networked technologies enable
users to participate in the consumption, distribution,
and creation of content in ways
that are revolutionary for both culture and industry.
As a result, “Digital Natives”—young
people growing up in the digital world with
access to the technologies and the skills to
use them in sophisticated ways—are now confronting
copyright law on a regular basis. This
article presents qualitative research conducted
with students age 12–22 that explores youth
understanding, attitudes, and discourse on
the topic of digital creativity and copyright
law. Our findings suggest that young people
operate in the digital realm overwhelmingly
ignorant of the rights, and to a lesser degree
the restrictions, established in copyright law.
They often engage in unlawful behavior, such
as illegal peer-to-peer music downloading,
yet they nevertheless demonstrate an interest
in the rights and livelihoods of creators.
Building upon our findings of the disconnect
between technical, legal, and social norms as
pertaining to copyright law, we present the
initial stages of the development of an educational
intervention that posits students as
creators: the Creative Rights copyright curriculum.
Educating youth about copyright law
is important for empowering young people as
actors in society, both in terms of their ability
to contribute to cultural knowledge with
creative practices and to engage with the laws
that govern society.