14 DAY TRIAL // Via the Digital Citizenship and Creative Content curriculum, Microsoft is essentially providing anti-piracy educational materials. The curriculum is offered for free to all teachers worldwide, and is designed to prepare children for the rules of the game in the new digital age. In this context, the focus is on protecting the intellectual property and creative rights for digital content. Microsoft underlined the fact that it is critically important for children to understand at young ages the need to respect IP. Ultimately, an understanding of intellectual property and of creative content as both concepts revolve around the items, resources and services children access via the Internet is bound to impact the piracy phenomenon.
“The Digital Citizenship and Creative Content curriculum provides an important resource for preparing learners for the digital age,” revealed Don Knezek, CEO of International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). “ISTE applauds Microsoft for tackling the tough issues of digital citizenship and creativity, two critical topics in ISTE’s National Educational Technology Standards for Students (NETS•S), and we are pleased that their curriculum has earned the ISTE Seal of Alignment with these important student educational technology standards.”
The software giant pointed out that the Digital Citizenship and Creative Content curriculum would enable teachers to explain the concept of digital citizenship to students aged 8-10. The resource uses examples of original content that can be accessed via the web, as well as the methodology and model for teachers to make intellectual property an issue personally relevant for each student.
“Learning about digital citizenship helps instil a respect for technological and creative innovation that creates jobs and supports local economies,” said Sherri Erickson, global manager of the Genuine Software Initiative at Microsoft. “Students are driving contributors to social and economic development, and through educating them on the value of creative content and its relevance to their own world we help students realise their full potential.”