NOTHING BEATS THE REAL THING! is a new on-line multimodal education resource available at no charge for Australian secondary classrooms. The resource examines aspects of copyright, creativity and ethics in relation to film and television content in Australia.

Copyright and film and TV piracy are a real issue with students. Students need to know what they can legitimately copy in creating their own work, or in creating their own entertainment.

The resource features classroom ready activities in a variety of interactive formats. It is designed to inform, engage and raise awareness across the topical areas of copyright acknowledgement, individual creativity and everyday use of filmed entertainment.

The resource aims to help teachers explore these issues in a classroom-friendly way. Teachers can access thought provoking and fun units that are applicable for most subjects and available in a variety of teaching time frames. Each unit has its own guide for optimizing its use as well as clear links to the school curriculum by subject area.

Most students have pirated digital material or know others who have. They may choose to pirate or not…the choice is theirs. But they also need to understand the legal, economic and social implications of their choices. That’s what this education resource does – it provides classroom ready materials in a way that encourages free and fair discussion.

A Practical Resource

• All education materials developed by specialist educational multimedia producers who understand classroom needs.
• Resources trialled and shaped by classroom practitioners in a variety of curriculum areas, educational systems and year levels.
• Full resource at www.nothingbeatstherealthing.info

A multimodal online resource for investigating aspects of copyright and film and TV piracy in Australian secondary classrooms. Copyright and film and TV piracy are a real issue with students. Students need to know what they can legitimately copy in creating their own work, or in creating their own entertainment.

This resource will help you explore these issues in a classroom-friendly way. Click on Resource Guide to see the contents of the resource, or click on a subject area to see how to use appropriate units of the Module in the classroom: Subjects covered include: Economics, SOSE/Civics and Citizenship, English, Religion/Values Education, Legal Studies & Media Studies.

As a hands on experience, the School Challenge is a natural extension of the ‘Nothing Beats the Real Thing!’ resource. More than 650 students, teachers and guests attended the NOTHING BEATS THE REAL THING! Youth Challenges held in Sydney, Brisbane and on the Gold Coast during 2010.

In the challenges, the students work through a program that challenges and entertains them - asking them to come to an understanding about the implications of film piracy for the sort of society they want to create. While most students (and teachers!) had at some time been 'pirates' themselves, they realised that there were considerable implications to their actions, and all agreed that it was a fair and proper civics and citizenship strategy to 'just say NO.'

Surprise guest presenters – from the many aspects of the film and TV industry in Australia - attend each event. These people, representing film production, writing, DVD retail and television, provide the students and teachers a unique experience. The presenters help attendees to discuss and determine their own point of view on the creative, commercial and ethical value of film and TV in Australia. They speak about the importance of story-telling and how screen stories are threatened by the increase in screen piracy.

Undoubtedly, for students and teachers, the highlight of the day is the role-play session where students create and perform their own versions of copyright messages. These sessions bring students together from many schools to write about and perform their views and learning from the day.

An Exciting Learning Experience!

More information at www.nothingbeatstherealthing.info

Copyright can often be a difficult and confusing issue for teachers as well as students. To assist teachers with some of their copyright issues and to introduce the ‘Nothing Beats the Real Thing!’ resource IPAF and Rybuck Media hold Seminars for Teachers.

Commenting on the seminars, Gail Grant, CEO of IPAF said: “These days there is a lot of grey area around how we approach film and television content, how we access it and what we can do with it. Many people are creators of their own screen content, and even more are consumers of screen entertainment, so the need for information and discussion, at any age, on the issue is more important than ever. “

“The seminar cleared up some misconceptions that I held as a teacher,” said Richard A Smith, Director of Reporting and Assessment at Tintern Schools, attending the session. “The on-line resources will be of great benefit. They are practical and useful. Students will enjoy using them as on-line work.”

The inaugural Copyright and Creativity Seminar for Teachers was held at ACMI in Federation Square on 30 August 2010. The event was hosted by the Intellectual Property Awareness Foundation (IPAF) in association with Ryebuck Media and the Australian Teachers of Media (ATOM).

Some 50 teachers attended and Richard Keddie, producer of the docu-drama ‘Hawke’, opened proceedings with an interesting address about the importance of story-telling and the grave impact of screen piracy specifically upon the industry and society in general.

Professor David Brennan from the Melbourne Law School and Screenrights presented an overview of Enhance TV and also helped attendees understand what we can and cannot legally copy in schools and at home.

A panel of influential industry representatives (including the evening’s speakers plus Benjamin Zeccola, Palace Cinemas and Dennis Banfield, Blockbuster) then engaged in a lively Q&A session about copyright in the classroom, the impact of film and television piracy and the implications of this in the school context.

The evening was a terrific two-way exchange with delegates receiving a lot of valuable information, educational resources, hors d'oeuvres and drinks.

More dates for 2011 will be announced.