The idea of remixing is not new. In the documentary this week, Kirby Ferguson gives examples of remixing and sampling in music going back more than 50 years. In fact, remixing, sampling and copying have been around for thousands of years. The book of Ecclesiastes (written almost 3000 years ago) states:
“What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.” Ecclesiastes 1:9 (NIV)
As a teacher, I am constantly remixing and sampling work for students. In education, we often call it differentiation. It is actually more common for me to differentiate a previously created activity than to use it exactly as it was originally intended. The other phrase that teachers often use to describe this behaviour is to say that we don’t need to reinvent the wheel.
Differentiation, sampling, remixing and copying are the “wellspring of all creativity” (Ferguson, 29:50). If we think about how students learn, it usually follows Kirby’s Elements of Creativity (Part 3):
- Copy (in teacher speak, “I Do”)
- Transform (“We Do”)
- Combine (“You Do”)
As a simple example, when a student is learning how to print letters, they start by tracing the letters on the page. The second step is to write the letters without the tracing lines. This part is the longest stage as students need lots and lots of practice and they figure out what works for them. Finally, students make the letters their own – how many times have we held up a piece of paper without a name on it and had the student recognize their work by their handwriting? We all print the same letters but, over time, each one of us develops our own style and personality in our writing.
On a larger scale, when we are taking someone else’s work and remixing it, we do need to be aware of Copyright Laws and we can’t take credit for work that someone else has done. I looked into the statement that Kirby made about the US being the only country with a Fair Use clause (55:30) because I was sure that Canada also had the same idea in Copyright Law and I found that in Canada, it is called Fair Dealing. Section 29 of the Canadian Copyright Act states that “Fair dealing for the purpose of research, private study, education, parody or satire does not infringe copyright.”
I really appreciate the perspective shared in this post about remixing in education. The connection between differentiation and remixing is such a powerful one—so much of what we do as educators involves adapting, reworking, and personalizing content to meet our students’ needs. It’s true that rarely do we use lessons exactly as they were originally intended; instead, we tweak, refine, and modify them to fit the learners in front of us.
The comparison between Ferguson’s copy, transform, combine model and the gradual release of responsibility (I Do, We Do, You Do) is especially insightful. Learning isn’t about creating something entirely from scratch but rather about building on what already exists—just like how handwriting evolves from tracing to an individual style. This reminds me of how students develop their voices in writing; they start by imitating structures and techniques before developing their own unique style and perspective.
I also appreciate the note about copyright laws. While remixing fosters creativity, it’s crucial to model responsible use of materials. The distinction between Fair Use in the U.S. and Fair Dealing in Canada is an important one, and it’s helpful to see how these laws apply to education.
This post leaves me thinking: How can we help students see themselves as creative remixers rather than just consumers of content? How do we encourage them to take inspiration from others while still making their work their own?
Karissa 🙂
Hi Carol, you make some really great points on remixing and differentiation. As a teacher, I often remix materials to fit the needs of my current group. Your analogy about handwriting fits perfectly – we begin by tracing (copying) and eventually transform/combine to create our own styles. I know my writing slowly morphed into a hodgepodge of printing and cursive (much to my mother’s horror). Do you find certain subjects lend themselves better to this type of remixing? I think subjects like ELA and Health are naturally built for remixing due to the high level of interpretation and creativity.