Now teachers can bring the magical world of Harry Potter to children stuck at home due to the coronavirus. J.K. Rowling and her literary agency, The Blair Partnership, recognize the importance of sharing stories and reading aloud during times like this. Rowling announced that she has relaxed copyright permissions allowing students to post videos of themselves reading books from the Harry Potter series to their students to create a virtual classroom setting.
“Delighted to help teachers reach kids at home by relaxing the usual licence required to post videos of themselves reading Harry Potter books,” Rowling posted to Twitter. “Be well, everyone,” she wrote before adding the hashtag #HarryPotterAtHome.
Teachers are not permitted to share the videos on social media, rather they must post to their school’s secure network or closed educational platform. The read aloud videos may be posted throughout this current school year or until Jul. 31, whichever is earlier. After that they should be permanently deleted.
According to Rowling’s website, the open licence for teachers is the first of several initiatives being planned to help bring Harry Potter to children at home, which will be announced soon.
—Jennifer Swartvagher
Featured photo: Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels
