Copyright and Fair Use laws are designed to protect the original works and efforts of their author and without such laws, credit for their accomplishments would be taken advantage of by those who do not deserve it. I do not feel it is the general mindset of teachers to “intentionally” display the works of authors to their students illegally, but it likely does occur in the classroom “unintentionally” at times. There are so many valuable resources for teachers that would be likely to help engage students that require advance permissions by the author. Ignorance of the copyright laws is not a valid excuse so it is very wise for educators to become knowledgeable of the rules of copyright and fair use. I believe I would educate my students on, at minimum, the basics of copyright and faisr us laws before giving an assignment that would utilize the works of others.
This lesson has been very informative regarding the laws of copyright and Fair Use (http://www.copyright.gov/), especially for educational purposes. The cheat sheet located at http://www.techlearning.com/techlearning/pdf/db_area/archives/TL/2002/10/copyright_chart.pdf is a great asset to keep close. The multitude of verbiage for the rules and laws of copyright can become overwhelming and the cheat sheet helps a great deal to break those laws down into digestible bites. Online safety is critical in protecting our youth from the dangers of preditors. It is essential that teachers assigning internet assignments make students aware of placing no personal information on the internet to avoid being harrassed or taken advantage of.
I have had little to no hands on experience in the classroom with copyright decisions as my time in the classroom has been as a substitute teacher so the material was already prepared for me to administer to the students, but I have to admit I was a bit intimidated by the thought of not handling copyright of materials when the day comes that I do make such decisions. I have learned the importance of being prepared when using the works of others and that it is important that the students know the rules also.
Alot of material in classrooms is use illegaly but unintential. The internet makes everything so easily accessable and makes it easy to steal people's copyrighted work. It is our responsibility as educators to not just educate the studnets about it but our fellow teachers. You would hate for someone to get sued that you could have helped. The best way to protect yourself is the same advice I was told when writing my frist research paper: It's better to cite too much than not enough.
ReplyDeleteJessica Miller
Hello Lisa,
ReplyDeleteIndeed, it can become an overwhelming task to try to read and memorize all the legalities associated with fair rules, and copyright infringement. However, as you stated; it is informative and beneficial for us to have a cheat sheet in hand, when attempting to remember and learn about copyright rules. Of course, as an educator; I can imagine how and why copyright rules can be negleted, or forgotten in some cases. However, your right in stating that it is not a valid excuse.
Perhaps, as educators we should take the most important and crucial areas of fair rules and apply them on a constant basis so that they are not forgotten. In addition it would also be beneficial to teach our students the importance of these rules, and how they can be used for their benefit in the case that they have an idea in the future which they would like to have free will, and protection for.
I agree that it is intimidating! I have also worked as a substitute and have not had to be responsible for materials used in class. I have, however, had experience throughout my college career with such. I certainly do not want to get in trouble for the misuse of someone elses work! Copyright laws are confusing to me!
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