Mod 7 Copyright

Gina Heckel

Mod 7 Post

Fair Use Index

I found this an interesting read, and as I read the article my question was, is this some place I would ask my students to go to make sure the graph, picture and/or information was not protected by a copyright?  It seems that the index is a database for decisions but is it easy to use and search.  I will honestly confess that I did not search anything to see how user friendly this site truly is so I can’t answer my own question.  But this could be a great resource.

Education World

I think as more and more students head to the internet for research we as teachers have to remind students that the work of others needs to be cited and needs to be used legally if it is copyrighted.  I would at the beginning of a year when going over class rules also go over copyright rules and introduce them to creative commons where works can be used without “asking” permission.  But again, students have to cite the work.  This is not only a good practice at the elementary/high school level but gives students practice for college writing. 

As for teachers using other’s work, I had always assumed that as an educator you were protected but that is not the case.  So if I were looking for a visual aid or something to support a topic we are studying, I think I would search creative commons first, just to make sure I am not breaking any copyright rules.  I did see that a certain amount of work can be used for a certain time frame but it cannot be copied and distributed legally.  Teachers need to be examples and following copyright rules and citation practices are great ways to be examples.

What I found interesting is how the article mentioned that technology has changed the way teachers teach, that statement could not be truer!!  The information accessible to students is vast and we have to make sure usage is above board.  (Same for teachers.)

Creative Commons

I had a class where we were introduced to Creative Commons (limited introduction).  We were able to look around and we actually have to insert a picture and give it copyright limits.  I think that is a great site and knowing that there is educational material on the site could be a treasure trove for teachers.  It would be a great lesson for students with their own computer (or school computer) to explore the site as a class and give the students practice of what can be used without permission as long as they copyright is listed as such and what needs permission to be used in research. 

I think if I was a teacher with limited funds creative commons education resource would be where I would go to find materials that I could use and copy and most importantly distribute!  Sharing information with students is so important and finding places where we can copy and share is so useful.