On a scale of 1 to 5, I rate myself a three (3) when it comes to
copyright issues. However, since reading
the chapter and materials regarding copyright and fair use, I have gained
considerable knowledge about the topic.
I was recommended to access the following websites to obtain information
about the Fair Use Policy for the Winston-Salem Forsyth County Schools (WSFCS):
Fair
Use Guidelines
WSFCS
Copyright Policy
The guidelines were very
thorough and explicit. The following three
(3) guidelines and facts are “must know” guidelines I would share with my
peers:
1. Guidelines for printed materials
2. Guidelines for educational multimedia
3. Guidelines for computer software.
The first two guidelines seem
to be the most violated. We have access
to copiers/printers, which makes it so convenient to make copies as opposed to
spending money (that we do not have) on materials that we can just duplicate. Some teachers think that having a textbook in
his/her possession constitutes the right to copy pages upon pages. It is legal to copy one chapter, but that is
it and only once a term. In a PowerPoint
presentation, entitled, Copyright for Educators, Jackie Pierson, Library Media Services
Program Manager for the WSFCS, indicates that you do not have automatic rights to worksheets/workbooks
from prior textbook adoptions (Pierson, 2008).
On the blog, Why Teachers Violate
Copyright, a school district in Texas is sued for purchasing a single copy of a
high-stakes assessment workbook and having copies made for each student in the
district (Gardner. 2008). This too is a violation of the copyright law. Pierson (2008) states that making
copies for an entire grade level/department/school/school system (without
permission of copyright holder) violates Fair Use distribution guidelines. She also indicates that you cannot copy or scan
consumable worksheets.
According to Walbert, the former Editorial and Web
Director of LEARN NC, the internet and related technologies have not changed
the principles behind copyright law, but they have made it easier to
unknowingly violate the law. Additionally,
although fair use allows for personal and educational use, it is easy for
teachers and students to overstep the provisions of fair use. This is why I chose educational multimedia as
the second guideline to discuss with my peers.
See examples below:
·
Posting
something to the public web is legally considered publication. If you post
copyrighted material, such as an image, to a website where anyone can view it,
without specific permission, you are infringing upon copyright. This includes
material already published on the web! You may, however, provide a link to the
copyrighted material if it is available on the web.
·
If
students use copyrighted material such as images in reports or in-class
multimedia presentations, the teacher may not publish those reports or
multimedia presentations to a school website.
·
Distributing
a copyrighted resource via email, especially over a listserve or discussion
list, may be a violation of copyright.
·
Photocopying
an article or other resource for personal use generally falls under fair use,
as does asking students to make copies; but making multiple copies and
distributing them, even in a classroom setting may not fall under fair use
(Learn NC).
Pierson (2008) indicated that Learn NC suggests
including the following statement in multimedia projects (use statement at
beginning of project):
“This presentation was created following the Fair
Use guidelines for Educational Multimedia.
Certain materials are included under the Fair Use exemption of the U.S.
Copyright Law. Further use of these
materials and this presentation is restricted.”
Pierson (2008) notes that if a teacher or student
uses copyrighted material in a presentation/project, the presentation cannot be
duplicated without permission of all copyright owners. She also indicates that we should not include
another web site within a frame of our browser because the user cannot
determine proper URL; this practice implies you created the content.
Interesting: Pierson (2008) stated that videos cannot be
used for reward, babysitting, or entertainment. How many of you can remember when we were given
the opportunity to watch a video because we were “good?” According to the guidelines for use of
videotapes and DVDs: All videos must be
used in connection with face-to-face curriculum based teaching.
References:
Copyright in an
Electronic Environment. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/copyright1.html
Fair Use Guidelines. (2002). Retrieved from
http://www.wsfcs.k12.nc.us/cms/lib/NC01001395/Centricity/Domain/5026/Fair_Use_Guidelines_Chart.doc
Gardner,
T. (2008, March 11). Why teachers violate copyright. [Web log post]. Retrieved from
http://ncteinbox.blogspot.com/2008/03/why-i-have-violated-copyright.html
Pierson, J. (2008). Copyright Guidelines PowerPoint.
Retrieved from https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.wsfcs.k12.nc.us/cms/lib/NC01001395/Centricity/Domain/2562/COPYRIGHT_FOR_EDUCATORS_rev_Aug_08.ppt&sa=U&ei=SnWJUsTkGrOn4APH1YDYDQ&ved=0CAcQFjAB&client=internal-uds-cse&usg=AFQjCNF1UVFrq2Gc6X4D6NbVWO0GvNPlIA
