I think that a great way to try to avoid copyright issues in the classroom is to rely heavily on student creativity. Obviously we as teachers can't have our students create everything--research papers etc. require a certain amount of using others' material--but encouraging them to pursue interests in visual arts, music, poetry, web development etc. will not only help us get around sticky situations in copyright and fair use, but will enhance our students' creativity and help get them more invested in the learning process.
I agree with Meagan's post. We live in an era where it's so easy to just open a browser and pull information off the internet, but we as teachers need to somehow allow for student creativity in all of the projects that we assign them that require more than using the internet. However, internet use is becoming unavoidable, and I am relieved that the author offered the Creative Commons site as a resource. I know I will be using it when I teach to ensure I am not breaking copyright laws.
While it is admissible that Copyright Laws may seem nitpicky and trivial, they are the law. As teachers, we will be faced with many situations in which we could accidentally violate these laws, which is why we must know the law better than most. In addition to abiding by the law ourselves, we must also make sure to fully educate our students about Copyright Law and its implications, so they do not violate them as a result of a school related assignment. Things like Creative Commons are safe, useful tools which I will be sure to implement as I continue my academic and teaching careers. Thanks to this article, I will undoubtedly exhibit more caution in my work to make ensure that neither I nor my students ever commit a serious Copyright infraction.
I found the article to be extremely helpful in clarifying the information we went over in last class. It hadn't occured to me before that a student's work is copyrighted and can't be reused without permission, whether its an essay to be used as an example or a picture to be scanned and uploaded to a class website. I appreciated all the websites the author listed that contain images and works that are public domain and will definitely be taking advantage of them as a teacher.
I understand that we need to assess copyright issues based on the four factors of fair use. Yet, I struggle to imagine instances where factors 1 (purpose of use) and 4 (effect on the market) do not offer a tremendous margin of error in educational settings. While I do not condone lying, cheating, or stealing, the issue of copyright infringement is certainly ambiguous enough to cause confusion even for legal experts. When in doubt, give credit where credit is due.
I feel like finding and proving the original, owner of images or materials from online sources would be extremely difficult. Plus, the Four Factor Test is just a guideline; the factors themselves are vague, undefined, and seemingly easily manipulated by lawyers. I’m also puzzled over the difference between writing a paper and making a presentation and citing things for both. Both are educational and factual, neither should effect market value, and only a small portion of the work is used; so why don’t the same rules apply? I think having a conversation with students at the beginning of the year would be very beneficial, but, honestly, I’m still not sure what to say, other than cite whatever you use.
I am still a bit disappointed with the unfathomable amount of grey area within the four factors of 'fair use'. I think pretty much any copyrighted material that is reused could make a case that the reuse of the material has affected the original's value in the market. Generally speaking, the rarer a thing/image/video is, the more valuable it will be. By even reusing one of those just one time would theoretically affect the original's value in the market. So, although I do not agree with 'fair use', I understand why it was put in place, and what its use is...to a certain extent.
It really seems to me that the term "fair use" is one with no real definition. Considering all of the "ifs" and "buts" surrounding issues of copyright and fair use, I wonder how anyone is expected to follow the law exactly. In reading this article and after our class discussion last Monday, I worry about my own ability to distinguish the legal from the not in terms of copyright. In my opinion, there should be more publications available such as that which we just read that list places to find material that is free to use in the clasroom, rather than attempt to define what cannot be used (a list that seems almost endless...)
For the most part, this chapter just seemed to summarize and reiterate what we talked about and watched in class. I do like how the author gave several examples of safe (or relatively safe) media sources for the classroom, such as the US National Archives website and the Library of Congress American Memories Collection, and how the chapter was written directly to teachers to address their concerns and the situations in which they will likely find themselves and their students. Copyright and fair use will greatly limit the learning opportunities that the internet provides-- you cannot exactly create your own image of a distant city or historical moment-- but hopefully the resources in this chapter will provide enough public domain or creative commons resources to bring material to life.
I think it is important for both teachers and students to keep copyright law in mind in the classroom. While the guidelines are at times confusing and debatable, educators should do everything possible to avoid violating copyright. I think if a teacher is in doubt over the legality of using a certain piece, they should err on the side of caution and find something else. It seems as if fair use could be extended to many educational uses, so I believe teachers should just do the best they can to stay within these limitations.
This brief article proved a nice summary of the copyright and fair use information we went over last class. I’m realizing this is an especially important issue for teachers, who need to be aware of the law as well as to be able to make learning lively and interesting for their students. I especially liked the resources listed in this article for public domain works and additional guidelines and information about fair use of works.
I really appreciate Langran's attempt to clarify what constitutes fair use- both to help protect the rights of the creators of original content (any teacher will denounce plagiarism) and to help teachers take advantage of the materials that are available to them. I agree that it is our responsibility to teach students responsible use of technology. It would be hypocritical to assert that it is unethical to use someone else's ideas without attribution while using creative property unfairly. Though the laws may at times be arbitrary and unnecessarily stringent, they aim to protect the rightful owners of creative work, and as teachers, we should abide by them as much as possible, employing our own creativity to find substitutes for works that are off-limits.
Copyright laws deeply inhibit our freedom within the classroom to teach the students in the most effective and invigorating way possible. We are expected to keep the students engaged and guide them through the mecca that is technology and its features, but to do so, we constantly have to worry about whether we, or worse, our students, will be fined? Though the "fair use" legislation exists as Langran pointed out, the restrictions are vague and difficult to maneuver unless you are familiar with legal terms. I understand the necessity of these laws, however I think they should be relaxed if the piece is used for the sake of teaching-- no matter the length or use.
I was glad to learn that students are the owners of their own work, because I think student creativity is important and wouldn't want to accidentally intrude on their rights. This article was very helpful in clarifying some of the "fair use" topics we discussed in class, but I still think that the concept of "fair use" is very vague and up to a lot of personal consideration. I agree with Lindsay that "fair use" should be relaxed for the sake of teaching, because it's unrealistic to expect students to get the whole picture from fragmented parts of a topic.
This article definitely seemed to clear up some of my questions about fair use. I thought it was very interesting that some school districts created their own policies about fair use in order to protect the teachers and clear up any of their confusions. Teachers should always realize that their primary goal is to teach, and that if they have a succinct, educational goal in mind when planning a lesson, it probably will fall under fair use.
This article offered a nice summary of the different ways to gain copyright permission. The description of fair use helped clarify under what circumstances teachers can use copyrighted material. Also, learning about Creative Commons gave me an additional resource to learn about usage in the classroom.
I think that a great way to try to avoid copyright issues in the classroom is to rely heavily on student creativity. Obviously we as teachers can't have our students create everything--research papers etc. require a certain amount of using others' material--but encouraging them to pursue interests in visual arts, music, poetry, web development etc. will not only help us get around sticky situations in copyright and fair use, but will enhance our students' creativity and help get them more invested in the learning process.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Meagan's post. We live in an era where it's so easy to just open a browser and pull information off the internet, but we as teachers need to somehow allow for student creativity in all of the projects that we assign them that require more than using the internet. However, internet use is becoming unavoidable, and I am relieved that the author offered the Creative Commons site as a resource. I know I will be using it when I teach to ensure I am not breaking copyright laws.
ReplyDeleteWhile it is admissible that Copyright Laws may seem nitpicky and trivial, they are the law. As teachers, we will be faced with many situations in which we could accidentally violate these laws, which is why we must know the law better than most. In addition to abiding by the law ourselves, we must also make sure to fully educate our students about Copyright Law and its implications, so they do not violate them as a result of a school related assignment. Things like Creative Commons are safe, useful tools which I will be sure to implement as I continue my academic and teaching careers. Thanks to this article, I will undoubtedly exhibit more caution in my work to make ensure that neither I nor my students ever commit a serious Copyright infraction.
ReplyDeleteI found the article to be extremely helpful in clarifying the information we went over in last class. It hadn't occured to me before that a student's work is copyrighted and can't be reused without permission, whether its an essay to be used as an example or a picture to be scanned and uploaded to a class website. I appreciated all the websites the author listed that contain images and works that are public domain and will definitely be taking advantage of them as a teacher.
ReplyDeleteI understand that we need to assess copyright issues based on the four factors of fair use. Yet, I struggle to imagine instances where factors 1 (purpose of use) and 4 (effect on the market) do not offer a tremendous margin of error in educational settings. While I do not condone lying, cheating, or stealing, the issue of copyright infringement is certainly ambiguous enough to cause confusion even for legal experts. When in doubt, give credit where credit is due.
ReplyDeleteI feel like finding and proving the original, owner of images or materials from online sources would be extremely difficult. Plus, the Four Factor Test is just a guideline; the factors themselves are vague, undefined, and seemingly easily manipulated by lawyers. I’m also puzzled over the difference between writing a paper and making a presentation and citing things for both. Both are educational and factual, neither should effect market value, and only a small portion of the work is used; so why don’t the same rules apply? I think having a conversation with students at the beginning of the year would be very beneficial, but, honestly, I’m still not sure what to say, other than cite whatever you use.
ReplyDeleteI am still a bit disappointed with the unfathomable amount of grey area within the four factors of 'fair use'. I think pretty much any copyrighted material that is reused could make a case that the reuse of the material has affected the original's value in the market. Generally speaking, the rarer a thing/image/video is, the more valuable it will be. By even reusing one of those just one time would theoretically affect the original's value in the market. So, although I do not agree with 'fair use', I understand why it was put in place, and what its use is...to a certain extent.
ReplyDeleteIt really seems to me that the term "fair use" is one with no real definition. Considering all of the "ifs" and "buts" surrounding issues of copyright and fair use, I wonder how anyone is expected to follow the law exactly. In reading this article and after our class discussion last Monday, I worry about my own ability to distinguish the legal from the not in terms of copyright. In my opinion, there should be more publications available such as that which we just read that list places to find material that is free to use in the clasroom, rather than attempt to define what cannot be used (a list that seems almost endless...)
ReplyDeleteFor the most part, this chapter just seemed to summarize and reiterate what we talked about and watched in class. I do like how the author gave several examples of safe (or relatively safe) media sources for the classroom, such as the US National Archives website and the Library of Congress American Memories Collection, and how the chapter was written directly to teachers to address their concerns and the situations in which they will likely find themselves and their students. Copyright and fair use will greatly limit the learning opportunities that the internet provides-- you cannot exactly create your own image of a distant city or historical moment-- but hopefully the resources in this chapter will provide enough public domain or creative commons resources to bring material to life.
ReplyDeleteI think it is important for both teachers and students to keep copyright law in mind in the classroom. While the guidelines are at times confusing and debatable, educators should do everything possible to avoid violating copyright. I think if a teacher is in doubt over the legality of using a certain piece, they should err on the side of caution and find something else. It seems as if fair use could be extended to many educational uses, so I believe teachers should just do the best they can to stay within these limitations.
ReplyDeleteThis brief article proved a nice summary of the copyright and fair use information we went over last class. I’m realizing this is an especially important issue for teachers, who need to be aware of the law as well as to be able to make learning lively and interesting for their students. I especially liked the resources listed in this article for public domain works and additional guidelines and information about fair use of works.
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate Langran's attempt to clarify what constitutes fair use- both to help protect the rights of the creators of original content (any teacher will denounce plagiarism) and to help teachers take advantage of the materials that are available to them. I agree that it is our responsibility to teach students responsible use of technology. It would be hypocritical to assert that it is unethical to use someone else's ideas without attribution while using creative property unfairly. Though the laws may at times be arbitrary and unnecessarily stringent, they aim to protect the rightful owners of creative work, and as teachers, we should abide by them as much as possible, employing our own creativity to find substitutes for works that are off-limits.
ReplyDeleteCopyright laws deeply inhibit our freedom within the classroom to teach the students in the most effective and invigorating way possible. We are expected to keep the students engaged and guide them through the mecca that is technology and its features, but to do so, we constantly have to worry about whether we, or worse, our students, will be fined? Though the "fair use" legislation exists as Langran pointed out, the restrictions are vague and difficult to maneuver unless you are familiar with legal terms. I understand the necessity of these laws, however I think they should be relaxed if the piece is used for the sake of teaching-- no matter the length or use.
ReplyDeleteI was glad to learn that students are the owners of their own work, because I think student creativity is important and wouldn't want to accidentally intrude on their rights. This article was very helpful in clarifying some of the "fair use" topics we discussed in class, but I still think that the concept of "fair use" is very vague and up to a lot of personal consideration. I agree with Lindsay that "fair use" should be relaxed for the sake of teaching, because it's unrealistic to expect students to get the whole picture from fragmented parts of a topic.
ReplyDeleteThis article definitely seemed to clear up some of my questions about fair use. I thought it was very interesting that some school districts created their own policies about fair use in order to protect the teachers and clear up any of their confusions. Teachers should always realize that their primary goal is to teach, and that if they have a succinct, educational goal in mind when planning a lesson, it probably will fall under fair use.
ReplyDeleteThis article offered a nice summary of the different ways to gain copyright permission. The description of fair use helped clarify under what circumstances teachers can use copyrighted material. Also, learning about Creative Commons gave me an additional resource to learn about usage in the classroom.
ReplyDelete