Copyright and Fair Use in the Classroom
After taking the quiz to check my understanding, I learned that the rules of copyright and Fair Use are more complicated than I initially thought after reading the handouts! I have put together a list of five things to remember about copyright and Fair Use that will help teachers in their classrooms. Since I anticipate that, as teachers, we will primarily be focused on using other people’s works to benefit our students’ learning, I narrowed these principles to focus on Fair Use.
1. Reproducing copyrighted material for nonprofit educational purposes is permissible. However, teachers must follow other guidelines of fair use.
2. Giving the author credit for their work does not give you permission to share their work and use it for your own purposes. If the rules of fair use do not give you permission to use the work, crediting the author is not a loophole.
3. In most cases, the less of a work you use for your own purposes, the more likely it is covered by fair use guidelines. Using the copyrighted material for educational purposes does not give educators free reign of authors’ works. There are limits on what is allowed to be used.
4. Sometimes it is necessary to gain permission from the owner of the copyrighted material. Teachers can utilize the services of the Copyright Office to find out who holds the copyright for specific works and find out how to contact the owner for permission to use their work.
5. Copyrighted material becomes “public domain” after a certain point of time. This varies slightly according to who owns the copyright, etc. However, if the work was published prior to 1923, it is safe to view the work as “public domain” and allowable to copy or imitate the work without permission. (Ex. Painting in the style of a famous artist, putting different words to the song of a famous composer.)
Though these guidelines will help you decide what you can and cannot use, it is always important to be 100% sure your use of a material is allowed. To figure this out, you can consult online resources such as the two we read for class. Also, I think the questions and feedback from the quiz are helpful guidelines to remember in classroom practice. Remember, it is better to be safe than sorry! J
Here are some ideas for us to discuss as a blog group. Now, undecided bloggers, this is no time to be indecisive!
As a group of people studying to be elementary educators, these principles are important to us as, inevitably, we will draw from the works of others to teach our students. As a teacher, how will you go about using copyrighted material in your classroom? How will you share this with others, such as collaborating teachers?
It is my opinion that basic information about copyrighted material is appropriate and even important to introduce to students at a young age. With plagiarism at such high levels, I think introducing the topic to elementary students could be a way to help students feel a sense of pride in their own work and respect the work of others. Do you think it is appropriate to discuss copyright and fair use with elementary students? To what extent do you think this should be done, and for what purpose?
If we are going to introduce students to laws of copyright and fair use, it is important we be ready to talk about this subject with parents. What do you think is important to communicate with parents about copyright and fair use?
Do you have any questions about how you will use material in your classroom? What are some circumstances in which you anticipate using copyrighted material in your teaching? How will you, personally, go about making sure it is okay?
What other issues do you think are important to discuss about copyright and fair use in the classroom?
Thank you, I look forward to discussing these questions (and others!) with you in the posts to follow. I hope everyone has had a great weekend! See you all tomorrow! J
These articles and the quiz really did show how easy it is to violate copyright laws. For that reason, I feel it is necessary to teach these concepts to our students, not only to instill pride in one's own work but also to teach them to be more conscious of their own actions. Much of the information here would have been useful in high school and college. However, a lot of what we read would be too complicated to teach to the children. Instead it should be dealt with in increasing amounts as they progress through school.
ReplyDeleteHOwever, creativity is essential in elementary school. For that reason, I anticipate a lesser amount of trouble with copyright laws and fair use. In any situation I will obviously make sure to go through proper channels to ensure I can use whatever the material is, but I anticipate a lot of it to be used as supplementary material in my lesson and therefore falling into the rules of fair use.
Although it still does not protect against copyright laws, I believe teaching the basics of how to give credit to prior authors should be taught alongside this.
One question I do have for all o you because I don't quite understand it is how videocassettes do or do not fall into copyright laws and fair use - the laws on entertainment made no sense to me.
Thanks for responding, Erin! To talk about your question about videos, are you referring to showing a film, such as a Disney movie, to an audience? I think the reason this kind of thing isn't permitted is because if you show it to a large amount of people, it may negatively impact the profits the copyright owner could make off of their material. For instance, showing a movie may cause some people not to pay for it themselves because they have already seen it. This is my guess? Instead, they want you to buy the right to show it so that the copyright owner can still profit off of the showing. I'm not sure how this works within a classroom of 20 or so children. To pay money to show a movie for entertainment every time could get expensive!
ReplyDeleteRegarding your explanation, Jennifer -- that would be my guess too! I definitely got that question wrong on the quiz, though, and I don't want to consider how many times I've broken that copyright law....
ReplyDeleteAs far as introducing elementary aged students to copyright and fair use laws, I agree that it is important. However, I think it would be difficult for younger students (especially the primary grades) to understand the abstract concept of it -- so obviously it should be broken down into easier terms that they can relate to (i.e. a "real world" context using in-class examples may be helpful). Rather than simply explain to students what the laws are, have them brainstorm reasons why such laws exist? What do they consider "fair use" of their own creations, etc.? Perhaps even establishing classroom rules for sharing and copying each other's work may prove to be a helpful introduction to the topic. Just some ideas.
As a teacher, I know that I will be gathering lessons and materials (worksheets, handouts, etc) from all sorts of resources. After learning about the guidelines for what is allowed and what is prohibited, I anticipate that I will take the "better safe than sorry" route in most cases (since it seems as though the distinction is not always clear!)
I don't really have any questions to add to the discussion. I'm just interested to see what others have to say!
Megan, I like how you suggested having children in primary grades brainstorm about fair use in regard to their own creations. I think that in addition to getting them thinking about ethics/morality/what is right and fair, this tactic will help them develop a sense of pride in their own work. I think this could also help lead to their respect for the work of others.
ReplyDeleteHi all! I hope everyone is having a nice evening. The beginning of the week always seems to be the most stressful for me.
ReplyDeleteIn reading the two articles that were posted, I quickly realized how much I did not know pertaining to Copyright laws and the ‘Fair Use’ Rule. Apparently, Business Law was a huge waste of my time.
Perhaps, this information would have been useful in my high school and undergraduate years. It’s amazing how sharing music can actually have some pretty serious consequences unbeknownst to many students. I’m still not completely convinced that I know the details of the ‘Fair Use’ Rule (Disney movies, really!) , but now I better understand the general limitations.
Similar to Megan’s analysis, I believe our children should be taught the basics of Copyright laws. Although the concept is broad and tough to tackle even for some adults, there are important points that can be conveyed throughout elementary school, especially in the primary years. In the first grade, community is the focus for Social Studies- what an excellent way to first introduce the topic of Copyright laws. I could talk about the importance of community in the classroom, how everyone plays their part, and finally respecting one another’s work. The students and teacher could set these rules during the first week of school for copying each other’s work- again establishing a sense of community and democracy. This way the student partakes in the rule making and is made aware of the seriousness of copying work that is not theirs.
I thought a neat part of the reading was when it stated, “Copyright exists immediately and automatically when the work is created.” I was completely unaware that the moment I create a PowerPoint or even a rough draft of a paper, copyright automatically exists. AND honestly who would have thought that we are allowed to copy Shakespeare or Mozart’s work because they have been dead as a doornail for over 70 years?!
Sorry this took me so long. I meant to have it a few hours ago, but turns out there was an exterminator coming to get rid of termites. SOOO yeah.
ReplyDeleteCopyright law is complex, convoluted and even sometimes contradictory (yes it did take me a while to think of all those 'C' words). While I would agree that children need a lesson in copyright law, I think
I remember a commercial from high school that was about illegal music downloading. It used stark images and sounds along with a menacing deep voice telling kids that they were breaking the law every time they downloaded something.
Teaching about laws often times turns into "let's scare them so they won't want to do it anymore" which is almost never effective.
As a teen, kids don't believe anything bad will ever happen to them, that includes the repercussions of plagiarism or copyright infringement. Meaning, even if they do know, many will probably not care if it is "fair use" and do it anyways. (That's a blanket statement about teens, obviously there are exceptions.)
Now back on topic...
I missed a lot of questions on the quiz. There were some I knew I missed (like the Disney one). I was torn because I remember watching movies as a kid in school. And we definitely showed movies all the time at the school I worked at over the summer. I think I knew that was not allowed, but I figured the school owned them for a reason.
Another one I missed was the one about digital pictures of businesses. I said false because last time I tried taking pictures in/around a bookstore we got yelled at because we were not allowed to take pictures there. I suppose it was not for a school project, though.
For future reference:
There are websites that offer free images, music, and just about anything else you can imagine. Usually they are things made by other folk who also have the internet, but you can find some really awesome stuff. In case anyone is ever in doubt about fair use, you may as well strive to find something you know is acceptable, instead of going through the hassle of determining if everything is legal for you to use.
Hey everybody! Thanks for your post, Jen. You brought up some great points, such as introducing students to the responsibilities of fair use as soon as possible. After all, copyright laws will likely affect their lives in an even greater way. I agree, then, that we have to familiarize kids with these regulations at the outset. As Megan mentioned, though, we have to bring it down to their level. Providing a lecture on copyright to second graders will undoubtedly be a waste of time, not to mention a real snooze for everyone. Sensible practices in the classroom are a great place to start. These behaviors will form the foundation of their approach to responsible practice. As teachers, we really have to spearhead this notion of responsibility to our students. We must also communicate these ideals to parents so that they fully understand what we’ve just learned. We cannot take for granted that parents value these things at home—or they may uphold responsibility but simply not understand the implications.
ReplyDeleteI don't remember how to 'edit' my blog entry. I just realized there is an unfinished sentence.
ReplyDeletethe sentence should read "While I would agree children need a lesson in copyright law, I think that it may not make much of a difference."
It is good to be aware that you are breaking the law, but that doesn't always mean you won't break it (evidenced by the fact that I am probably going to drive 35 through a 25 mph zone to get to class because I never leave on time).