The Commons touch. The Educator’s Guide to Copyright, Fair Use, and Creative Commons. Lately, we’ve been hearing more and more about digital copyrights and fair use in the news and online – particularly with the whole SOPA/PIPA uproar that recently swept the web. Also, we on the Edublogs support team have been getting more and more complaints and official requests to remove copyrighted content that users have placed on blogs. The legal jargon with respect to digital copyrights can be confusing – especially since different countries have their own laws and regulations. With this post, we hope to dispel a few myths and pull together a complete list of resources for teachers and students to use when blogging and working with content online. Rule #1: You Can’t Use Everything You Find On the Web Dexter the cat hates those that steal his photos… This may seem obvious, but judging by the notices we have received, many teachers (and especially students) are under the impression that if it is on the web, then it is up for grabs.
Rule #2: There Are Resources You CAN Use Images Videos. Creative Commons in the Classroom. Explaining Creative Commons Licensing. Lucacept - intercepting the Web. Today I spent some time with students discussing the issue of plagiarism. It’s an important issue to discuss, and one that I would prefer to cover at the start of the year rather than nearer the end of it, but I take heart from the fact that we are having these important discussions with our student population.
I thought I’d share some of the resources I used to put my presentation together. First up, I think it’s important to note that one of the General capabilities that need to be addressed in the upcoming Australian Curriculum is Ethical behaviour. Here’s the information pertinent to this from the Australian Curriculum site. In the Australian Curriculum students develop ethical behaviour as they learn to understand and act in accordance with ethical principles.
This includes understanding the role of ethical principles, values and virtues in human life; acting with moral integrity; acting with regard for others; and having a desire and capacity to work for the common good. Google+ Copyright Advice for Teachers (What is Fair Use?) : Teach Digital. Copyright is a difficult concept for teachers to grasp as a result of the grey areas associated with its relationship with education, even I don’t completely understand it. Ignorance is bliss! Perhaps if you secretly know you are in breech of copyright then it might be advisable to stop reading this article now! Personally, I think it is extremely important to teach students about copyright and implement good practice in the classroom. Too many students see the Internet as a source of media that can be taken and used at anytime. Here is a simple piece of advice, students shouldn’t be searching Google images and blindly taking what they want.
At the very minimum have them investigate the terms of use for the identified images, PLEASE! Oh, and if the image evidently has ‘COPYRIGHT’ or ‘ALL RIGHTS RESERVED’ somewhere on display then unfortunately this means you can’t use it either, even if you crop off the writing. Now, lets investigate the grey area of education purposes. US Copyright Law.