Good teachers find anything and everything they can use to promote learning in their classrooms. The roots of lessons, reflections and teachable moments come from any number of sources; television, movies, newspapers, poems, articles, photographs, advertisements and the web just to name a few. As information continues to flow more freely and a vast variety of resources become available to teachers and their students, we all need to be reminded to take a step back and think about the important (and often challenging) laws of fair use and copyright. Not convinced? Penalties for infringement in even the simplest of cases can run you (and potentially your school system) up to $30,000. Serious and flagrant infringement could result in fines almost ten times higher and some time behind bars. Now you're listening...
Although many of us have a vague idea about the rules and regulations of copyright and fair use, I want to outline a few points I found to be of interest that I was not previously aware of. First, as soon as you create a work, its yours. The law doesn't require you to use the tiny circled c, display a copyright disclaimer or even officially give notice to anyone that your work should, could or would be protected. Next, brevity is crucual. For example, do not borrow more than one picture, chart or diagram from any given book. Some articles and poems are too short to borrow even a series of words. Be careful to check the guidelines especially if you are interested in an excepert of any substantial length. Finally, be spontaneous! The copies must be made of your own volition-- not by recommendation from administrators or the DOE and the work must be one that will lose its effectiveness if you delay its use until permission is granted.
Teachers beware!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment