I’ve always been an “Ask for forgiveness instead of permission” teacher. As such, I’ve used information pretty much non discriminatorily for whatever educational purpose I needed at the time without giving it too much thought. I assumed copyright laws were strict, but as long as I didn’t have any students whose parents worked for Disney I considered it a pretty low-risk rule breaking versus the benefit of any educational outcomes I would achieve by using it.
After reading Copyright Clarity, it turns out the way I was using information actually fitted within current copyright laws.
Under copyright law you can use otherwise copyrighted material under “Fair Use” if you consider the following categories:
- Is the work being transformed?
- Does my use of it impact the creator and the creator’s use?
- Is the work being used for a different purpose than its originator used it?
When I reflect back to the works I used, they definitely met these criteria, however I lacked the information to think through the process before reading. Going forward, I will be able to better evaluate my use of material prior to using it.
Another big impact is how I work with students. We use Google Images a lot in creating presentations and representations of topics. By helping them understand copyright laws, I can free them to use materials in a way that’s going to promote their learning while also challenge them to evaluate how they’re using these materials in a transformative way.
Will: I was under the same belief you were when using copyrighted materials in my classroom. I'm not so certain that I always fell within the limits of the law though! I like how you recognized that we, as teachers, need to be the ones that advise our students to understand copyright and fair use. Being exposed to these concepts and working with them will be crucial skills that they will take with them into the real-world. Our students need to learn it early so they can practice this skill with our support.
ReplyDelete"Knowledge is freedom" is a platitude that has found a very applicable real-life example through copyright law and understanding the nature of Fair Use. I am excited to share the news with my colleagues and kids, too.
ReplyDeleteBefore I read Copyright Clarity, I didn't really take into consideration that what I was doing could be falling under copyright infringement. I too figured it was justified because it was for education. Now that I know and understand the law a little better I am feeling more confident in the choices I make and I also feel that I am better equipped to teach it to my students.
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