You read Wesley Fryer's article "Copyright 101 for Educators: Winter 2003" While reading section called "Guidelines for Teachers and Students" focus on 4 factors that everyone should consider when determining fair use. What do you think?
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Wow I learned a ton about copyright laws this week. This one unit made this course worth the time and money plus some. I have always heard in the past (from my teachers) that copyright laws do not apply to teachers. They can use anything they want in their classes as long as it is used for educaitonal purposes. I always just assumed it to be the truth. One thing that surprised me in particular was that properly documenting something does not necessarily mean it's okay to use it. I was always taught to "give credit where credit is due," and you will be fine.
John,
Your exactly right when teachers assumed it was fair game to anything as long as it was for educational use. I have also heard several teachers say the statement, "give credit where credit is due." I think they honestly think that is all there is to copyright laws. They truly believe the statement. Heck they had me believing it...
This weeks’ assignment has been very educational. No one has ever actual broke down the copy right laws to me. I had always been under the assumption that if you quote and give credit to the writer, then you can use the information. Even after I had read the articles on web I took the copy right quiz and scored a 66%. So I guess I better do some more homework in the future so that I have all the laws correct. Cyber safety is another important thing to be familiar with as a teacher or parent. With so many blogs, web pages, chat rooms, and other online resources we must make sure that everyone young or old knows that there are many predators out there just waiting for someone to make a mistake. Teachers have to educate students on the proper use. Netiquette is another imperative tool that children must learn. Children should know that it is important to have good behavior weather they are talking to someone face to face or on-line. Teachers are not just educators but role models for our future. If you think about it kids spend more time with a teacher than they do at home with their parents. This means it is our job to not just educate but install values.
I agree with Mallory and John. Who know that teachers couldn't just use what they wanted to copy. Before this I didn't know there is somethings that you are just not allowed to copy at all or can only copy once. I am like Mallory, we all just believed what are teachers told use. I guess that's why we need to make sure we know what we are talking about, since are students are going to listen to us too.Lesson learned!
I think it is very important to be safe when you are "surfing the net." As adults, we are naturally more cautious than children, but by reading things about online predators I learned a lot. I also know that as an educator it will be my responsibility to keep my students protected from online predators. Now I know more of how to do that, and I know what to tell my students what to look for.
There is a lot more about copywriting that I didn't ever know until reading about Guidelines for Teachers and Students in this week's assignment. I can't believe that copywriting has it's own Act, Section 107 of the 1976 Copyright Act. I learned that this Act deems the phrase "fair use" to it's rules that can allow copying of certain materials for non-commercial and/or non-profit reasons. Teachers have a responsibility to its students to teach them waht is or is not allowed and the right or wrong copywriting laws. If quoting a phrase from another perosn's work requires the "copier" to properly cite where and whom the work is from. Although that is the rule it is not always "fair use". Before this weeks assignment I was unaware that it was FAIR use to copy images from the internet and put them in a presentation without permission. I took the quiz before I read the material and scored a 74% so I guess I was not the right and wrongs of copywriting.
Amanda, I took the quiz and scored a 74% on it. I, like you, was not completely made aware of all that is right or wrong of the copyright laws. Because of the lack of education given to me about this subject in the past, I feel that it is up to teachers to know the rules and then teach their students the rules. Without this week's assignment i would not have known the rules that are or are not "fair Use".
I’m so glad we had this lesson! I thought that I knew quite a bit about copyright like use quotations, give credit. And in some way I was right but before this lesson I didn’t realize how much risk I was in. While I was taking the quiz I had to laugh at myself. I kept getting questions wrong and it was never because I thought the person in question was doing something write but I always thought the person was doing something wrong. My whole view is “it’s better to be safe than sorry”. But if I hadn’t had this lesson can you imagine how much I would have held myself back. Now, I can teach to my fullest potential. Although, there are a few things I don’t understand I can say I understand a lot more. Bullying and proper social etiquette has always been a pet peeve. As a teacher you can only do so much to teach children the right things to do and the wrong things to do. It is sickening that parents don’t teach their children this or enforce it. What makes us think that all parents will teach their children how to behave properly on the internet? The fact is most won’t and that’s disturbing. It is our job as educators to teach children how to act online.
NLPO5O4, you are right it is our responsibility to teach students how to protect themselves from online predators. As I read the class notes I was taken by surpise when I read,"it is hard for a caring educator to put him/herself into predator's shoes". I think the total opposite. Because we care it should be easy to think like a predator. Think about it, when you are trying to make you house safe from burglers it's easy to think of ways that someone might break in. I may have a skewed view considering my mom is a probation officer so I have seen and heard about things that most people haven't. I would never promote this bit of advice to anyone but teachers-we must think like criminals. How else are you going to make rules in class or catch students cheeting. Although we don't to think like a child predator; it's the only way we can keep our students safe.
Wow, I was not aware of any of this information. I assumed that if you were using something in your classroom to improve your students learning than it must be OK. Who would begrudge our students knowledge and insight? Well I am nieve. I never considered using information within the classroom to ever be consider copyright infringement. In my mind this has always pertained to written information. I had never considered the other medias this could pertain to. Thank you for bring this to my attention. I believe teachers have enough on their plates that they should not have to worry about such things. But as far as modeling what is appropriate for our students I believe we should always do what is right. I want to do things correctly and appropriately so my students know how to do it to.
Fair use was also a new concept to me as well as the four factors. Factor one makes sense to me and should not have to be stated, of course the information we obtain should be used to educate. The second is a little more blurry to me. It can sometimes be difficult to determine the nature of the copyrighted work. But most interesting to me was the third. I was surprised to learn that it matter how much of the information you used. I didn't have a clue about this. You can show or allow students to listen to part of a source and that is acceptable but to allow the full amount to be shared and it's illegal. I would never have known this. I also found it interesting that they way the material was shared with others was of importance to determine fair use. We as teachers will always have to be aware of how, with who, and when we are using our materials. But most importantly we need to always remember to model the correct way of doing so.
Amanadaw I didn't do so great on the quiz either, I plan on printing the information she has given it and keeping it close by. I could not agree with you more on Cyber safety. This is very important to teach our students and to be aware of. We must educate and protect our students any way we can and I believe without the correct information the cyber world can be extremely dangerous. I was glad to see this address this week.
I just wanted to let everybody know that I have shared some of the information that I have learned with a few teachers. Most didn't know some of the laws. Now, those teachers are doing some reasearch about fair use of copyrights. So I challenge everyone to tell a teacher about this information.
Like many of the students have already expressed, I too did not know that the copyright rules were so complicated. I like the way that Hall Davidson, author of the article, ”The Educators' Lean and Mean No FAT Guide to Fair Use’ simplified these factors and put them in terms that we all could understand.
I agree with Joetta that the first factor, the purpose of the use, is self explanatory, and should go without saying. We should not use someone else’s work in our everyday lives and claim it as our own. This is not only a legal issue that we must face, but also a moral and ethical issue as well.
The second factor, the nature of the work, was a little unclear to me as well. The way that I am interpreting this is that it depends on “what” you are using or copying that is in question. Whether it is clip art, music, a poem, an excerpt from a book, etc. there seems to be a gray area with regard to this factor.
The third factor, the portion used, was also something that I never considered to be relevant. I was always under the assumption (as many of us probably are) that copyright is copyright no matter what portion you use. I was surprised to learn what can be copied and what should be avoided.
The fourth and final factor, effect that it has on the market, is something that I think no one really actually thinks about. Educators, as well as everyone else on this planet, are always looking for ways to save a buck. If making multiple copies of a chapter of a book, saves the educator the expense of having to buy the book, then I personally do not see the harm. But if I were the author of the book and was counting on the sale of the book for personal income, then I would have a problem. There seems to be a “double edge sword” here. It really depends on who you are and in what capacity that copyright laws affect you.
Let’s face it, we are all guilty of copyright infringement whether we realize it or not. There are many times over the course of my college classes that I have found clip art, quotes, pictures, etc, and used them in presentations simply because I thought they were cute or relevant. Was I in violation of a copyright law? I was using it for educational purposes…my own. Does this constitute fair use? Like I stated above, there are massive gray areas when it come to the interpretation of copyright laws.
Educators seem to be the exception to the rule with regard to the copyright laws. There is the old saying, “Do as I say, not as I do” that comes to mind with regard to this issue. Even though we as educators and future educators have a little more leeway when it comes to abiding by the copyright laws, we should always model for and teach our students to follow the laws set forth by our government. It is our civic responsibility as well as our professional responsibility to instill good moral and ethical values in our students.
Okay, so I took the quiz then read the article?!?! OMG I got a 44% on the quiz! Not so hot! I guess I really thought I knew more about copyright laws. This only shows how much I really know... Nothing. After reading the article I realized how much detail is put into the laws. It was kinda confusing, but I think I got it for the most part. It was very interesting to find out all the laws. It really goes to show how much our actual teachers do know. After reading the article I now know teachers who actually violate the copyright laws daily. It's pretty amazing!
Joetta,
I agree with you. I realized how naive I was and how naive our teachers are. It is surprising to think we can't use anything we want to better our children's education...
As a result of teachers and students tending to do projects quickly, many shortcuts are taken. This may be caused from procrastination, laziness or lack of confidence in ones work. This has lead many to Copyright Abuse. Many students have been reprimanded for plagiarizing works and assignments but as teachers, that are to be role models, how is there a difference when copyrights are abused?
What about the person trying to make a living as a writer? I can see how laws were formed to protect the artist or author and allow them to make the income they are entitled.
When I was going to school, the teachers constantly said to do our own work. It still holds true today.
Macy,
It is interesting to hear you have spoken with actual teachers about this and shared their responses. I wouldn't be surprised, after what I have learned, how many teachers are not aware of the correct way to use copyright information and fair use.
I think that I feel like other students in my class..I learned so much from those websites we had to read! I have never had a teacher say what to do or not to do about copyrighting. All I can ever remember is that they would just say to put things into your own words. I can remember so many teachers that would copy books and hand them out and make us do all kinds of things that, after reading about it, were definitely illegal. I like how Fryer breaks it down into four easy steps to remember that should cover you as an educator. He says: to consider the purpose of using the material and make sure that it is for educational, non-profit, reasons; look at the nature of the work; how much of the work will you be using; and how you using this work will effect its market (http://www.wtvi.com/TEKS/02_03_articles/copyright.html). I think that if we look and make sure that we use these 4 things as a checkpoint when we want to use something that is copyrighted, we should feel safe about the legal aspect of it.
Reference:
Fryer, Wesley A. (2003). TOOLS FOR THE TEKS: INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM. Copyright 101 for Educators: Winter 2003. Published in the TechEdge 2002-03. http://www.wtvi.com/TEKS/02_03_articles/copyright.html
I agree with John. In high school my teachers always said they could use whatever information was there because it was for educational reasons. Untill college and this class I didn't really know how to properly document information and what documents were actually ok to use. As a high school teacher I intend to start my students the right way in there research and citations. I figure if they are toaught the right way in high school that when they get to college they don't have to learn it all over again.
Almost weekly we hear or read about online predators and the effect that they have on our innocent and naïve children. Using Internet communication tools such as chat rooms, e-mail, and instant messaging can put these children at potential risk of encountering online predators. According to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_predator), 40% of all youth Internet users said online solicitors asked them for nude or sexually explicit photographs of themselves.
What can us as parents and educators do to help our children not become the next victims of these online predators? First, parents can talk to their kids about sexual predators and potential online dangers. Second, use parental control software. Some of this software is available free, online.
Third, insist that your kids follow age limits on social networking Web sites. This is a big issue for most parents. I have heard many students in the elementary school where I work talk about checking their MySpace and Facebook accounts. The recommended age for signing up for social networking sites is usually 13 and over. Most parents are not even aware that their child has such an account until it is too late. Parents and teacher need to be proactive and work together to inform these children of the dangers that lurk on the so called social networking sites. On one of the websites that the instructor posted recommended that the local PTA hold a community meeting to inform parents, teachers as well as students of the dangers associated with online chat rooms. This would be a great community service to offer to protect our children.
I did ok on the quiz, but that was because in one of my student-teaching classes, we had someone come and talk about the copyright laws. There was still some of the laws that the lady did not cover that I found out about this week. I have learned so much in this class and I am glad we had something we can print out and use. There is too much just to try and remember without it.
-Nikki Phillips
I am currently taking an ELED 412 class. This class prepares education majors for the teacher certification exam. Throughout this class our instructor has given us a series of sample test questions that may appear on the exit exam. She had given us one such test yesterday. One of the questions on the sample test was realted to copyright and the fair use law with regard to educators. I was was glad that we had already covered this section because I actually knew the answer and got it right!
Well, the first thing that I thought after reading the article is "Wow, I have broken a lot of laws!" I work in a classroom and I have created PowerPoint presentations for the classroom and college. I would sometimes look for images on the internet or use my music from cd's and never really thought about it! I took the quiz and score 61%. I really thought I knew more about copyright than that.
I have heard the term "fair use" used at school before but I am not really sure that they have a clear understanding of what it means. The four factors to consider clears things up a bit.
Number one is pretty straightforward... I take it to mean that we can use things in our classroom but not sell them for profit.
Number two is confusing to me and I will have to do more reading to fully understand that factor.
Number three seems to me like it has some gray areas and I will probably just err on the side of caution.
Number four talks about the effect of the use upon the potential market and I don't think people really think about that. In the case of music, I think people think "the music industry is making tons of money, they won't notice one little song being shared" but one song turns into two etc... and then another person does it and it just goes on and on and it really does affect the market.
I am much more informed after reading that article and the lecture this week.To make sure I remember these hard to read laws, I am going to print out and laminate the teacher cheat sheet! In fact I think I will print several copies and put them in the teacher's lounge!
Jaelyn, I agree that we should leave someone else's work alone. We all work extremely hard on our work and I would be very unhappy for someone else to copy my hard work just so they can get a good grade in 5 minutes. I agree with you that we should all become aware of the ethical issues behind copyright and inform others on what we have learned. You are right to say that we are all guilty of copyright but after this week's assigned reading I hope we all fix what we may have done in the past!
I learned a lot about copyright laws this week. I took the quiz and did horrible. I agree with John I have heard teachers say the same thing and even have seen teachrs do things that are not legal. I think that is partly becaus they are uneducated in this and no one has broken it down for them like it did in this class. I certainly gained important information in this lesson and now know more about these laws and will be able to be a good model for my students and can teach them about the laws as well.
I learned a lot about copyright laws this week. I took the quiz and did horrible.There is a lot more about copywriting that I didn't ever know until reading about Guidelines for Teachers and Students in this week's assignment. I was always told in high school that if you are copying information for a school project that it was ok, and that copyright laws do not apply for teachers, or as long as you give credit where credit is due you will be just fine. I have save the website to my computer and plan to use it when I start teaching,after looking at the website i feel that I will be able to give my students the correct information.
WOW!! I am amazed at the lack of knowledge I didn't have but thought I had about the internet and copyright laws after taking the quiz. Man, I did awful, and it turn because obviously I have seen many people misuse and abuse these laws many times at my work. It is scary. I am now much more aware of the laws and guidlines that are incurred when using information, music, and clips.
We all assume that information, clip art, videos and such on the Internet is free for anyone to use. I, for one, will check the copyright and properly give credit when I use anything from the Internet for now on.
Copyrighting laws have become a very important factor to consider, whether one is entering the teaching field or not, in recent years due to the overwhelming technological ways to copy or reproduce materials. In an educational environment, teachers must be very knowledgeable of the circumstances involving the laws of copyrighting and fair use inside his or her classroom. Each and every year thousands of teachers use an abundant amount of materials that they either copy out of books, print off the internet, or obtain through other means and as future educators we must abide by the law and respect the work that others have created. Before the quiz, I felt confident about my knowledge of copyright and fair use, but after not doing as well as I would have liked, I began to take this lecture a bit more serious, due to the material covered because many of us may have mistaken perceptions on copyrights and fair use laws. Needless to say, this week was a very enlightening week for my knowledge on the laws that govern copyrights and fair use. Although copyright and fair use laws may seem like “common sense,” there is more to them than we know, such as in the first factor when determining fair use, “the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes” (Fryer, 2002-2003). The factor may seem logical, but we as teachers must understand for what nature we are reproducing the works. Each and every day we as teachers, coaches, and/or administrators will be faced with the dilemma of using somebody else’s work and we must make the right choice and abide by the laws.
Works Cited
Fryer, W. A. (2002-2003). Tools for the TEKS: Integrating Technology in the Classroom. (TechEdge) Retrieved August 7, 2009, from Integrating Technology In the Classroom: http://www.wtvi.com/TEKS/02_03_articles/copyright.html
I also like Ashley have always heard from teachers, “put things into your own words” and although it may have some truth, I believe that there is more to it that just putting it in your own words. The truth is, we must be more aware of the circumstances of copyrights and fair use and abide by each and every law that is set forth on us. As future educators, we must be conscious of every reproduction of material that we handout to our students. Copyrights are a very serious entity and if we take our jobs seriously, we must not break the law. Also like Ashley, I like and benefited a great deal from Fryer’s article and how he broke it down into 4 factors. It is not every day that important information is set in such an easy way to understand.
NLP0504 brings up a very important point, “as adults, we are naturally more cautious than children” and I cannot help, but agree with her. I believe that it is human nature to be curious and explore the unknown, but sometimes we must understand that there are times that not knowing is better. There is a great deal of things to explore on the internet, but as educators and role models, we must understand that people and especially students look to us for the correct path. As teachers we must help students to avoid the potential pitfalls online and address any educational needs that they may have.
This has, by far, been the best lesson in this course. I did not realize how little I knew. I,like John, have always been told that if it is for educational purposes then it is ok. The information I received will be very helpful in the years to come. I also loved the websites that taught students about cyber safety. I plan on using these sites in my computer class this year.
Macy, your comment, about thinking like a criminal, makes sense for someone, like you, who has seen more than most. However, it would be hard for me because I have never been exposed to that kind of thing. I think I would have to rely on information that I learned from others.
Wow I have learned so much from this weeks reading. I always hear the teachers when they say "Give credit Give credit" but I was seriously thinking that was just something in the teachers code of conduct lol that was written for them to say. Its not just something teachers tell their students when they are writing it is actually a law we all need to abide by. We need to really make sure our students in the future give the authors credit they deserve. Most student just write thing to hurry up and finishing assignment and don't understand how serious this matter really is. As teachers we need to be educated and stay up on our game so we can educate our student about these things. Now cyber safety to me is more than just the teachers responsibility but it starts from the home. I think parents need to keep track of where there kids are going on the net. If they start by making it clear why its important to watch for certain things it will definitely help out the teachers.
You are so right Bethea I didn't realize how much I didn't know about it either but it was great to know. Hopefully it will just make some people really find out what they don't know..and boy have I seen people misuse this rule but the sad thing is they will continue to do so and some don't get caught.
Amanda I agree about this braking down of the law because if not who would really read and UNDERSTAND it.Ill definitely have some homework to do also. But what you said about teachers not only educators but role models is so true because I know growing up I had many role model teachers. We can make a difference in many ways which to me is so exciting.
Wow! I did very poorly on the quiz, too. I, too, thought I was up to par with the copywright law but I was WAY wrong.
I had no idea that there was so much to think about when teachers are trying to put together their lesson plans. I had no earthly idea that it was a pretty big ordeal to copy a peice of paper for an assignment.
I think that as future educators, we need to learn all we can now. We need to learn it now so that we can educate our students the proper ways to copy and cite others works. I also think that Cyber safety is at an all time scary place right now. We need to teach these students that you cannot trust or beleive everything you see on the internet.
I think that if we, as educators, can get this through their minds now that the internet might be a safer place a couple of years down the road.
Macy,
I thought it was really neat that you have already spoke to current teachers about the copyright laws and they were, too, surprise. I think that we take for granted what we can and cannot use and it is very interesting that people are not more educated on this topic. Thank you Professor for keeping us in the know!
Thanks Jaelyn for the advice in ELED 412. I think I have to take that course pretty soon and will now know a tid bit to remember!
I am pretty familiar with copyright laws, but even I learned something from this assignmnet.
I think that it is a wonderful idea to be lenient on educators but I also think it is fair that the original creators receive the proper credit for their work.
Educators, as well as anyone else should use extreme caution when using, modifying or showing the work of others.
I too think that teachers should engage in teacher their students netiquette. They should have the students to sign an agreement that they fully understand and that they will abide by the rules at all times.
I learned alot of new information this week on the copyright laws. After going over this chapter I know now that when we are doing research papers and what not that putting the authors name does not mean it is ok to quote it. My teachers and professors has have always said if you use something that someone has wrote reference it. I always thought if you gave the author credit then it was ok,!
John I totally agree with where you are coming from about being surprised about the documenting. I've always been taught if you give the author credit then it was not considered copyright. I see that is not true after reading this information. That is crazy!
NLPO504 you are very right when you say we need to teach the students the right way to surf the net. Yes there are so many predators on the internet and there main target are the children and women. We need to start early by teaching the kids how to safely use the internet and avoid predators because it could save their life. Reading up on this information will help alot of us future teachers teach our students how to surf the internet safely.
I was not vey familiar with the copyright laws until after reading this article. I didn't know that teachers have so many things that can't be used or has to be cited. I knew that students had to cite pretty much everything and are limited on what can be used, but I didn't know all this about teachers. This article was very helpful and I now understand more about the copyright laws and will continue to try and learn more.
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