Copyright 101 for Educators

August 5, 5:06 PMDallas Educational Technology ExaminerElaine Plybon

Previous Next

2 comments Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Dallas Educational Technology Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

As educators increase the use of technology in their classrooms, many find opportunities to assign work that results in great multimedia productions by their students. Often, teachers cite "fair use" or "educational use" as a reason for not worrying about copyright issues when grading and/or displaying student work.

With increasing scrutiny by everyone who uses technology, it is important that all educators become educated themselves - about copyright. What is copyright? What is copyrighted? When can I use materials I find on the web? If you have had some of these questions, or other related questions, this article will attempt to answer them and will provide you with additional resources to increase your knowledge of copyright laws.

It is vitally important that we not only practice legal use of copyrighted materials, but also educate our students so they will also respect copyright laws. There is no such thing as "giving them a little slack" on a particular lesson. Following are some questions or statements I have encountered and a brief explanation of the realities of copyright.

1. It's fair use! I hear this almost every time I'm in a group of educators who are talking about copyright. Fair use is a rather lengthy and involved law which can be interpreted in so many ways. Bottom line: you don't know how the person who owns a copyright interprets the law. Commonly, the rule for music, for example, is that less than 30 seconds of a song can be used and considered fair use (as long as it is not altered). Still, if that use has been in a form the owner of the copyright to the song would object to, you might have a fight on your hands.

2. Educational use. This excuse is used to justify almost any use of materials by educators. Educational use allows for the use of copyrighted materials for educational purposes in a face-to-face classroom only. If the material is going to be uploaded to the web, no matter who will or will not be seeing it, it is no longer for educational use only and the exemptions granted to educators no longer apply. This means that if your student creates something that she wants to enter in a media fair, educational use is out -- the student must be sure they have followed all copyright laws.

3. Just what is copyright and who has copyright protection? Copyright is designed to protect anyone who creates anything.Copyright is automatic. There are no requirements to file anything official to be entitled to protections under copyright law. As soon as a paper is written, a website is created, a video produced, etc., there are copyright protections afforded the creator(s).

4. When can I use materials that have copyright? Basically, the best bet is to have written permission from the owner of the copyright. Sometimes, a website will grant explicit rights to use images or other content. If so, print a copy of the page for your records because that is your written permission. Other times, a copyright owner might require that they be contacted directly on a per-case basis to obtain permissions. Whatever the situation, you must be sure that you have permission in writing before using any copyrighted material. That permission should include requirements for citing the work.

5. I always use Creative Commons media, so I'm OK. Although Creative Commons is a way for creators to grant permissions and make their creations readily available on the web, not all Creative Commons licenses give permissions to use the media under all circumstances. Be sure to read the Creative Commons attribute to be sure of what uses are permitted and which may need to be requested.

6. I always use royalty-free music I've found on the web, so I'm OK. It is true that there are royalty-free music providers on the web. However, you must read their permissions to be sure that all uses are permitted. Some will be fine with you using it in your classroom, but require a hefty fee if you plan to broadcast it (and the fee is usually on a per-performance basis).

7. This is a screenshot I created, so it's mine, right? Not really. Anytime you use anything from a website, you must get permission to reproduce it in any form. Some experts even recommend getting permission before linking to another website on a blog post - but there are no definitive rulings on that topic.

Bottom line: My suggestion would be to educate students to create completely original works so that they don't have to worry about copyright and so that they expand their own creativity and imagination. If, however, there are situations in which the use of material created by others is necessary, they must make a regular practice of researching the permissions available. If there are no permissions expressly granted on a website, then that content is off limits until they contact the creator and obtain written permission. Because we all want to show off the work we do, we should not limit ourselves to the "educational use" excuse. Get those permission and then share your work!