I really learned a lot today about the laws regarding copyrights in the classroom. What really stood out to me is the distinction between using a copyrighted material for educational purposes or just showing it for motivation/fun. It surprised me that a coach was unable to show a movie prior to a game, but the same movie could be shown in a classroom by a teacher. This makes me wonder how this law applies when teachers show movies for fun, or as rewards, that have nothing to do with anything educational. This happens often in elementary classes. Would this break the copyright laws since it's not really for educational purposes? I was also surprised to learn that there are such exact measurements for how much of a copyrighted work can be used. I have never given a lot of thought to what I take from the internet, especially pictures. It's something I will be thinking more about.
I think many aspects of the copyright laws are fair, but there are some that don't make sense to me. For example, I don't think it's fair that after 70 years, a copyrighted material becomes public property. When someone creates something that is still relevent after 70 years, that person material deserves to be protected, regardless of whether or not that person is still alive. I also think it's unfair that people do not receive the same amount of time for a copyright as companies. I think the laws should be the same across the board. I also think it's unfair that you can't show a movie to a group of people. I can understand if you were charging them to see it, but I think showing it for free should be allowed. I don't understand how showing the movie is any different than simply loaning it out to five different families, which does not break copyright laws. It seems to be a slippery slope.
The truth is, I don't even know that I understand fair use enough to absolutely be sure I never violate fair use laws. I will try of course. I will do my best to procure permission for anything that I distribute in my class, or make sure that I only distribute it once if necessary before getting permission. It was also really helpful to learn about Creative Commons photos which are available for use in presentations. I will utilize this option, as well as take more pictures for presentations from clip art programs. These pictures are included on the Microsoft software, and therefore are availabe for use. I also plan to give credit to any sources I use, although I now understand that plagarism and copyright are not the same thing. I do wonder how coyright laws work in regards to using lesson plans that are posted online. If you use a lesson plan that someone posted for other teachers to use, do the same laws apply?
Within my own classroom, I plan to give my students all the information that I can about copyright laws so that they are aware of them. However, I most likely will not enforce absolutely every law within my classroom. I actually think it would be impossible to spend the time tracking down every student's sources to make sure that no coypright laws were broken, especially when it comes to pictures that they use in their work. I cannot imagine checking where every student's pictures came from. Instead, I will absolutely require students to always cite their sources, including picture sources, and give credit to those whose words they use in their papers. These are the guidelines that the majority of colleges follow, and it should help them be prepared for citing sources in college papers/projects. I'm not sure how to handle student use of Youtube in presentations. These videos are posted for public viewing, so that is one thing that I may have to look into.
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I think it's funny that we have complete opposite views on how long a copyright should be active. In my blog I talked about how I think 70 years after death is quite a long time for someone to be making money off of something. Especially when other people have great new ideas that build upon others original ideas. That being said, I can see your point, work should be protected and like Rhiannon talked about in class no one wants to see Mickey Mouse porn. I'm sure no one wants to see their work essentially "destroyed" even if they are not alive anymore.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. I don't think that i understand Fair use laws enough to know if I am going to violate them either. I think its just being aware that the laws are there, and trying your best not to violate them. I think that the whole movie thing is crazy too. I mean watching it with a bunch of friends and rerecording it to sell are two different things.
ReplyDeleteI certainly understand why we have these laws. I can also surmise there was probably an increase in demand for copyright lawyers with the growth of the internet. There is so much material of every nature so readily available and easily copied that enforcing copyright law seems impossible. Teachers can't be responsible for what students are copying, but we can certainly make them aware of copyright laws. I agree that requiring students to cite their sources should always be required to avoid copyright infringement.
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