Saturday, March 7, 2015

Copyright at the Core

Copyright at the Core
Copyright has been around in the United States since 1790, when it was signed into law by President George Washington. The law existed before that in Great Britain since the Licensing of the Press Act of 1662, and the British Statute of Anne (1710) further alluded to individual rights of the artist. The concept, however, is even older. In recent days, however, it has fallen out of the forefront of people’s minds, especially in the case of teachers when it comes to students’ assignments.
With the coming of the new Common Core New York State standards, students are asked to publish their writing starting in third grade, for example:
W.3.6. With guidance and support from adults, use technology to produce and publish writing (using keyboarding skills) as well as to interact and collaborate with others.
W.4.6. With some guidance and support from adults, use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others; demonstrate sufficient command of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of one page in a single sitting.
W.5.6. With some guidance and support from adults, use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others; demonstrate sufficient command of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of two pages in a single sitting.
W.6.6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others; demonstrate sufficient command of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of three pages in a single sitting.
As one can see, the standards are there, and the expectations are clear. What is not covered is the appropriate way to illustrate published writing. Too often, images are copied from a Google image search, and no mention of ownership is ever addressed. Many companies have exercised their rights. There is a difference in opinion between what “fair use” entails, and what the law stipulates, and the Internet has further complicated matters, making content more easily attainable. Students and teachers alike feel that if it’s out there, they can use it, but a company can object to their imagery being used without permission, and could legally challenge people with a lawsuit.

Here is a useful video schools can use to help articulate the basics of copyright for teachers and students. While the video is geared towards higher education, it can easily be applied to K-12 too. http://www.copyright.com/content/cc3/en/toolbar/education/resources/copyright_on_campus.html


Copyright law is quite specific, and the rules are black and white, but the use of materials is gray. One solution to this growing concern is Creative Commons, a not for profit organization that allows use of their content in a simpler, easier way. There is, therefore, a resource that teachers and students can use to find copyright-friendly images that they can use without fear of reprisal. Here is a link to the Creative Commons search on their site: http://search.creativecommons.org/
Let’s be clear, however: you must be sure to always read the fine print! People think if you find an image on Wikipedia, that it’s free to use. While that is sometimes true, it is not always the case. Ever so often, an image is classified as “Some Rights Reserved” just to muddy the waters further. An example of the attribution information is below:
SomeRightsReserved.gif

It is also important for teachers and students who use Creative Commons materials to give credit when credit is due. Attribution is almost always required by those who license their work in such a manner. Many times the owner of the work will provide the citation or details as to how they would like the attribution to be displayed. If this information is not provided, websites like EasyBib.com provide a template for images and digital media for students to complete for the citation to be generated.


"Credit Is Due : Nina Paley : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive."Internet Archive. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Mar. 2015.



So what is a teacher to do? For one, be careful. When in doubt, don’t use it! And if you want to be sure you’re safe, use a free photo archive. Here are more links for copyright free/friendly links and links to lesson plans:

Copyright Lesson Plans 

Copyright Friendly Images
The World Images Kiosk - http://worldimages.sjsu.edu/
Pics4Learning - http://pics4learning.com/ 
Public Domain Archive - http://publicdomainarchive.com/

Public Domain Video Clips






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1 comment:

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