What is fair use and how does it apply to education?
Apparently fair use is not as straight forward as I thought since I did so badly on that quiz!! Fair use is the acceptable way to use copyright materials such as books, articles, and various forms of media for educational purposes. Fair use is defined by a few guidelines: the nature of the work, the amount you borrow and the effect the use of the work will have on its value in the market. Can you copy an article for you class to read for a lesson? - yes. Can you copy a whole textbook for use in class? - no. Can you make copies of a program which you have only purchased one license for? - no.
The articles and video presented in this assignment shed light on the small details and restrictions that further define fair use. One question that stuck out from the quiz was about the "player" that was distributed on the school's computers and used by teachers and students. Since this is an educational program/player it does not fall under the same distribution laws as other programs such as "Microsoft Office". Several of the examples presented in the reading material, such as showing a movie as a "reward", are things teachers might not think twice about. The responsibility of fair use can fall on individuals, schools or districts. I think it is the responsibility of schools/districts to educate teachers on the ins and outs of fair use. I can see fair use being a tedious process that teachers might find annoying. However, with proper guidance and and clear rules, acceptable use of copyright works can be achieved.
I do think that the copyright rules are a little strict and slightly outdated. In today's day and age all forms of books and media are more readily available than ever thanks to the internet. Teachers have access to so much information that can be beneficial to students. Assignments like this would not be possible without the fair use policy. The articles we read and video we watched all contained copyright notices. One criticism of using copyright materials is that it hinders creativity. I think the video, "A Fair(y) Use Tale" shows the exact opposite. How cool was that video?!
Catie,
ReplyDeleteI bombed the quiz as well. I thought copyrights were pretty obvious but boy was I wrong. I definitely agree that schools need to educate teachers on copyright infringement. Schools should educate teachers on the most commonly broken copyright laws by teachers. I also agree the copyright laws are too strict and outdated. Copyright laws especially on digital material are very outdated. The problem being technology advances so quickly that even laws made years or even months ago can become outdated. That is a problem that may never be solved.
Hey Catie,
ReplyDeleteI too agree that the school and/or district should offer some guidance to teachers on how to navigate some of the major laws on the books regarding copyright and intellectual property. You also pointed out the example of showing a video in class as a "reward"... Well, what if the video is both educational AND entertaining? Why do we have to draw a line between the two? Not that the schools can afford it, but it would be nice if they hired a "Technology Officer" to help teachers navigate copyright & IP ethics as they arise.