I'm a school librarian. It is my job to teach digital citizenship to students and teachers. That's how it began. And then...
I had a HUGE ah-ha moment. Everything I thought I knew about copyright was turned on its head.
Ever hear "10% or 30 seconds, whichever is less?" Bull crap! Are you as shocked as I was?
University of Florida contracted me to create an instructional video on copyright for their digital collection. Copyright lawyer, Christine Fruin, answered all my questions.
"Christine, which media can I show in my class? Copyrighted movies like Disney?
"Michelle, it depends. Use the four factors test.""Christine, which music can kids use in their projects? Popular music?"
"Michelle, it depends. Use the four factors test.""Christine, can I share my power points that have copyrighted pictures with other teachers?"
"Michelle, it depends. Use the four factors test."Clear as mud. The four factors is really what happens in court. It's how all copyright issues are resolved. Here is a one-page slide you can reference or a questionnaire that Christine made that can guide you. So I researched extensively and found...
It get much easier! The Center for Media and Social Impact gathered hundreds of subject matter experts and lawyers and created best practice guidelines on many topics, including:
- Media Literacy - my focus. Any educational use of any type of media.
- Academic and Research Libraries
- OpenCourseWare
- Online Video
- Journalism
- Scholarly Research in Communication
So I set about educating everyone I could. I presented 1/2 day and full day workshops in Palm Beach County, Orange County, Santa Rosa County, Miami-Dade County, Escambia County, and Gulf County. I have presented webinars through three organizations that reach roughly 60% of Florida. Here is a simplified handout from a workshop.
At the same time, I was diligently implementing the guidelines in all my instructional materials and in all my lessons with kids. And I was talking to teachers about their scenarios.
So, Miss Know-it-all, how can you talk about copyright?
I adopted it, lived it, loved it.
In the end, nobody can definitively tell you if your use of copyrighted materials is just.
YOU have to make your own informed decision.
Be informed and do not overly restrict yourself. You probably have more rights than you realize.
Thanks for your posting! The handout you posted through Slideshare was a thorough but not overwhelming explanation of using copyrighted material in the classroom. It's a great reinforcement of basic principles. As someone who loves context rather than "just don't do it because you can't" I really appreciated the resource you prepared. I don't deal with these issues much in my job, but I used to get tons of questions about people showing films on campus at events and trying to claim it was allowed under Fair Use because FSU is an educational institution. This helps clear up why that is certainly not the case for social events on campus. It certainly would have helped me explain why more clearly.
ReplyDeleteHi allisonbpeters - I am so glad you found the slideshare helpful. I've actually seen schools get in trouble while to my knowledge, a teacher never has, legally. The public school used part of the Ram logo in their school logo. Was taken to court.
DeleteYou are so right! Just because you are an educational institution, you are not given carte blance to use copyrighted materials. And EVERYTHING is copyrighted the moment it is created. People do not have to formally apply for copyright.
Michelle, this is very informative information and I am glad you shared this with us. On a personal note, I love color and design, and your site automatically captured my attention, added with the useful content.
ReplyDeleteHi bsg5857. I've been trying to decide what colors to use when I launch my website. More people in the world like blue than any other color. But it seems so passe. Green came into style about 8 years ago, but when will it go out of style. I need to pick your designer brain. I LOVE design!
DeleteIf anyone out there reads this, a great handbook, old though it may be, is "The Non-Designer's Design Book" by Robin Williams. It gives the basics of design in a little over 100 pages. Totally changes everything I make.
Wow, you actually made me super excited to read about copyright law! I have looked through your slideshare and I am impressed with the format of the information. It does seem clear...I wish I had more time to dig into it. I think you bring up excellent points in your blog post about how information like this feels so incredibly disparate and overwhelming. Thanks so much for sharing...and with such an engaging writing style, too!
ReplyDeleteLearningLust - You make me smile. Thank you for looking at the slideshare. You don't need to dig into copyright until you need it. Until then, just keep intellectual property in the back of your mind. Happy publishing!
DeleteThank you for posting this information! I went through your slideshare and it was very informative and very easy to understand. I especially enjoyed the checklist because it is something that I could easily use when identifying resources under fair use. I wish I knew about the four factors test when I was actually teaching! I could have used way more resources that were available to me at the time. My biggest fear is violating copyright and I tried to avoid using materials because of that.
ReplyDeleteShiba Inu Owner,
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way about over-restricting myself for so many years! The good news is that the four factors test is for any use of copyrighted materials, not just educational uses.
In my research, I found that judges actually boil the four factors down to two simple questions when the use is not educational:
1. Are you denying the copyright owner of money?
2. Is the use transformational?
I also consider how widely the material is distributed: hardcopy/live or digitally.
Happy creating!
Michelle