Confessions of a Copyright Rookie
My head has been spinning all week. Like literally all week long. There is so much to learn about copyright issues. I am embarrassed at how little I actually knew about copyright issues. Actually, that isn't fair. It is more accurate to say how little I actually cared about copyright issues.
There is so much that I still need to learn, but here are a few key points that I learned this week.
1. The U.S. Copyright Office is part of the Library of Congress. Check out this article to learn an interesting perspective regarding the modernization and possible separation of these two offices.
2. Although plagiarism and copyright infringement are similar, there are distinct differences that are important to be aware of and understand. Learn more here.
3. Educators don't have free reign to use whatever materials they want just because they are using them for educational matters. It is important that teachers and administrators have a solid understanding of what is allowed both in face-to-face and digital settings . This chart is very helpful! Watch the video below to learn more about the TEACH act.
4. There are four considerations for fair use: purpose, nature, amount, and effect. Watch the video below to learn more.
5. Understanding appropriate use of copyrighted materials can greatly enhance teaching and learning and should not be seen as a hurdle to jump through. The teaching and learning process is just that. A process. A never-ending cycle in which individuals act as both teachers and students. This week has taught me that I am still in the process of learning how to effectively use copyrighted materials. In my opinion, understanding the basic terms that we covered in our discussion post this week can help us enhance the process of teaching and learning.
First, the term plagiarism is something that you hear often in classrooms across America. Plagiarism is defined as taking someone else's work and trying to pass it off as your own (Bailey, 2013). When I was in the classroom, I primarily taught 7th and 8th grade ELAR. Because of this, I have assigned quite a few projects where students had to research and present their findings. It never fails that there is a student (or more) that turns in a Google Slide presentation that sounds like it came straight from a college textbook when I know good and well that they confuse there, their, and they're regularly. We harp on plagiarism and tell students they will receive a zero if they plagiarize, but rarely teach them how to appropriately keep from falling into this trap. If we had a better understanding of using these materials, we could teach students how to synthesize and summarize ideas from others in a way that helps them to take information, apply prior knowledge, and to come up with their own ideas rather than regurgitating the work of others. However, we must also teach them attribution to ensure that they are giving credit to the author. I think sometimes we get so caught up in “lack of time” and all the standards that must be covered that we do our students an injustice by not teaching them how to appropriately use and cite resources. Because of this, we are not truly teaching them how to be good stewards of information for the sake of a standardized test.
Copyright infringement, however, is any time that someone infringes upon the rights of the copyright holder which include reproducing, creating derivatives, distribution, and publication (Bailey, 2013). One example of this would be if I decided that I was going to write a sequel to Markus Zusak's "The Book Thief" without his permission. Another example is something that I have seen teachers do regularly- make photocopies of books because they don't have a class set. Or share items that they purchased on Teachers Pay Teaches with their teammates without permission. When we do these things, not only are we breaking the law, but we are also modeling unlawful behavior for our students. Instead, we should be utilizing ideas such as transformation. Transformation is when users take original works and edit them in such a way that the new work differs enough to no longer qualify as copyright infringement (Farkas, 2018).
I believe that if we took the time to explain these ideas to students and demonstrate how to appropriately utilize copyrighted materials, we would be enhancing the teaching and learning process. Not only would we teach them a concept that is still very foreign to adults, but we would teach them to be critical thinkers which should be the utmost goal of educators.
References
Bailey, J. (2013.) The Difference Between Copyright Infringement and Plagiarism - Plagiarism
Today. Plagiarism Today. Retrieved 19 June 2018, from
https://www.plagiarismtoday.com/2013/10/07/difference-copyright-infringement- plagiarism/
Farkas, B. (2018). Fair Use: What Is Transformative?. www.nolo.com. Retrieved 19 June 2018, from
https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/fair-use-what-transformative.html
