W1-Reading Response 2

Pat Ort says:

May 5, 2011 at 3:39 pm

I think teachers really get squeezed when it comes to copyright because many don’t know where to look for copyright free material that is also cost free. The Internet is a really big place, and resources that seem obvious to some are not all that easy to find for others. FSO has really helped me with that this year. As other students have shared resources, I have finally begun to find places to get music that my students can use and which don’t cost me anything. I still need to broaden that list of resources, though.
The drive to integrate technology into the classroom puts teachers and students in situations where they may need music or images they can’t make themselves. Digital natives resist the idea that they can’t share the things they find on in the Internet freely, and in any way they like. I have spent all year reinforcing the idea that you can’t use someone else’s work without their permission. We are doing better, but often kids have a specific image or piece of music in mind when they think up a project. When they find out they can’t use those things, they have a hard time coming up with alternatives. Actually, sometimes so do I. I needed medieval music for my class movie. I did purchase some music from iStock Photo, but it was a very limited selection. And no. I can’t make that in Garage Band.
I use online videos a lot, embedding them in my school web pages or blog. I could never create all of that myself. The rules about copyright can be a little slippery, too. Colleges, for example, can do some things that K-12 can’t, and vice-versa. And the rules change. I have required my students to use copyright free sources and to document their sources. However, it is still hard to be sure every item is safe and to check every student’s sources.

Laurie Kish says:

May 8, 2011 at 7:07 am

Pat,
I am not a K-12 teacher or University teacher, only a corporate educator in a global environment which has allowed me to see things outside of just the US perspectiv and talk about slippery. This week we have been viewing and reading about U.S. Copyright laws and one thing I found very interesting was a point that was made in the article, Copyright Basics by the U.S. Copyright Office, Circular 1 Rev:07/2008 about how there is no such thing as an “international copyright” that automatically protects an author’s writings, etc. throughout the entire world. They stated that protection against unauthorized use in a particular country depends on the national laws of that country. I mention this because we all know that the Internet is worldwide and you will find sources from outside the US. It is just an idea that we could consider is what about sources that do not originate from the US and do not have US copyright? Is it acceptable to use these as possibilities or not? Do we need to be educated in more than just US laws related to copyrights when using the world wide web? It would be interesting to get our instructors thoughts on this one.