Dennis Dill’s post:
Copyright is a perplexing topic because at first glance it appears to be black and white, but in reality there are so many shades of gray in copyright law that I am surprised that every person is not hauled off to jail for a copyright violation. In a traditional learning environment most teachers worry about plagiarism, that is, students copying the work of someone else and calling it their own in a written document. However, as we progress into the 21st century written work is not the only work we need to worry about when it comes to plagiarism or copyright violation.
What a teacher uses in class or students turn in as an assignment copyright plays a major issue, especially when using multimedia. The use of YouTube can be a great tool, but how do we know we are safe from copyright violation. Just because some one places a movie clip on YouTube does not mean we are free use it at will. What about the playing of music? If we are playing music at a basketball game with paid attendance is this the same as playing music for our class who does not pay to be there. Would this answer be the same if the school was a private school in which students paid to attend?
All of these issues need to be understood to ensure that teachers and students do not violate copyright laws. Although, we could throw cation to the wind and run the risk of being sued for $250,000.00 and up to five years in jail...no...I think I will adhere to copyright laws.
What a teacher uses in class or students turn in as an assignment copyright plays a major issue, especially when using multimedia. The use of YouTube can be a great tool, but how do we know we are safe from copyright violation. Just because some one places a movie clip on YouTube does not mean we are free use it at will. What about the playing of music? If we are playing music at a basketball game with paid attendance is this the same as playing music for our class who does not pay to be there. Would this answer be the same if the school was a private school in which students paid to attend?
All of these issues need to be understood to ensure that teachers and students do not violate copyright laws. Although, we could throw cation to the wind and run the risk of being sued for $250,000.00 and up to five years in jail...no...I think I will adhere to copyright laws.
Comments to Dennis:
Wow. You bring up some really good questions in regards to the copyright law. There are so many little details and contingencies to the law that it is so easy to get confused. I agree with you that teachers tend to really focus on plagiarism in regards to written work but not think about the media used in the classroom. The Internet and sites like YouTube have allowed for wonderful new material to be brought into the classroom, but have also created issues about copyright. I think that a lot of teachers are unaware of the details of the copyright and fair use laws. I know that I learned a lot from watching the videos. Maybe schools should use videos like these to share with their teachers so that we are all better informed.
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