POST #4: Copyright

I have a much better understanding of copy write rules after watching this section of the course.  In some areas in was not as restrictive as I thought.  It was very helpful as a refresher on the fair use in the classroom.  It will be good to give my students a better understanding of copy write rules, especially when we are doing our projects in the classroom.  I believe I will use the AEA resources more, since they more often tend to be safe for classroom use.  I was intrigued by the use of character section of the course, and have a better understanding of that.  I do use our media specialist whenever I have questions about copy write issues.

Wow!  There was a lot of information regarding copyright laws.  The entire time I was reading and listening I kept thinking, I'm thankful I'm not a judge or lawyer having to listen to these cases in court!  Through my learning, I really saw the benefit of conducting research, using clipart, videos, sounds, etc through the AEA resource because all of these have been approved for school use since a fee has been paid to use them.

There are so many resources, there really is no need for a person/student to need to access other information or resources.  I am thankful that most of the materials used in our room are the original such as books, etc so this makes it much easier.  Knowing these laws and teaching them to students who are the consumers is very important.  It would be beneficial to have a more simpler break down for students as some of the lines can be very gray.

It does make me think about the resources I share with the students and in what capacity.  My students, 2nd graders, do not do many computer based research projects, etc. so the copyright law, though important, is somewhat over their heads.

I think I understand copyright a little bit better after the learning module, boy there is grey area and some seemingly more than necessary confusing verbiage involved.  My general take though is that as educators are granted quite a bit of leeway when using materials in our classrooms for classroom use as long as we don't misuse the materials in a way that would hurt the creator of the original materials.  I think it is easier in my world as a preschool teacher since we don't use textbooks or other forms of similarly copyrighted materials where their sole purpose is to be sold to schools.  In my classroom, I use youtube often to find videos of topics that come up whenever kids think of them.  I was always very hesitate to use Youtube in that way for inappropriate reasons, but never thought about it as a copy right issue.  That is why I really enjoyed learning about Learning 360 and have used it in my class during this learning experiences as a safe, and responsible way of answering those questions that pop up when engaged with students who are curious.  

     Copyright is a lot more confusing and complicated than I ever thought.  As I was going through this module I realized how much I didn't know - it almost scared me.  I almost always just completed a Google search when looking for resources.  Sad to say I did not think about copyright most of the time.  I ran off information as I was going through the module so I can have it as a handy reference guide when I am searching for resources.  Since I work with elementary students using the AEA Online resources will take the guess work out of it for both them and myself.  

The Copyright module was very interesting to me.  I know that I get confused on what can and cannot be used or needs to be credited.  It helped clear some things up for me but I will need to reflect back and review in the future.  We have such an easy advantage to finding materials, music, resources, videos, and other works from individuals at the click of a button.  It is a great thing but can be somewhat dangerous as well.  I need to be better at sharing copyright information with my students.  I like how you can use Iowa AEA Online with the students and not worry as much about copyright issues.  It has been filtered for us.  I will be much more aware because of the module.    

Prior to this course I had virtually no knowledge of how copyright law affected the classroom.  I was not aware of the TEACH act or Creative Commons.  I have learned that the rules are not as strict as I thought.  My limiting what I use and restricting it to the classroom setting I feel much more comfortable in using more audio and video in my class.  One thing I will do going forward is to use the advanced search option when using the large search engines and look for a Creative Commons license first.  This will make the receiving of permission quicker and easier and I now know that having permission to use protected materials eliminates any copyright violations when used properly.

   When the internet first became available, I remember our librarian telling us that copyright infringement online was just as serious, maybe more so, that copyright infringement of hard copy material.  She told us it would be a criminal offense to use anything without permission.  We were all afraid to use it.  After awhile, the fear subsided, and we started using the internet in our classrooms.  Most of us quit worrying about copyright.  It was great to learn in this class that some copyrighted material may be used in the classroom legally and without the threat of arrest!
  I also like the AEA Online site a LOT!  I don't know why anyone would want to use anything else.  The trash has already been sifted through and removed and anything of this site is legitimate.  It is so helpful that information that is copyrighted is furnished with a citation.  
  I am eager to share this site with my students!

We’ve spent some time at school professional development discussing the topic of CopyRight Law, but I feel that this module really did a good job of explaining the intricacies.  Even though it is something I’ve learned some things about it before, I’ve found myself treading lightly in my classroom to avoid any accidental infringements.

The Fair Use and Common Use sections offered a bit of relief for me as teachers have a little more freedom for use of materials in their classrooms.  I have created a lot of my curriculum on my own, but occasionally I utilize outside resources to supplement what I am doing.  Knowing that I have a little more wiggle room to use these in a classroom setting will allow me to supplement my curriculum more often with these materials.  

I’m thankful for the abundance of the AEA Online Resources and the fact that it is easier to know what is able to be utilized.  Sometimes I find myself researching materials all over the internet and don’t always know what can and cannot be used.

I feel much more comfortable with copyright laws.  I have always found myself scared to use and share material worried I would be in some sort of violation of a copyright law.  Everything from sharing documents with my students and peers to using any type of music when making a slideshow.  I feel so much relief knowing using the materials on Iowa AEA online I will not have to worry about that aspect anymore. One less thing to worry and stress about is great in my book.   It is nice to know that the AEA Online material is also filtered and sorted already for me. Once again saving me time to plan for my students.   I plan to rely much more on AEA online resources and spend way less time searching on google and youtube.  Once trained my students will also be doing the same exact thing.  Which makes it easier on them as well as me.  

After completing the copyright module and learning more about copyright law, fair use, and creative commons, I feel more comfortable with using materials in my school. I have learned more about how I can use videos and images within my online postings in our Learning Management System. Through the AEA copyright flyer, I have also learned more about the specific regulations and permissions of the Iowa AEA Online resources. In particular, I have learned about how some of the videos on Learn360 will allow me to edit them and/or convert them into a different format, but I cannot post any content to the Internet. I can electronically link to content from Gale, including Kids InfoBits. With student use of Iowa AEA Online resources versus materials that are available on the general web, I will continue to do my best to educate students on the reliability and credibility of these sources. I will also increase my sharing of this with my colleagues, since some of them encourage students to use the general web instead of using (or at least starting with) these resources.

After completing the module on Copyright, I do have a much better understanding.  For one, it is not as restrictive as I once thought.  As a recent former teacher, I understand the challenges of locating resources and then using those resources in teaching lessons.  For my new position as Instructional Coach, I want to support my teachers in as many ways as possible.  So I intend to use my knowledge on copyright and the resources through AEA Online to help teachers understand how it can actually save them time using the AEA.

One area that I would like to focus on this year is the use of videos in the classroom.  Yes, videos can be great.  But, I want my teachers to have the understanding of how to effectively use them in their classroom.  Also, for teachers to understand what they can show and what they can digitally share with their students.

I believe that the issue of copyright is a huge factor in the creation of student work in our evolving technology culture.  In the "old" days we had "Frankenstein" papers where the students might just copy bits and pieces from this book or that Encyclopedia to provide the facts for an assignment. Many times these were important information supports for the theme of the paper but were not properly foot noted.  Today we face a very different challenge in the electronic availability of information that is just a copy and paste away from being in the Document.  In the past we have had a Presidential Candidate drop from the race because of plagiarism. We need to teach the students the rules of what can be used and how we should site materials they find on the web that are being used in their work.  One thing that is also an advantage to teachers is the search of the first sentence or two of a paper in a google search.  When a student is turning in a document electronically you can reverse the copy and paste on them and do a quick search.  If it pops up as a word for word or very close alteration from a source it helps to bring into question whether the work is original to the student or if they have simply copied the material from the web.  When we live in a world of instant access of all this information it become more important that we teach the students where to find materials that have more credible information and how to properly site it if used.

I applaud the understanding of the rules to apply to our own work and that we are often as involved with the "ease" of the use of materials as the students.  I think that this can be used as a teaching moment also to demonstrate that we constantly learn and evaluate work as the students should also.

Understanding a little more the importance of what CAN be used versus what CANNOT be used will definitely have an impact on what type of media I use in my classroom going forward. Knowing that the resources on the AEA website are both royalty free and approved gives me assurance that these programs will be acceptable for both student use (working on projects) or my use to share information with students. Learn 360 is approved by my district (Des Moines Public Schools). When needing to show information with students I will know I am legally okay to do so. In the current unit in Social Studies I have found there are great resources to helping teach students about each region in the United States. There are also many videos I can use to help students with Social Skills and a variety of science topics as well (energy, earth materials, etc.)

The AEA Online information regarding Copyright has made it so much easier to sort things out.  I am also a Choir Director, so the issue of copyright has always been at the forefront of my career.  Now that I am also a classroom teacher, I get to think about it in other ways too.  The resources offered here will greatly help in making correct, interesting, and unique choices for projects for those classes.  I attended another copyright session this summer, and combined with the AEA resources, I feel that I can better guide my kiddos in their selections of music, sounds, and clips for use in our Life Skills or in Choir.  It is also a comfort to know that other practices I have been using are still "OK!"  At least, for now.  As the digital world changes, it is our responsibility as educators to adapt with it.  "Back in my day" we certainly had fewer things to worry about!  So I think it is important to educate the digital users of their responsibilities.  Thank you for including this information !!

Having completed the copyright module, and considering the resources that are available with Iowa AEA Online versus the materials that are available on the general web, I would say my understanding of my use of copyright materials has made me much more comfortable.
I feel I have always been very careful about not using materials that I know I didn't pay for or the school didn't as I like to stick to researched based materials when I teach.
Something I learned was was that copyright extends to 70 years past death of the owner and that orphan works were not copyrighted. I found that interesting.
One thing I still question is if books or movies are donated to the classroom or school, are they considered to be legally okay to read aloud or view for educational purposes, since the school or classroom did not purchase them.
I will continue to be dilligent about making sure I follow copyright rules with my classroom materials and practices and will teach these rules to my students.

Now that I have gone through the copyright module of this self-paced course, I feel more confident in how I can use various materials in my classroom.  I always thought that I had to be more restricted than what I actually need to be.  At one point I was told to never play music as ambiance in my classroom due to copyright infringement.  Now I see that it's okay to do.  I will feel more comfortable allowing background music to play for part of class, or as modeling for trainings.

The other step I plan on taking is recommending that teachers add a section about copyright into their syllabi.  This should include information about use/re-use of classroom materials that are shared electronically as well as information about the use of student produced work.  I never thought about including something like this in my syllabus prior to taking this self-paced course.

I have always tried to stay on top of copyright since I am a music teacher.  I have always tried to be careful and cognizant of what is appropriate and what is not as I use sheet music, recordings, and videos in class.

As I need other resources and I have students do research and units outside of performing I am going to work really hard at having students use the AEA resources.  The AEA resources are credible, well organized, and their copyright material is sorted, labeled and easy to find.  I just think it is safer for students to use the AEA resources than to  go on the web where it is more difficult to find the copyright information and to trust the resources that are out there.

And, the 10% rule is a great one.

The copyright module of this course was an eye opening reminder of the importance of following copyright rules and regulations. One area I was specifically surprised by was the need to explicitly request student permission to publish their works on websites or other mediums. Many school teachers are required by their administrators to use online tools such as SeeSaw, classroom Facebook groups, or classroom webpages. So many of those teachers proudly post student work on these sites. However, this course helped me to question whether or not teachers are getting the proper permissions to share works. Which I was reminded, breaks copyright laws. While I have always thought of copyright laws for musicians and book writers, I had not previously taken into consideration the laws that protect our own students. This was a great reminder for me.

After going through this module of copyright law, I have a better understanding of what is ok and not ok to use in the classroom.  Previously I would use whatever I found on the internet to use in the classroom.  Youtube videos and google images were the go to spots.  However, I now know that I need to be more careful of what I use.  With the AEA online resources I can now find quality resources without the scare of what is copyright protected.  I can find images in iClipArt for Schools or AP Images, for videos I can use Learn360 or TrueFLIX, and for book resources I can use TeachingBooks.net or BookFLIX.  Also, I did learn that there are lots of ways to use resources legally in the classroom.  We have several laws(I believe they are laws) that protect teachers, for example we have Classroom Use, Teach Act, Fair Use, and Creative Commons.