Copyright Bee

Answers to common questions on copyright law: 

1. What is copyright?

It is a law that protects the creators of original works from unauthorized use of their intellectual property.

2. Do we, the public, have a right to use art and music?

In some situations, yes. Fair use will come into play here. It protects the right of the public to use these materials in limited and constructive ways.

3. What is public domain?

Any work that is no longer under a copyright is considered public domain. You may use these without permission, but you still need to give credit to the source.

4. What is fair use?

Fair use provides educators and students with the rights to use limited amounts of copyrighted materials as teaching materials. The materials used must be for a nonprofit educational use, and should try not to prevent the author from making a profit. They are also very limited in how much you can use.

5. Can I use a Smithsonian photograph in a report?

Yes, students have permission from the Smithsonian to use images for school assignments. In fact, the government provides many public domain materials on their websites. Just be sure to check copyrights before using.

6. How much of a song or video can I use?

For video, you are restricted to 10% or 3 minutes, whichever is less. For written material, you can use 10% or up to 1000 words, again whichever is less. For music and written material related to music, such as lyrics, you can use up to 10% or no more than 30 seconds.

7. What if it doesn’t have the copyright symbol on it?

An item can still be copyrighted even if it doesn’t have the symbol. Almost everything on the internet is under the copyright law; whether it shows the accepted symbol or not.

8. Can I put my project on a website to show my friends?

Unfortunately no. When you put your work on a public website, it is no longer restricted to your school and education. Copyrighted material only falls under the fair use clause when it stays within the school.

9. What is attribution?

When you attribute something to someone, you give them credit. This is important with copyright law. You have to give the creator credit whenever you use any original material.

10. I want to use something from a website, but I can’t find any copyright information!

Just because you don’t see the information, doesn’t mean it’s not copyrighted. The best thing to do is seek the approval of the author. Write an email to the contact person and ask for “permission to use.” Wait until you get a response before you take any liberties; never assume that receiving no response means it’s okay to use.

11. Why should I follow copyrights? Who’s going to find out if I don’t?

I hope your own conscience would not allow it! Think about how you feel when someone takes credit for your idea. If the situation were reversed and someone was using your original work without your permission, you’d be very upset! You’re also taking away from someone’s livelihood. Whenever you have a copyright situation, you must remember that making that music, creating that art, or writing that book is the author’s job. They have the right to earn their pay. You wouldn’t want to work for free, would you?

Here is a situation in which it would be important to follow copyright law in the classroom:
I have assigned a class project as a review for the SOL test coming up in a few weeks. I divide the students into pairs and assign them a topic. They are to create a presentation that hits the highlights of their unit to share with the other students. One pair is assigned thermal energy and heat transfer. They want to use the song “This is Why I’m Hot” by MIMS to help make the topic more exciting for their peers and as an attention grabber. I think it’s a great idea so I approve, but only if they use 30 seconds or less and credit MIMS in their powerpoint. 

Ability Level and Scientific Knowledge

Is a student's ability to perform core academic skills, such as reading, necessary to assessing their knowledge of science? How can I accurately rate a students success on my tests if they cannot read the questions? These are important questions to think about as a teacher. Of course reading is a skill that is essential to education. However, I must also recognize that not every student will learn at the same pace or have the same opportunities as others. If a student is behind in their reading skills for what ever reason, is it fair that they should also fall behind in science because of their limitations? I don't think it is. If language barriers are any indication, the ability to communicate does not indicate a level of intelligence or comprehension. I am always frustrated by people who view English Language Learners as simple minded because they cannot communicate their knowledge in a way we are used to. I think this could also apply to students who struggle reading written word. If I test a student on concepts covered in class but they lack the knowledge to comprehend the questions on the assessment, it does not mean that they did not learn the science content I taught. When I assess in only this format, I am doing nothing for this student except reminding them of their weakness in reading. I am not assessing their science knowledge, and I cannot use this data to evaluate their progress in my class. It is more important to know whether or not they can comprehend, explain, and utilize the science knowledge than to know if they can pass a test. To avoid this situation, I must try to understand and work within student limitations when testing. Assistive technology and Individualized Education Plans can mean a world of difference for students who are overcoming reading challenges. Besides the obvious read-aloud tests with a special education teacher, I can use technology to provide alternative assessments that do not rely on reading the way paper and pencil tests so often do. For example, an online or computer assessment could provide a read-aloud option for students with low reading levels or a dictionary to help students understand any unfamiliar words. In fact, I often take advantage of the dictionary option on my Nook e-reader if I come across a new word. Simply highlighting and clicking to give a definition is quick and simple. It would provide a standardized way of restating the question for each student so I wouldn't have to do this on an individual basis, and it could save the child any hesitation or uncertainty that might cause them to second guess their answer. I can also use assistive technology to completely remove my assessments from the format of traditional tests. Having the students create videos or animations to illustrate concept knowledge can not only get around the reading issue all together, but it can also provide an additional advantage by giving even more confirmed demonstrations of knowledge away from multiple choice formats. No guessing here! Technology has the potential to give me more adequate feedback on student knowledge and to give my students of lower reading levels the confidence boost they need to see that they can be successful in school. By demonstrating their science knowledge and receiving positive feedback, they will begin to trust themselves and could ultimately do better in all subjects- not just science.

Why I love my Mac.

I'm not trying to write an advertisement for Apple or anything, but reading all the horror stories of lost data, viruses, and spyware from my fellow masters students' blogs has made me happy that my PC days are behind me. I don't really have any exciting stories. I did lose all of my pictures from a high school trip to Europe when a virus killed my Dad's PC my senior year. I also had my IBM laptop hijacked by the IT department at William and Mary for about eight days when I accidentally clicked a link I shouldn't have in an email. As soon as I clicked, the entire network kicked me off and would not let me log on to anything. Apparently I put the whole campus at risk! Oops! I've never seen such an immediate (and freakishly thorough) response to a technology breach since.  With a boyfriend eight hours away and my main means of communicating with him (AOL Instant Messenger) gone, not to mention having to go to the library to complete all of my assignments, it was a long week. I definitely learned my lesson. Not long after that I bought my first Macbook, and I haven't looked back. Not that they are perfect, but no one really writes viruses for them. It's a definite perk. My husband, however, has a great data horror story, and it involves a Mac so I can feel like I'm being fair. He was the first one of us to get a Macbook, and he got very good at using the programs and knowing the laptop inside and out. After all, they are (sometimes insultingly) user friendly. When he was in college, he impressed all his buddies with his "mad Mac skills" and would often help them with their own computers if he thought he could. One day he was helping a friend upgrade his Apple operating system, and I guess at this point he got a little overconfident. When he saw a button asking to reformat, he thought it was the way to upload the OS. He clicked yes expecting the computer to restart and reboot with Leopard now functional. Instead, he accidentally wiped his buddy's hard drive completely. It's bad enough to lose your own data; imagine losing your friends! The poor friend was absolutely stunned, and my husband jokes about being "chased with a shotgun." It didn't actually happen, but I'm sure Mac Pal really wanted too. Luckily though, my husband, being a very good person and feeling extremely guilty, managed to find a solution. He discovered that there was a way to get the data back. A different (extremely tech savvy) friend was able to re-cover everything. Not an easy feat, but my husband sure breathed easier and managed to stay buck shot free. :)