By: Beth Holcomb
The media specialist must assist students with writing essays, collaborate with teachers to build classroom assignments, and educate these individuals about the library's resources. The media specialist must be informed about the current copyright law and fair use rights to have the skills to educate students and teachers how they can use the library tools. I think that I had numerous misinterpretations about the copyright law and the fair use provision; however, the Fair Use article written by the Center for Social Media: http://mediaeducationlab.com/sites/mediaeducationlab.com/files/CodeofBestPracticesinFairUse_0.pdf improved by knowledge of copyright in the classroom.
I made the incorrect assumption that there were comprehensive policies that summarized what was categorized as fair use. I learned that no more than ten percent of a text could be copied, five photographs could be used from a single artist, and three poems could be copied that were written by a single author. Although many schools use these policies, fair use neglects to include individual standards that mandate the number of pages or works that can be copied by teachers. Individuals can use copyrighted material if it creates social or cultural benefits larger than the financial expenses it creates on the copyright owner. The policy also implies that students and teachers must use an appropriate amount of the work to achieve the fair use provision. I think that this interpretation of fair use provides teachers and students with the opportunity to use more copyrighted works; however, I also argue that it creates issues for individuals regulating the use of copyrighted works. The policy neglects to include comprehensive rules; therefore, individuals are inclined to disagree about what behaviors are endorsed by fair use and what activities infringe on the First Amendment rights of the artist or author.
I think that the media specialist must be educated about copyright law and the fair use policy. I also insist that providing teachers with workshops to inform these individuals how the law can affect their classroom is an effective strategy for promoting appropriate activities and obeying the policies. These workshops will educate teachers about what information can be used in the classroom.
I also assert that the media specialist could distribute a handout about copyright law to teachers with other curriculum resources, and this tactic could provide fundamental standards for copyright in the classroom. The media specialist should also obey the copyright law in building assignments and designing activities. The teachers are inclined to see this behavior; therefore, they would likely use these techniques and collaborate with the media specialist to promote copyright in the classroom.
I loved your second paragraph, but it made my head hurt. LOL! The policies and guidelines that we, media specialist, must be aware of are overwhelming. A great deal of effort must be made to become fluent with these guidelines. We cannot afford to be questioning ourselves or the policies when dealing with specific questions. This calls for adequate training of the media center staff.
ReplyDeleteWe must also have the support of school administration to enforce the policies that they create. It is too easy for this issue to portray media specialist as the unwelcomed “copyright police.” Therefore, all stakeholders should receive training on copyright guidelines and school policy. As you suggested, workshops are an excellent way to educate teachers about what information can be used in the classroom. I believe the workshops could also be expanded to include students that are conducting research in the media center.
Your suggestion of distributing a handout is an excellent way to follow up the workshops. So many times we receive training but no additional support. The days and weeks after training is when many of us have questions. It is great idea that the media specialist be there ready to help.
I loved your statement “I made the incorrect assumption that there were comprehensive policies that summarized what was categorized as fair use”. I have read about copyright and fair use time after time and I am still confused on the issue. With that being said, I do agree that the media specialists must be educated about copy right law and fair use policy. That is probably the biggest issue that I feel I need to research and “brush up on” before I try to “counsel” anyone about these topics. There is no cut and dry or black and white answer when dealing with copyright and fair use issues. All we can do is attempt to do our best at understanding the policies and relaying that information to our teachers, coworkers, and students. Perhaps the best example we can give them is to lead by example. Instead of trying to be the “copyright police”, why not simply lead by example in your day to day work and hope that is carried over by the teachers that see and interact with you every day.
ReplyDeleteAt my school we must view a video at the beginning of each school year dealing with copyright issues. Perhaps the media specialist could follow this up with a personalized example of copyright issues that teachers in each discipline should be concerned with. This would put things on a personal level as well as let teachers know that the media specialist is someone they could go to with questions or concerns. Often just opening that door of communication is the hardest part. Maybe we should be the ones to open it for others.
Copyright is definitely an area in which media specialists should strive to become more knowledgeable. After reading about fair use policy and copyright law many times for various assignments and projects, I still don’t feel confident in my knowledge of this topic. I admit that it’s very difficult to envision myself as an advisor or expert in the area of copyright. Therefore, continued education and lots of practice are necessary for the media specialist to become a resource to others.
ReplyDeleteI really like your idea about developing a quick-reference handout or guide for teachers. I would also develop a student-friendly one for students. Another excellent suggestion that you pointed out was the need for media specialists to lead by example in observing copyright law and the fair use policy. By making available some simple, quick-reference resources and modeling the proper behavior in practice, we can establish a pretty strong foundation for appropriate behavior and usage of copyrighted materials. I am also in favor of presenting workshops to further educate teachers in this area.
I too was somewhat unclear regarding fair use prior to reading the Best Practices article by the Center for Social Media. It gave some good solid guidelines and information about what exactly is included in the practice of Fair Use. My beginning years of teaching had lengthy in-services regarding copyright but few specifics about Fair Use. Perhaps this is due to individual interpretations and the openness of the guidelines. Copyright seems to be a familiar animal and should be tempered with training regarding fair use to achieve the maximum benefit of all the available media. Alongside the copyright law which is usually posted by all copiers in schools should be a handout of the Fair Use guidelines to enable teachers to engage and enhance the education of their students.
ReplyDeleteThank you for putting the copyright guidelines in your blog. The former media specialist at my school posted a copy of the copyright law above the copier in the teacher's lounge. I did notice a few teacher's reading it while they would be standing there waiting in line to use the copier so I think that was a little helpful. It could have also served as a quick reference if I teacher was wondering as they were copying things as to what was allowed and what wasn't. Some time over the last few years it was removed and hasn't been put back up.
ReplyDeleteI sometimes feel that some teachers do not want to know what the copyright and fair use law actually is when it comes to monitoring themselves. I do think that they do expect the students to follow copyright and fair use guidelines though. I guess that some feel that if what they are doing is a benefit to their students than they are going to use the material regardless. Not all teachers are like that but there are some out there that do disregard the rules. That poses the question of having someone be the copyright police. You are right when you stated that it would typically fall on the shoulders of the media specialist to do this. Does a media specialist have time for this??? No.
I think your answer about providing quick reference materials and in-service type training is the answer. Unfortunately we get so many in-service trainings at the beginning of the year that a lot of teachers tune out the message. I see teachers making lists of things they need to do in the new classes,.... Talking about copyright and fair use is also a dry issue. I was thinking that teachers might be more interested and attentive if a quick and fun video was made. It might catch their eye and they could also view it at a later date or even show it to their students. I think that some teachers just don't realize what the actual parameters are and some also don't realize what is and isn't copyright. We grew up learning about being careful of copyright issues when dealing with print. For many of us we didn't have to deal with the issue of copyright when using music and photos. To me this is where I see the most abuse. I would definitely make sure these things were covered in a video in-service or in handouts.
I totally agree with you that a media specialist must be educated well in regards to copyright law. The fair use doctrine is very broad and allows for many uses of copyrighted materials of which some educators are unaware. Many teachers overestimate the restrictions of fair use - there are even charts available on the internet showing guidelines of fair use that are presented as the law itself, when they ARE NOT a part of enforceable law at all! These charts are usually just a result of groups of teachers and companies coming together to come up with examples of what they deem "fair use" to be.
ReplyDeleteThough it is very important to abide by copyright law and not infringe on the rights of those holding the copyright to a work, it is also very important for educators to understand the numerous ways in which they can use copyrighted materials to better educate their students. The better educated a media specialist is about copyright law and fair use, the more able they will be in making good judgments as to what uses of copyrighted materials would fall under the exception of fair use.
Understanding the guidelines is key to making those "good judgments". I agree with many of the statements that the media specialist must have proper knowledge of Acceptable Use in education. While the parameters are more lenient for education, those exceptions to the rule are often murky.
ReplyDeleteAs technology allows individuals more ways to use intellectual property, the "gray area" becomes more difficult to distinguish. My district also provides training by a short video at the beginning of each year. Teachers must sign-off that they have viewed the video and are willing to comply with all federal and state guidelines. While this is a legal method to protect the district, it does little to reinforce understanding of the policies and guidelines. I am not sure how to increase the level of understanding, however, continuous training via multiple methods is needed.
The administration definitely has to support the media specialist in creating a staff that is more knowledgeable about copyright laws. I agree with you that workshops and handouts are a great way to get the staff on board. One could also create an in-service that is available to take online or on the share drive, so that teachers could learn when it is convenient for them. As the media specialist, I believe it is his/her job to put the information in the right hands, but it is not necessary to become, as another commenter stated, the "copyright police." People definitely need to become knowledgeable of the information that is provided for them, and put it into use.
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