Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Week 9: Copy Right with Creative Commons

Welcome back! I hope you had a nice, relaxing break. This week we'll be exploring copyright issues in the digital environment.

Until recently, students didn't really have to worry about copyright and fair use guidelines. Teachers were in danger of violating copyright law nearly every time they stepped up to a copy machine, but students were just the passive recievers of our transgresions. Things are different now. Students (and teachers) have easy and ready access to a wide array of media and digital content. Fair use guidelines permit students to use copyrighted pictures from the internet in their reports, or copyrighted music in their projects. However, fair use stops protecting them after they leave the school environment. (NOTE: We're talking about copyright issues here, not plagarism. Copyright is a legal issue. Plagarism is an academic issue. It's important to keep the issues separate. Citing a source (like a photograph) which you should always do, doesn't protect you from breaking copyright law.)

We're working on lessons that will teach students about responsible (both legal and academic) use of other's content, but in the meantime, there are a few things both teachers and students should know. Read Encouraging Student Creativity with Creative Commons over at the PBS Teachers website (which, by the way, is a fabulous resource).

This week's prompt: Think about the students you teach. How and what might you share with them related to copyright and/or Creative Commons?

Looking for more information about copyright?
This just in! Google Docs has added some cool new features including the ability to upload and store any document (e.g. a Word or PowerPoint file) without changing it to a Google Doc. Then there's the ability to have 50 people SIMULTANEOUSLY edit a document. Yes, that's 50! But I'm really excited about the new drawing tools.  (You didn't actually think I could refrain from talking about Google for a whole week, did you?)
Posted by Kimberly Allison at 8:35 AM
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Marie Page's avatar

Marie Page · 781 weeks ago

First of all I never really thought about music and video copyright in the schools. I just assumed that if they used only a portion or a picture for their project and did it just at school they were safe to use it, but nowadays kids put almost everything on Facebook, You Tube and if you don't credit the main publishers you can get into big trouble. So to educate my students better about copyrights and/or Creative Commons I would first have them read the article "Encouraging Student Creativity with Creative Commons". This was such an eye opener to me. This article helped me understand the necessary things a person should do to not over step copyright laws. After having my students read the article I would have them explore the Creative Commons website. Pretty cool stuff to use and I never realized existed. Each time you have a class about new stuff on the web I just keep thinking how behind I am, but I am grateful that I took this class to become more aware of the good stuff out there. ~ Marie Page
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Kelly Kim's avatar

Kelly Kim · 781 weeks ago

Wow! The article was very interesting as I often times forget about copy writing. After thinking about it I would think that most students use copy written pictures and music daily in classroom presentations. Sharing sites like Creative Commons has the potential to be very helpful to many students. Especially since, like the article said, classroom content is spread worldwide in an instant. Making students aware of legal repercussions seems like a worthy topic to cover in class. I would be interested in seeing that comic book that the author mentioned at the end of the article that covers the copy write issue. One thing I really like is the idea of incorporating CC terms directly into a website like Flickr and Magnatune Records do. It is nice to know that some people are willing to share their amazing work.
1 reply · active 781 weeks ago
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pstillmaker · 781 weeks ago

During the year we discuss this issue several times in my 6th grade social studies classes. We discuss how for copy writed photos or text we would need to get permission from the original producer of the work. Since that is not possible due to time limitations, I only allow them to use creative commons. We also discuss the levels of creative commons.

Also, if they use copyrighted material then it is as if it doesn't exist when I am grading. I make this very clear to my students.

Last year I had an incident of plagerism. The students had an opportunity to re-do the assignment. The students were brought into the vice-principals office for a talk. I had parents surprised that we discussed plagerism and that their child would be in trouble for doing it. There was no infraction written, but a note was put in their file, so if it happened again then they would be given an infraction.

I think it is a very important topic for us to discuss as we are teaching them research skills.
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thehurt 17p · 781 weeks ago

This is a tough topic for me; I'm glad it came up. I've taught several lessons involving Creative Commons, but have hit a wall every time: apathy. And not just my students - I'm also apathetic about using CC. For images to include in presentations, it is just more efficient and productive to use Google Images. When I do, I don't pay attention to copyright or attributing sources.
I know it just comes down to being willing to invest the time to model these skills for my students. When I want to use images, I have to commit myself to locate, use, and attribute copyright-friendly materials (like Flickr).
On the student end, I need to create consequences, whether negative or positive. Loretta, our amazing librarian, shared one great idea: when researching, require students to evaluate their sources in paragraph form. For those that choose better sources (or, in this case, CC sources), they don't have to write the evaluation. This encourages good habits, and also rewards those who put in the work to find good sources.
I'd love to hear some other ideas for encouraging students to put in this extra front-end work.
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Tracy de Leon · 781 weeks ago

Wow, this was a very interesting article. It is honestly something I really hadn't thought about. I don't personally make many powerpoints. If I make a visual presentation, I use my Activboard and the resources available through that program.

This would be interesting information to share with sophomores since they are in the midst of their buff projects. Most will be making powerpoints loaded with images and sound. I think it will take some time to train them in appropriate use...old habits are hard to break, but it would be wise to at least educate them.
1 reply · active 781 weeks ago
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bgholston · 781 weeks ago

Often as I’m standing in front of the copy machine I wonder how many years I would have to serve behind bars for the many copyright laws I have broken over my years as a teacher. I now know that I haven’t actually broken as many laws as I thought. It is important for students to understand the guidelines for using images, music, and information from the vast amount available to them on the Internet. I have always tried to cover copyright laws prior to students doing projects where they will be using images, music, and information from the web. This is important information for all students and teachers. Sharing sites like Creative Commons will help the students understand copyright better.
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Kathleen 's avatar

Kathleen · 781 weeks ago

I have not given any thought or concern to copyright issues regarding internet usage. I appreciate the knowledge and resources. I am wondering if there a strict guidelines on how to cite internet blogs, utube, flicker, etc. I am assuming it is just like citing a website? Aside from having the students complete the Google map activity during the first week of class, I will also incorporate Creative Commons as a lesson for copyright awareness. I believe that the students benefit from hearing the same information more than once. If another teacher uses Creative Commons as a lesson before I do, that is great. It reinforces the importance of copyright issues.
3 replies · active 780 weeks ago
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Lora Gillingham · 781 weeks ago

I found the Creative Commons article very informative. I saved it for future use as a lesson planning tool. Our students create and present massive numbers of multimedia presentations. We need to do a better job of making students (and staff) aware of Fair Use guidelines. I need to learn how to use the Creative Commons websitehttp://creativecommons.org/ to successfully search for and find pictures, etc. that have the noncommercial-attribution-sharealike license which would allow us to produce presentations and share them online without violating Fair Use. Then I need to teach this process to staff and students. Who better to lead the charge than the building Teacher-Librarian!
4 replies · active 777 weeks ago
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mel's avatar

mel · 781 weeks ago

Good article and info, but I would include the information as a reference for students, rather than a "teaching point." I don't know what content I would like to forego to include this in a class.
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lgranger · 781 weeks ago

This was an interesting article about something I just never think about with my students. I"ve talked about copyright issues with my own kids and downloading music. Of course they don't listen because "everyone" does it but at least they are aware of it. I've never really thought about colpyright issues in the classroom because I don't normally teach subjects where my students need to use online material. That might change the more I teach the stats class though so it is good to keep in mind and something I will share with my students.
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Dan Nelson's avatar

Dan Nelson · 781 weeks ago

Okay, I agree this is interesting. But I morally have a hard time with students (or anyone else) "borrowing" images, songs, words for whatever project without the written consent of the artist. As a former singer/songwriter (waaaayyy back in my early days), I know it is a huge ego stroke to hear other people singing something I created. But if I had managed to make it big (or even semi-big) then my livlihood would've been dependent upon getting paid for people using my creations. And I remember a few years back when Metallica sued Napster for copyright infringement. Many friends felt that "Hey, Metallica has millions already. Why do they care about their fans getting a few free songs?" but I completely disagreed. The principle or idea of being able to "take" something as if you are entitled to it harkens back to ancient times and the rule of right of might. I'm confident no one wants to live in such a world today, yet we are encouraging this by enabling students (or anyone else) to take and use whatever they want because they want and without reompense to the originator.
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Dan Nelson's avatar

Dan Nelson · 781 weeks ago

Now, about telling students how to navigate these legal waters, I think it should be an absolute - Get permission. I read where the author of the article gets phone calls asking permission and he pointed people to the permissions granted. I would be one of those people who would still call or write and get confirmation of permission - it is the right thing to do. And if for some reason the originator later doesn't like my use and wants to change his/her mind, I can point to the "in-person" permission granted.
As I see it, that is how we should teach students. ALWAYS get express permission and you can't go wrong. Use the cookie cutter permissions and you may end up in trouble. That's just my two (or three) cents.
1 reply · active 780 weeks ago
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Joelle's avatar

Joelle · 781 weeks ago

Great article but it doesn't come up as often in my class due as we just reference booksand their projects are drawn. Good information to pass on maybe in our sixth periods as an extension.
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Rich Young's avatar

Rich Young · 781 weeks ago

Thanks for the information on the article, Kimberly. While I might have students read it, I think it would be imperative to come up with some sort of reader's guide questions to be sure they read it and considered the issues it mentions. As I've been working with English 10 students on their Buff projects, we've talked about copyrighted material and how artists make their money. This was a good reminder of the Creative Commons aspect, which I'm happy to say I learned about last summer in one of the Tech Summit workshops. (A plug here, folks; they're definitely worth taking. I've done the last two years and will probably do this next one, too.) I'll definitely be talking to them about the sources available. In order to get around the apathy, I may offer some extra credit for using CC sources rather than relying on the standard Google images. One other post mentioned Loretta Baker's suggestion that students annotate Google sources but not have to annotate CC sources. I may do the same with their research in order to get them to use the New York Times Topics page or databases, thus making it easier to use reliable sources rather than "the top of the list on Google."
1 reply · active 780 weeks ago
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Laurie's avatar

Laurie · 781 weeks ago

We've been diligent in my Social Studies classes about citing resources for the pictures we use as well as the information, but honestly I had not considered the difference between the presentations the students create for sharing in the classroom as opposed to posting on the web. We are in the middle of a project in which students are presenting using powerpoint, Voicethread, or in a couple of cases, Animoto. It looks like tomorrow I'll be doing mini lesson on those differences and the need for using Creative Commons licensees for our pictures on Voicethread or Animoto presentations. I have a feeling most groups will decide to use powerpoint rather than be limited in what pictures they can use for this project. I took a quick look at the "Bound by Law?" comic book and think that it is something that could be used to help teach these concepts, though I'd be curious about its target age group - there are some pretty sophisticated terms in there, though the medium would definitely appeal to 7th graders.
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Penny Blair's avatar

Penny Blair · 780 weeks ago

A couple of years ago I came back for Christmas break to an email from a person with Cornell University as their email and signature threatening me if i did not remove an assignment from my documents on my Swift website because it was copyrighted. It was from a curriculum that I had paid for a number of years ago and had not thought twice about copying to my site for student use along with the paper copies I made for them in the classroom. I thought I was conserving resources. Once it is on the web, it is another matter - that I had not thought about. Since then, I am very cautious about what I put on my documents. Currently, my students have not created presentations that would use the music, but the images are another thing. I am not sure how I would present this other than an aside. But I do need to make it part of my work, especially with images. A good thing to think about.
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Jennifer Roesch's avatar

Jennifer Roesch · 780 weeks ago

It is a very interesting article but it doesn't really come up in my classroom. We do not do a lot of projects that incorporate pictures and music.
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Rhonda Ham's avatar

Rhonda Ham · 780 weeks ago

When I was in the classroom I always taught the importance of documenting where info. came from especially when it came off the web because students and many parents felt that everything on the web was public domain. Today when I have to deal with students who plagerize it is usually because they have copied documents off the web and I have used it as a teaching time - again not only for students but also for most parents. I had never heard of Creative Common before so now I have even more info to work with. I took at look at the Bound by Law comic book and found it interesting because it uses a creative way to get across tough to understand info. I don't think it is something that you can just hand to students but it could be used as a teaching tool for answering a lot of their questions regarding copyright infringement.
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suzanne's avatar

suzanne · 780 weeks ago

i could spend hours looking at copyright blogs and issues. i really liked the comic book on copyright (being the visual person) and i think my kids could relate to that. in art i always have told them that if it is 90% changed they are ok to use another image. i also let them use any of my photos as references. this last summer in an AP institute they stated that as long it is the student "voice" that comes through it is ok to use anothers image. still a ticky question.
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Laura Bennett's avatar

Laura Bennett · 780 weeks ago

Like everyone else, I am fully aware that I can't plagarize books and website directly, but I love pulling vidoes from YouTube and grabbing images to supplement a powerpoint. I need to hold myself more accountable for copyright issues before I can start to transfer that to my students. One of the things that came to mind while reading the article is the use of music. I end most classes with a song during our global issues unit, yet I don't directly credit the artist. Is this okay, since I legally purchased the song? Or is the fact that I display the lyrics without mentioning the writers name a violation of copyright laws? What I would really like to find is a simple 1-2 page document that summarizes the copyright issues that we (and our kids) would be most likely to encounter. It would be so nice to have something to give to the students in September that would cover all of the laws they will encounter during the year.
3 replies · active 777 weeks ago
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Renee Stroup's avatar

Renee Stroup · 780 weeks ago

That artricle was extremely timely and of helpful information. We should show this to students EVERY year to remind them of ways to protect themselves and their work (along with the things they shouldn't do). It made me really think about what I "borrow" from the internet. I will be looking for and using creative common in the future.

Reagrding the slideshare stuff from before, I have been finding all types of excellent presentations that I can use in my classes, one example being a reading strategy one that I am using in class today-Kimberly, thanks for the great resource.
1 reply · active 778 weeks ago
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Anne Hobson's avatar

Anne Hobson · 780 weeks ago

I was lucky enough to be in one of Kimberly's informative and entertaining teacher workshops about Creative Commons and citing sources. While I remind students of the obligation in their choices and show them quickly accessible resources, an actual lesson might be soemthing I need to add. Students intend to look for the public domain and non-copyrighted (or creative commons) stuff, but then they get lazy and grab the next cool image.
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Bill Cooper's avatar

Bill Cooper · 780 weeks ago

Bill Cooper
Looked through the "Teachers First" collection. I was looking for material that the students could use directly and that would offer the ability to get instant feedback. I was impressed with the game/lesson "Copyright Bay".
"Copyright Bay" involves sailing a ship through waters frought with dangerous places like "Infringment Reef" and "Murky Waters" in order to reach the ultimate goal of reaching "Fair Use Harbor". You are prompted to prepare yourself for your voyage by going to each of the dangerous places, named for the copyright question it represents before setting sail. . Advancing requires answering situational questions about the subject. "Ambiguity", the "A" word is one of the unique aspects of the game.
I found this approach to be entertaining and very productive. It could easily be used individually or in small groups. Instant feedback and reasoning questions keep you moving through the game .
One of the things I liked about "Copyright Bay" was that they left you to understand that some things may require further investigation. I rate this A+... I will use it.
2 replies · active 778 weeks ago
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Abby Smith's avatar

Abby Smith · 780 weeks ago

I read through the article and was overwhelmed with information. I KNOW I need to be accountable with where I am getting information, music, videos, etc that I share with students but I am often times unsure of how to cite my source so I am not plagiarizing. Often in lieu of time constraints I "hope for the best" and move on with my lesson. I DO think students need to be aware of citing their sources (think Buff project, etc) and understand why they need to follow copyright laws. As I mentioned above a short document about this topic with facts in an easy to understand manner would be SO helpful with students. I think if I rattled off the rules they would be completely overwhelmed.

It might be fun to create an activity where students participated in some kind of simulation (maybe some kids are musicians, others and authors and some are students doing research) where they got to see why copyright laws have been created. I think I might work on this more over the summer.
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Gavin's avatar

Gavin · 780 weeks ago

Since I'm a big dumb-dumb and can't read anything without pictures in it - I was interested in Bound By Law which has some interesting pages - the crib sheet on pp. 10-11 for example, as well as a parade of cases that exemplify how copyright works in the real world.

The other interesting thing about it is that it uses a lot of well-known characters, images, etc. in it without giving credit. It might be interesting for kids to look at some of the pages and see how the authors can get away with "fair use" of Big Bird or Mr. Burns. I'm still puzzling over how they got away with page 51 - Hokusai is obviously in the public domain, but the Silver Surfer seems fairly gratuitous (especially since Jack Kirby struggled with creator's rights issues for most of his career).

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