Copyright Issues in Education

Fair use is a term used to say you’re using something that is protected under copyright, but in a way you have permission to. In other words, you are using copyrighted material in a way that defends you from being accused of copyright infringement.

There sometimes can be a very thin line between what is okay to use and what is not. You can sometimes find yourself at fault for doing something that seems completely fine, but this is not entirely your fault because fair use is not a science, and there are no universally accepted guidelines set forth about it. Although this may be the case, it is still important to keep yourself informed of the rules, especially if you’re someone going into the education field.

Some instances of copyright violations I have experienced throughout my school years and haven’t even realized it are some of the following:

+ Viewing a video used for the purpose of entertainment instead of educational.
+ Receiving worksheets copied from a workbook which are not supposed to be copied and distributed.
+ Viewing a recorded broadcast from a cable channel that had been used for educational purposes, but retained on tape for several years, instead of only the approximate 10-60 days it is permitted.

Most of the things I brought up above probably seem not be that big of a deal, but in all reality each one violated what is considered fair use. In fact, you may have experienced at least one of the events I listed above at your own schools. The issue with copyright laws in education is there are some many resources at the tip of our fingers these days that we think we can use everything, but sometimes we can’t. This is why copyright and fair use is such an important topic to know about.

When using material make sure it is one of the following:

- Original / Created by You
- Under Public Domain
- Covered in the Guidelines for Fair Use
- Permission Has Been Granted to Use It

If you are still interested in finding out more about copyright laws and what is considered fair use feel free to visit some of the links below.

http://sites.umuc.edu/library/libhow/copyright.cfm

http://fairuse.stanford.edu/overview/fair-use/what-is-fair-use/

http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech121.shtml

AUPs—Acceptable Use Policies

The document linked below is an AUP agreement where you can find information about the 1 to 1 iPad program used at Alliance High School.

This document clearly states how the school expects the students to use the equipment they are provided and in what condition they expect them to stay in. For example in this instance, the identification labels are not to be removed or modified, as well as no damage is to be done to render the iPad inoperable. Parents are also provided a list of responsibilities. The main ones are in regards to supervising their child’s use of the iPad at home, and making sure that they bring it to school every day.

Some interesting topics I found in this agreement were that the students are not allowed to create any social media account with their provided school email. Also with the use of technology cyber bullying is prohibited and cheating and plagiarism will be enforced. They even provide a clear definition of what they consider cyber bullying to be.

"Cyberbullying involves the use of information and communication technologies to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behavior by an individual or group that is intended to harm others."

For a lengthy agreement most of us never really read all the way through, everything really does seemed to be covered in it.



http://alliance-ahs.ss5.sharpschool.com/UserFiles/Servers/Server_3132432/File/iPadAgreement2016-17.pdf