Several
years ago I ran into a situation that made “fair use” a term of interest for
me. During the season when I was home
raising my children, I came into contact with some homeschooling mothers who
asked me to teach a high school English class for a group of their children. I
agreed and in the process of enhancing the curriculum, I went to the school
where I had taught to seek some counsel from my former colleagues. While there,
I was given some materials that I could use for my students. As I prepared my
lessons, I would take items to be copied to a local printing company that is
affiliated with a local college. There were signs placed above the copier that
said, in effect, that no copyrighted material was to be copied in that
establishment. (They were very large signs with very large letters that sort of
had the feeling of yelling!) Now, I only had ten students and some things I
wanted to use, I had ten of, but other things, like vocabulary worksheets, would
have to be copied. I remember thinking that I wasn’t reproducing the
information for sale and that I wasn’t planning to do anything with it other
than teach some kids how to write more effectively, so I would analyze all of
the items I wanted to use and proceed only with the things I couldn’t live
without…all the while feeling like I was a criminal! Now, as I look back on that experience, I
realize that I was utilizing materials for the purposes of teaching and that
would be considered “fair use.”
This story
illustrates the perception by many, though, that any use of copyrighted
material without the permission of the author is considered copyright
infringement. There were provisions passed in copyright law allowing “fair use”
of copyrighted materials when the beneficial value of the material to society
outweighs the material value to the owner. These provisions open the doors in
many ways for educators, but like my copy shop, many are very worried about
legal backlash from copying anything that isn’t original. As a result, there
has been a great deal of uncertainty and sometimes disengagement by teachers
who could, legally, utilize material to better educate their students.
On November
11, 2008, a panel of media literacy educators released a “Code of Best
Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education.” In this Code, they begin
by discussing the fears that have plagued educators regarding what is legal and
what isn’t legal with regard to copyright materials. “Some educators close
their classroom doors and hide what they fear is infringement; others
hyper-comply with imagined rules that are far stricter than the law requires,
limiting the effectiveness of their teaching and their students’ learning. The Cost of Copyright Confusion for
Media Literacy (centerforsocialmedia.org/medialiteracy)” The
Code, then, was produced to help educators better understand what “free use”
allows, and addresses some of the common myths associated with copyright usage.
So
first, let’s get some definitions out of the way:
“Fair
use is the right to use copyrighted material without permission or payment
under some circumstances – especially when the cultural or social benefits of
the use are predominant.” (http://mediaeducationlab.com/code-best-practices-fair-use-media-literacy-education-0)
“Media
literacy is the capacity to access, analyze, evaluate, and communicate
messages in a variety of forms.” (http://mediaeducationlab.com/code-best-practices-fair-use-media-literacy-education-0)
I’m sure we would all agree that media literacy
is a fundamental in the educational landscape today. So an understanding of
this code will allow us to move ahead educationally without the fear that we
are somehow using materials illegally.
The Code explains that there is no
exact measure or rule of thumb for utilizing copyright materials, but they
offer five categories or practices in education that are clearly covered in
free use law. These categories are:
1.
Classroom teaching with copyrighted
materials
2.
Copyrighted material within the
curriculum
3.
Sharing teaching materials
4.
Student work
5.
Sharing student work
Those who collaborated in writing this
code express the need for educators to take a responsible stand for their usage
decisions. If what we are sharing enlightens or better educates our students,
then we have the right to share. However, we should take responsibility by
giving proper credit where credit is due and teach our students to properly
cite sources. “Educators need to be
leaders, not followers, in establishing best practices in fair use.” (http://mediaeducationlab.com/code-best-practices-fair-use-media-literacy-education-0) As my mother would say, just use wisdom!
In
addition to sharing the five practices, the Code of Best Practices dispels some
common myths. The myth I chose to share with you relates to the story I told in
the beginning.
“Myth: Fair use is too unclear and complicated for me; it’s better
left to lawyers and administrators.
Truth: The fair use provision of the Copyright Act is written
broadly—not
narrowly—because
it is designed to apply to a wide range of creative works and
the
people who use them. Fair use is a part of the law that belongs to everyone—
especially
to working educators. Educators know best what they need to use of
existing
copyrighted culture to construct their own lessons and materials. Only
members
of the actual community can decide what’s really needed. Once they
know,
they can tell their lawyers and administrators.” (http://mediaeducationlab.com/code-best-practices-fair-use-media-literacy-education-0)
I’m pretty sure that the intention of
copyright law is to protect creative content. One example I heard makes the
most sense. Copyright laws prevent one textbook writer from cutting and pasting
bulks of text from another textbook and then slapping their own name on it. It
is intended to prevent plagiarism and wrongful ownership of original work. I think that in most instances, educators
have far more freedom than we ever imagined. The truth is that most teachers
tend to be pretty decent rule followers and just don’t want to get into trouble. I encourage you to take the time to read
through the Code of Best Practices for your own understanding. And then,
utilize the freedom you are given to educate!
References
Code of
Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education | Media Education Lab.
(2008, November 11). Retrieved February 25,
2015, from
http://mediaeducationlab.com/code-best-practices-fair-use-media-literacy-education-0
