Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Wiki Wednesday #5 - Copyright Confusion

As teachers, we all know the trouble that the Internet and the Web has caused when it comes to students using Copyrighted material or plagiarizing  someone elses work.  I know that it has been a constent battle within our school system when it comes to portfolios and posting student work on teacher webpages, something that is completely new to our district.

Well, there is a Wiki out there that will help answer some of the questions you might be having and address the issues that you are facing.  Copyright Confusion is a great place to learn about the Code for Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy.  You can learn more about this Code by reading the PDF which is provided on the Wiki.









One of the best resources on the site is a worksheet that allows you to determine if the use of copyrighted material could be considered fair use.  This would be a great tool to evaluate projects or for planning your own project.  You can view the concept and fill out the worksheet here.  Another link worth visiting is the Scenarios page.  What a great way to learn if something you are doing violates copyright laws.

This site would be a great way for you to start a project or to provide to your students so that they have a better understanding of how to avoid getting in trouble with copyright and plagiarism.  Just spend some time here looking through and educating yourself.  If you feel you have something to add, do so...that is why it is a Wiki!!

1 comment:

  1. This is definitely an area that has come under fire in the past few years, as the internet has become an increasingly valuable source of information and resources. I was just having a discussion with a few educators about copyright issues and frustrations last week! Thank you for sharing a valuable link :)

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