On 11 November 2008, the Center for Social Media at American University released new guidelines to help educators navigate the legal mumbo-jumbo that has made many of us paranoid about, and has even restricted our use of, copyrighted materials. Check out the full document and a related video here. I have witnessed many teachers act like they’re breaking the law when they photocopy, copy and paste, record, and otherwise use copyrighted material for use in the classroom. Some say things like “well, I’m a teacher”, “I’ll just do it until someone tells me not to”, or “don’t tell the principal”. This “Code of Best Practices” offers user-friendly guidelines in an effort to clear up such misconceptions and inform educators about their rights.
Apparently, we are entitled to the use of copyrighted material through the Copyright Act of 1976, and specifically under “Fair Use”. Peter Jaszi, a law professor at American University and a coordinator of this publication, explains, “Fair use allows you to use copyrighted material without permission or payment when the benefit to society outweighs the cost to the copyright owner. Fair use helps to prevent copyright from becoming a charter for private censorship” (video). Because many educational administrators don’t know the specifics outlined under “Fair Use,” they have cautiously restricted the use of copyrighted material in the classroom. Hopefully, these new guidelines will clear up the confusion and enable teachers to utilize media without added stress.
Media literacy is such a valuable asset for students today, and incorporating it into the curriculum should be promoted, not guarded against. As Renee Hobbs, a communications professor at Temple University, asserts, “In an increasingly copyrighted world, ‘Fair use’ makes it possible to develop critical thinking and communication skills that are essential for participation in 21st century life” (video). It is truly exciting that the Center for Social Media has made such an effort to supply educators around the country with guidelines that clearly explain our rights under law. Furthermore, NCTE’s adoption and involvement in such an endeavor underscores its importance and relevance to education today. The newly-published document reminds us that “[m]edia literacy education helps people of all ages to be critical thinkers, effective communicators, and active citizens.” As educators, it is our responsibility to educate ourselves about our right to use copyrighted material so that our students may reap the benefits and skills gained from their use.
Educators’ ignorance about fair use creates a ripe environment for a kind of self-censorship that contributes to unimaginative teaching. At the press event when the Code was released, educators talked about how, when we started the process of developing the project, there was a growing awareness of all the many things we didn’t do with copyrighted materials as tools for learning— out of fear, doubt, and insecurity.
Many educators will probably feel that the topic of copyright and fair use don’t concern them until you encourage them to reflect on this issue of self-censorship. Instead of the depressing message we usually get about copyright, it’s actually quite liberating to learn about fair use!
By: Renee Hobbs on November 13, 2008
at 10:47 am
I’m so glad you included this, but it was on my to-do blog list. I think the key here is it’s not about right vs. wrong answers and filling in bubbles; we are creating and helping to shape the next generation of critical thinkers in our classrooms. Thus, it IS our responsibility to educate ourselves so that we can further engage and challenge our students with the real-world literacies that they encounter on a daily basis.
By: cb17 on December 4, 2008
at 9:19 pm
[...] You can check his post out here. [...]
By: Media and Fair Use « English Teacher 2.0 on December 4, 2008
at 9:22 pm