Piracy is a not a victimless crime. That goes for lesson plans also.

Opening Act A brand new teacher comes into a school and has very little material to teach the classes she is assigned to teach. A veteran teacher gives her a flash drive and says, “Copy this and use whatever you want. It will help you get started.” What advice would you give the new teacher about copyright law?

Copyright and fair use The Copyright Act lets others use part of copyrighted material without fear of breaking the law. It is not a free for all where you can copy anything and use it for your students. It is more of a bargain that allows you to use some of the material as long as it benefits your students and you aren’t trying to hurt someone financially. There is a lot to it and it pays to be informed

Four Factors of Fair Use The purpose of the use is transformed in a new way and is mainly for educational purposes The nature of the work is more factual than creative You take into consideration how much of the copyrighted material you use The financial implications of using the work. Cutting into someone’s profits or trying to profit off another’s work are major concerns.

Act 2: The middle of the school year The new teacher is really worried that she is using videos without thinking about copyright law. After all, if they are educational, shouldn’t anyone be able to use them. Also, kids are wanting to embed videos in projects and she wants to make sure the students are learning to follow copyright law.

Video Guidelines Copyright law for videos usually refers to physical products like DVD’s but is more often referring to streaming websites like YouTube, Amazon, and NetFlix. Copies may be made for archival purposes. Follow the guidelines set out by your school. Check with the Media Specialist to get the most current information.

Video Guidelines continued Showing a video for pure entertainment is not considered Fair Use. A good rule of thumb if you don’t have permission is to use clips of movies less than 3 minutes long for students who want to embed clips in projects. Teach your students how to give credit when they use video clips. Use legal copies and not bootlegs or home recordings.

Closing Act: Preparing for a new year The teacher has made it through the first year. She wants to do a better job of not breaking copyright law. She feels that next year she will have more time for lesson planning. What should she do to make this a reality?

Transformation time Find ways to improve and change lesson plans Assess the lesson plan for effectiveness and find ways to make it better. Look on copied materials to see if it you should contact the publisher to use it multiple times. Make copyright part of your class discussions and let the students see the importance of copyright law.

A teachers responsibility Students emulate their teachers. If you use material without worrying or talking about copyright, then they will too. Talk about what you can and can’t do with your students. Recognize that copyright law is not a victimless crime even though it may seem to some people that it is. Keep current with your media specialist about your schools copyright responsibilities.

References http://www.teachingcopyright.org/handout/fair-use- faq https://www.ocps.net/lc/east/htc/mediacenter/Docu ments/FairUse.pdf http://marvin.mll.gvsu.edu/lrc/copyright.pdf http://www.halldavidson.net/chartshort.html