ELRC 4507 Blog Post #3: Copyright & Fair Use

 What is copyright?

Copyright is a law that protects the content creator’s original work.  This realm encompasses anything from entertainment (music, film, television, YouTube, etc.) to artwork (illustration, animation, photography, etc.).  When a product is under copyright law, a barrier is created to protect the work and no one else has the right to use it without first notifying the creator.  Copyright laws values the economic system of the creator’s original work so they can distribute (copy, sell, modify, display) it as they please.  According the UMGC Guidelines (2020) , there are three things to address for content to be copyrighted:  fixation, originality, and minimal creativity. 

The ease of the internet makes copying, pasting, and downloading easy actions anyone can perform without thinking about the legalities behind it.  Therefore, digital literacy is an important topic to practice as digital learning tools are being integrated more into the classroom.  Teachers and students can use copyrighted content for education if they cite and recognize where the work is from.  Personally, I have learned a very beneficial skill to comply with copyright laws by adding filters for image searches on Google through creative commons licenses.    

What is fair use?

Fair use is when someone uses a small part of copyrighted work without permission.  However, this only applies to schoolwork and education, news reporting, criticizing or commenting, or comedy or parody.  The material must be used responsibly.  When showcasing small parts such as music samples, film/television clips, or cropped pieces from an image—so long as the way it is portrayed in a re-imagined way, all of these are protected by fair use.  The UMGC Guidelines (2020) recognizes four factors for compliance in fair use:  purpose, nature of copyrighted work, amount, and effect on market. 

As digital transformation occurs in education, student-driven learning is being pursued as a top priority.   Educators are shifting towards facilitating teaching instead of directing teaching.  Fair use can be exhibited in the classroom setting by educators introducing a topic.  By following the regulations of utilizing fair use, content material can be provided to the class and then from there develop a lesson around it.  This aligns with ISTE standards for students and educators because it can create discussions and lead to projects, research, or assignments and activities to complete lesson objectives for the curriculum.      

What are the permissible amounts of copyrighted information that can be used by teachers/students?

For education purposes, according to the UMGC Guidelines (2020), their institution recommends not to rely on fair use for core content in classrooms.  Though a case by case basis, it should still be discussed with administration departments prior.  Sharing content is so quick and easy with the push of a button.  The biggest message from reading about copyright and fair use is to give credit to the creator.  Following these simple guidelines of checking who owns material, getting permission, giving credit to the author, purchasing items if necessary, and using it responsibly will ensure that copyright and fair use are in effect.     

ELRC 4507 Blog Post #2: Wikis

 

What is a Wiki?

The reoccurring themes in digital learning and digital transformation is to put the student first and create a student-centered learning environment.  A Wiki is a platform in which anyone can participate as a contributor.  It aligns with ISTE standards for students and encourages an outlet where they can act in digital literacy and collaborate and communicate on a wider scale.  A Wiki is a simple, quick, fast, and easy database that users can access from any location to modify resources or enhance and add to their own list of resources for their learning needs.  A Wiki is a rea-time integrative way to take teaching and learning experiences beyond the traditional classroom environment. 

 

Disadvantages of Wikis

This adaptation of inclusivity and allowing anyone to act as a contributor also takes away a reputable aspect from the information being provided.  This will add a new layer to the student’s assignment of fact checking resources.  It creates a level of self-awareness in students to not only check their peer’s work, but to check their own work and contributions as well.   

Integrating Wikis in the classroom

Educators embrace technology leadership goals by letting students guide their own learning.  So long as educators provide a backbone of the content material and all the tools students need for success, students should be able to navigate the rest of the journey on their own for a more personalized meaningful experience.  Utilizing Wikis in the classroom environment aligns with ISTE Standards for Students.   Wikis give students a voice in what they want out of their learning experience.  It is more impactful for students to learn what they want and take that knowledge beyond the classroom and into the real world. 

Especially working with elementary students, parents and family members what to stay up to date with what their child is learning.  English education is an important skill in foreign countries, and parents also want to be able to understand and learn with their child too.  By using Wikis in my organization, we can let parents be part of the experience too.  The pandemic has put a lot of additional stressors on parents to be digitally proficient.  A Wiki page for parents would be beneficial in this case.  We could create a resources page for using digital learning tools at home and offer what to do to make the experience easier or tips on what to do when you need troubleshooting.  Some examples I really liked and learned about during this module was implementing a collaborative story idea and student editor champion idea.  These would be fun ways to work on English vocabulary, grammar, and sentence structure.  On a school wide level, I'm curious to see how it could be implemented as a daily newsletter to parents and family members as well.

ELRC 4507 Blog Post #1: Introduction

Hello everyone!  My name is Ana and I'm studying for a M.A. in Education Technology at LSU all while living in Japan.  I've been living in Japan since April 2019, and it's been such an adventure.  I live in the Tohoku Region, so I'm quite close to the sea and mountains.  This is great because I absolutely love being outdoors.  I also enjoy reading fiction and watching independent films.  I’m a big advocate for travel and exploring, but the hardest thing about being in Japan is being away from my mom, brother, and cat, but I get to talk and see them mostly everyday thanks to all the different kinds of technology available!

My expectations of this course are ever changing with each module we complete. I'm excited to learn more about the education technologies available. I operate on both Windows and Apple systems, so I would like to say I'm well versed and proficient in a handful of things. My all-time favorite feature is utilizing keyboard shortcuts for maximum efficiency since I'm constantly multitasking. Other than that, these tools for content creation are all new to me! I've honestly never been engaged in so many resources before, so this is a wonderful hands on experience. I'm open minded to trying a lot of new and different things, so I will definitely utilize what I learn from this course to enhance the learning environment for my students, parents, and colleagues.   

Click Ana Teaches Eigo to go to my website and see more info!

                                                        Osaka Castle Summer 2019