4. Fair Use
Based on Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, also known as fair use, teachers
are allowed to photocopy and use a limited amount of copyrighted materials in
their classrooms under specific conditions for educational purposes. With the
advent of digital media, the Internet, and the World Wide Web, legislators have
had to reexamine fair use. Many teachers and students wrongly think they can
copy anything from the Web and it becomes theirs. Is using materials found on
the Web different from using materials found in a copyrighted book? How can you
determine if your use of copyrighted materials is governed by fair-use rules?
Because it has become so easy to copy materials from so many different sources,
how will you teach your students about copyright laws and fair use?
A: There is fine line between fair use and violation of copyright laws. One job as an educator is to teach children appropriate use and reuse of content found on the internet, in copyrighted books, and from any other outside source. As an English language teacher it would be easy to incorporate usage into the curriculum and show students the right and wrong way in using copyrighted materials in their own original works. One major issue with students is not understanding proper citation when using materials that are not their original ideas. A weekly discussion on proper and legal documentation of copyrighted material will make students familiar with how to properly cite and use material.
As for the fair-use rules covering the gamete of online publications and copyrighted material, a teacher would have to educate themselves on the updates of the law and the ongoing changes associated with fair-use laws for copyrighted materials. An informed teacher is more equipped to inform their classroom as to what is legal and appropriate.