Creative Commons for the Educator January 4, 2009
Posted by Matthew Woolums in Articles/Videos, Fair Use, Link Collections, Tools.add a comment
Very nice collection of Creative Commons resources for use in the classroom on the Drape’s Takes blog. There are 4 short parts: understanding the rules, resources for using CC in your curriculum, encouraging remixing, and teaching students about CC. By way of a tweet from Angela Maiers. Twitter / Angela Maiers: Great post on creative com …
Drape’s Takes: The Educator’s Guide to the Creative Commons
Kindle for Kids August 25, 2008
Posted by Matthew Woolums in 21st-Century, Articles/Videos, Fair Use, Hardware.add a comment
The Tech Observer, among others, is reporting that Amazon is hinting to investors that they may introduce a Kindle for the textbook market. I am not convinced about the long term viability of the Kindle as an e-book reader, however, based on the three people I know who have one, they all love it, warts and all. I can also see how it would make sense for text books to be loaded onto a Kindle. Students would gladly trade in their hefty texts for a single device that contained all of their course reading.
The Kindle is only one direction. Give every student a laptop, or let them use their own if they have one, and provide digital content is another option. Of course, file sharing and copyrights become an even more important issue for the book publishers if all of the material was available in digital format. This sort of reminds me of the transition from vinyl to compact disk way back when I worked in a record store in the mid 80’s. Short-sidedness on the part of the recording industry hasn’t done them any favors. We’ll have to wait and see what happens to the text book publishing industry as the world rapidly goes digital around them.
http://www.portfolio.com/views/blogs/the-tech-observer/2008/08/25/rumored-textbook-plans-for-kindle
Copyright Basics for Schools – Heather Clark BCR Member Services Librarian June 25, 2008
Posted by Matthew Woolums in Conference Sessions, Fair Use.add a comment
We started with a ‘coffee talk’ with different subjects, such as “you can copy up to 10% of a book” or “you can copy one chapter of a book”.
Presentation outline:
*Landscape
*Fundamentals
*Exemptions
*Synthesis & Application
—————
Landscape
Copyright as censorship. Early English Law. Designed to protect the rights of the printing press owners. Also allowed for vetting process on the part of the ruling class. Statute of Anne (1710) Right to copy is limited to 14 years after which the work is placed in the public domain. Constitutional Statement on Copyright – Article 1, Section 8. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_Clause
With changes in technology, copyright has increased the scope, subject matter, and duration.
Text (1800)
Work (1900)
Tools (2000)
—————–
Fundamentals
Duration is complex and covered by multiple laws. Started with 14 years with one 14 year extension. This was double to 28+28, then changed to Life of author +50 years (1976), then changed to life+70 (1998).
Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)
*Update copyright law for the digital environment
*Deals with Digital Rights Management (DRM) technologies
Copyright belongs to the creator unless the creator gives it away. Exceptions include material created as part of employment, commissioned works, and any terms of publishing.
Rights include: reproduction, distribution, preparation of derivative works, public performance, public display.
Aspects of Copyright
*Expression, not idea
*Original and fixed
Public Domain
Belongs to everyone and no one
Anyone can exercise rights of copyright holder
Also includes:
-facts
-Works of US Government
-State Governments vary
—————-
Exemptions
Teaching exemptions – TEACH Act
Fair Use
Library circulation
Library archives
TEACH Act 2002 – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TEACH_Act
*Allows public performance and display of copyright works in digital form
*Specific list of accepted uses = limited scope
*Requirement PRIOR to use
Face to face
-non-profit teaching institution
-legal copy
-teaching objective linked to the presentation
Digital Transmission
-legal copy
-accredited
-mediated instructional activities
-dramatic literary works – limited
-enrolled students only
Additionally institutions must have:
-copyright policies
-copyright best practices for teachers and students
-inform students of copyrighted materials
Technology protection measures: prevents retention of work accessible after the class, unauthorized further dissemination – may not manipulate existing encryption (like watermarks, passwords, etc.)
Fair Use
Purpose – Amount – Nature – Effect on market
Fair Use checklist http://www.copyright.iupui.edu/checklist.htm
Fair Use is a legal way to infringe on copyright
Guidelines
Alternatives to Fair Use
Broadly used as policy by school districts
10%, etc.
Not law – rests on congressional intent – does not protect from litigation or liability
Face-to-face teaching exemption – teacher or instructor is present – only students – connection to course content – using legitimate content
Audience is considered, as is context, access, and attribution
RISK activity using examples in small discussion groups
Copyright and Fair Use are indicators of risk, but as educators we have an obligation to present the moral and ethical issues involved with our students and in our professional behavior.
________________
Bibliographical Center for Research http://www.bcr.org/
Heather Clark’s bio http://www.bcr.org/training/schedule/profile.php?contactid=1
Copyright and a Great Example of Powerpoint April 5, 2008
Posted by Matthew Woolums in Articles/Videos, Fair Use.add a comment
By way of a Daring Fireball post, here is a link to Larry (I’ve always called him Lawrence) Lessig’s TED presentation on copyright. Worth watching for the content, which explains why the current state of copyright is working against creativity, not for it. The presentation is also a great example of how to use Powerpoint, or any presentation software, effectively by mixing short amounts of text, images, and voice. This presentation came shortly before Lessig left the copyright wars to focus on campaign finance laws in an effort to reform congress.
http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/187
BitTorrent Strikes Back February 16, 2008
Posted by Matthew Woolums in Fair Use, Net Neutrality, Opinion.add a comment
BitTorrent, the protocol, essentially allows for the distributed exchange of files. It isn’t really much different from http or ftp. Following copyrights and other applicable laws, it is efficient and simple. Distributing material in violation of copyright or other laws is wrong and creates problems for everyone else. Comcast, in their infinite wisdom, has been putting BitTorrent on a slow track, ostensibly because it uses too much of the service for which its customers have already paid. Turns out that won’t slow down the protocol for long. TorrentFreak is reporting that work is already underway to circumvent Comcasts questionable restrictions. The article explains the issue better than I can.
the new tracker peer obfuscation technique is especially designed to be a workaround for throttling devices
http://torrentfreak.com/bittorrent-devs-introduce-comcast-busting-encryption-080215/
Free Knowledge January 26, 2008
Posted by Matthew Woolums in 21st-Century, Articles/Videos, Fair Use, Opinion.add a comment
One of the issues I advocate for in this blog is free access to information. I’m not advocating that educators disregard copyright laws, but I do believe that those laws currently run counter to the original intent of the founding fathers and framers of the US Constitution. Virtually limitless protection of access to and use of information to the extent now codified is limiting creativity and innovation, not encouraging it.
Steve Borsch (Connecting the Dots) expresses some of what I’m trying to say in a much clearer way than I can. In his post ‘What if all human knowledge was free and accessible?’ he draws a parallel between the current trend of “Internet-centric knowledge repositories” and the distribution of food. What was once complicated and difficult has become (in the case of food) simple. That simplicity allows us to focus on something more important.
NOW imagine a world where “content and knowledge calories” are cheap and you can access baseline knowledge for some given subject or topic while having easy, shrink-wrapped-like access to the high value knowledge, presented in an easy to use and learn way.
I’m not completely sold on the idea that information and calories provide us with a good analogy (at one point Steve points out how we’re all getting fat — what does that look like for information?) but I do agree that Web 2.0 trends are simplifying access and use of information. Mashups and widgets are good examples of early Web 2.0 end-user tool building. I doubt that the person who first started using a wheel envisioned our global system of roads and rails for transportation.
Recognize that the Internet is making the inefficient, efficient and that’s the primary reason an initiative like an open education resource vision will get traction. Supply chains, processes, methods, collaboration, communication and a multitude of other key areas are being poked-n-prodded with new startups or approaches as people try to figure out how to leverage the Internet to get rid of the inefficient and allow us all to jump to the next level of creativity, innovation and human cognition.
What will be the end result of “Internet-centric” tools of today? What are the implications for the classroom?
We are on the cusp of a global revolution in teaching and learning. Educators worldwide are developing a vast pool of educational resources on the Internet, open and free for all to use. These educators are creating a world where each and every person on earth can access and contribute to the sum of all human knowledge. They are also planting the seeds of a new pedagogy where educators and learners create, shape and evolve knowledge together, deepening their skills and understanding as they go.
Educating the world’s children is the right thing to do and is key to enabling and assisting them to achieve self sustaining status. But it also ensures that we have a hope the world’s knowledge will achieve equilibrium and thus higher standards of living, creativity and innovation will emerge everywhere.
Connecting the Dots: What if all human knowledge was free and accessible?
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Recut, Reframe, Recycle January 3, 2008
Posted by Matthew Woolums in Articles/Videos, Fair Use.add a comment
The Center for Social Media at American University has posted a terrific article with an embedded video discussing copyright and fair use. There is also an extensive list of links to videos that should be covered by fair use that include remixed, mashed, or rehashed copyrighted materials. This would be a great resource for encouraging a classroom discussion about copyright and ethical online behavior, but most of the links are probably blocked in most districts.
http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/resources/publications/recut_reframe_recycle
Tips for Integrity – Student Edition December 18, 2007
Posted by Matthew Woolums in Articles/Videos, Fair Use.add a comment
Joyce Valenza recently posted a terrific set of points for students to help them understand why integrity in education is so important. If you’ve ever wanted a way to start the discussion in your classroom about cheating and why it is wrong, please read the linked article below. I had a difficult time selecting just one quote to whet your appetite:
Integrity matters in our community. When you cheat intentionally, you lose the respect of people who care about you and want to see you succeed. You may also lose the respect of your peers. We set in place a policy to define all of our responsibilities in creating a culture based on integrity.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/blog/1340000334/post/1500018150.html?nid=3714
