1. If you record a program on a non-premium service you must erase it after 45 calendar days. I was completely unaware of this violation. Although it has been years since I taught, many teachers kept copies of taped programs from year to year. I did not know this was a violation.
2. You are not allowed to install a single copy of a program on multiple computers or onto a network without permission. Although I am not guilty of this one (we were just getting one computer in each classroom the last year I was teaching), I think this would be an easy one to violate. I can see where if I bought a terrific biology program, I would want to share it with the other biology teachers. However the Fair Use exception does not cover copying complete computer programs on multiple computers or networks.
3. All internet materials are copyrighted unless noted otherwise.
As a former teacher, I must admit it is hard to remember to not copy or "use" work of someone elses. Especially when you are trying to use a resource to help your students. It is information like this that help teachers to stay abreast of everyday issues we should be aware of.
ReplyDeleteI remember during student teaching I noticed a lot of teachers passing around helpful music and software because it was the beginning of the year and everyone was preparing for the students. I didn't realzie you have to erase it after 45 days.
ReplyDeleteIt is my understanding that you can use portions of, legally obtained, copyrighted materials in a closed classroom setting.
ReplyDeleteAlso, many materials produced by the U.S. government are in the public domain, check out the national digital library.
I was also shocked about the 45 calendar day rule for using taped programs. Once a teacher finds the perfect program that can enhance the lesson it does seem like a waste to have to discontinue using it.
ReplyDeleteI find myself contacting publishers of various types of works to get their permission to use it in my classroom. So far I have been pretty successful, most of them have given me permission and some have even sent me materials to try out. Now, that was awesome. I use to think it would take months or years to get permission to use some material but I found that not to be true in most cases.
ReplyDelete