The Board of Education in my school district has adopted a copyright policy that states “The school Media Specialist is charged with informing school staff members of copyright regulations so that school materials, employees, and equipment will not be involved in the infringement of this applicable copyright law.”
Although many school districts have adopted such a policy, very few provide their media specialists with the training and support they need to properly enact the policy in their school. Researching and understanding complicated copyright laws becomes yet one more item on a busy media specialist’s already too long list to-do list. For this reason, many media specialists resort to obtaining a professional resource that provides “guidelines” for copyright law compliance in schools. Unfortunately, these guidelines end up being viewed as “rules” that must be followed rather than just guidelines that should be taken into consideration. Sadly, the media center staff becomes the dreaded “copyright police” who enforce the rules instead of being copyright leaders who teach others how to understand copyright laws.
But how does a busy media specialist become a copyright leader?
First, stop relying solely on professional resources that provide “guidelines” for copyright law. In the introduction to her book “Copyright for Schools” (Linworth Books, 2005), Carol Simpson admits that her book presents the “safest position” and “in some instances, the recommended practices might even be considered ultraconservative.” However, she also reminds readers not to be afraid of copyright laws. She does encourage readers who wish to advantage of their full rights under Fair Use to have strong rationale and good documentation to support their decision. But one must ask…how many readers take the time to read the introduction? Have you ever taken the time to read the introduction to your professional resources?
Thankfully, the Center for Social Media has taken on the task of educating media specialists and other teachers about exercising their rights under Fair Use. Through their publication “Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education” the Center for Social Media provides educators with information on HOW to interpret Fair Use. In other words, instead of giving educators fish (specific guidelines) they teach educators how to fish (how to interpret Fair Use for their specific circumstance).
In summary, educators must recognize that any expert “guidelines” that they refer to are just that…guidelines. Educators must take into account their specific circumstances before making their own judgment about whether their educational use is fair use. I encourage you to explore the information provided by the Center for Social Media information and become the copyright leader in your school.
Center for Social Media - http://mediaeducationlab.com/code-best-practices-fair-use-media-literacy-education-0
Copyright guidelines is an issue that many people prefer to ignore. Much like the white elephant in the living room, we all know that it is a looming issue that must be addressed, but no one wants to take in on. As media specialists, the responsibility frequently falls to us to assure the school is adhering to the guidelines. Unfortunately, as you stated, media specialists are not given the proper training and support to enact the guidelines. Everyone had rather move forward and not deal with this temperamental issue of copyright. This creates an environment where it is difficult, and sometimes unwelcomed, for media specialist to deal with this issue.
ReplyDeleteI agree that these copyright guidelines are just that “guidelines”, but I wonder if that creates more confusion for the media specialist. True, it does provide more flexibility and freedom, but when trying to set parameters for you patrons … will it be more difficult to implement if it is treated a “guideline” and not a rule? I do not have the answer, but I believe that the key to success is proper training for everyone with the media specialist serving as leader.
I agree that there just doesn't seem to be enough training or time to get all the information out to everyone regarding copyright and fair use. Even if the media specialist does provide an inserve, hand out a guideline paper, and post at the copiers, it doesn't mean anyone will follow it. The idea of making sure everyone understands that fair use is flexible, makes it much more likely, in my opinion, that teachers would be willing to discuss it and wonder out loud if whether something they plan to do is ok. I work with a lot of teachers who would rather ask for forgiveness later than permission first.
ReplyDeleteThe school days doesn't leave me with a lot of time to run things past the media specialist for her thoughts. I think this is why I stick to the basics of resources. I don't think I am alone in that thought. Nobody wants to risk getting in trouble, so we don't often look too far from the media shelves and united streaming for resources. The more we can open up resources, the better we can be as teachers in our school regardless of what capacity we serve.
Copyright Leader. What a great term. I keep hearing “copyright police” and I hate that title. At my school the job of the copyright police falls into the principal’s lap. Our school system does a video introduction to copy right and fair use policies that every employee is required to view at the beginning of the school year and then the principal is given the task of policing copy right concerns/issues. Technically speaking the media specialist is completely free of dealing with this issue. But, if the media specialist is doing their job to the fullest, they will find a way to take part in the copyright party. Simple things that the media specialist could do include posting copyright highlights where the staff can see them; leading by example when facing copyright concerns themselves, and providing examples of how to avoid infringing on copyright and fair use issues within each discipline. I really liked the analogy of instead of giving the educators fish (specific guidelines), teach educators how to fish (how to interpret Fair use for their specific circumstance). Do your best to guide educators down the right path and hopefully they will do their best to do the right thing. That is all we can hope for.
ReplyDeleteI have heard that term “copyright police” a few times myself. The media specialist that I worked with for the past five years wasn’t very comfortable with this title. She was definitely committed to respecting copyright laws and using the available guidelines, but she did not take it upon herself to get into the business of others and impose certain practices upon them. She would refuse to make copies of copyright-protected VHS tapes, DVDs or other materials when approached with requests from teachers. This was often an awkward situation with those requesting the service. She frequently taught copyright lessons to students. This seemed to be a task with which she was more comfortable. Dealing with teachers proved to be more confrontational because many of them just wanted to do the convenient thing. They didn’t want to hear that they were doing something wrong, or they just didn’t take it seriously. It is understandable that the media specialist didn’t want to stress the relationships and create friction.
ReplyDeleteWith that being said, I embrace the idea you pose of the media specialist being a copyright leader, providing useful resources to assist teachers. In that capacity we are offering a service or a tool that will benefit them. It’s all in the way we package and deliver the resources. When we can offer something positive like a tool, we’re being proactive and resourceful, unlike the situation where we’re correcting misuse or challenging a teacher on an issue.
Kim, how appropriate that you draw the fish analogy. No list of specific criteria will cover each potential situation teachers will face, just as no curriculum will prepare all students for all of the scenarios in the lives they will lead after graduation. We must prepare them to face those situations with many tools that they can use as they have before, or can modify their use if they understand the principles involved, like using a wrench for a hammer if you don't have a hammer on hand. The balance that we must face is how to "guide" without being an "enforcer" and still uphold copyright value.
ReplyDeleteBased on your paragraph about Carol Simpson's book, "Copyright for Schools", it sounds as though the author believes copyright practices are subjective. I particularly make this assumption based on her statement that her copyright guidelines are "ultraconservative". It's no wonder teachers are often confused about fair use guidelines or do not follow the guidelines since they could vary from school to school. I can imagine that it's difficult to take it seriously if a teacher leaves one school where certain copyright guidelines are in place and then goes to another where a different set of rules apply.
ReplyDeleteI think your suggestion of using the Center for Social Media's “Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education" publication as our profession's guiding text for becoming a copyright leader, is a great one. If all media specialists get on the same wavelength on this topic, they will all be consistent when leading their schools about copyright and fair use. Furthermore, teachers might better understand the guidelines and be more willing to consider them the next time they are faced with the decision to use or not to use copyrighted material.
When it comes to understanding and using fair use, your example of teaching a man to fish instead of giving him a fish hits the nail on the head. In order to truly make the best use of the fair use doctrine, media specialists and teachers must understand what the laws are, why they are there, and how they work. When it comes to fair use, these are the exact questions that judges consider in determining whether copyright infringement has occurred. The guidelines that exist which outline specific examples of fair use may be adequate at times, but as you mentioned, they are not the law. Educators should know how to evaluate the fair use guidelines for themselves and mold their use of copyrighted materials according to their best judgment.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I find it disturbing that some school districts place it solely on the media specialist's head to ensure that copyright is adhered to by all faculty and staff members within their school. This is not a responsibility that should be placed on a single person. The only way to make sure infringement does not occur is to educate everyone. It is imperative that all faculty and staff working within a school system have at least an adequate working knowledge of copyright and fair use.