Copyright. Yeah. I was reading copyright and fair use guidelines and I didn’t have to scroll down too far to find rules that get broken by teachers all the time at my school and others (nice use of passive voice right?). The rules do allow for some on the fly usage of poems, etc. but then we’re not supposed to use them again next year? I get it, though. Dude writes a poem. Gets it published in a magazine. Dude and magazine might not want it handed out to classes in perpetuity. But maybe they’re cool with it. I guess that’s where creative commons comes in.
So far I haven’t shared content on the web, and my use of materials has been limited to the occasional This American Life or other podcast I tie in to a piece of writing or literature. But I can certainly see how having students use many of these web applications for projects could lead to students needing/wanting access to content that may have varying copyright hassles attached to them. At assemblies or with some Powerpoints this past year I’ve seen photos used and attributions given at the end, but reading this material suggests to me that this may not have been sufficient.
As far as limitations go, in looking just a bit at the suggested Commons websites my first reaction is how is this going to help me with some article I find in The New Yorker magazine? Perhaps there’s an answer to that question. Perhaps not. Perhaps I’m thinking too old school. Perhaps all of this Commons stuff will quickly shepherd in a new era when magazines will have to decide how they want my students to be accessing their material and all the rules change.
Nevertheless, I wonder about my OWN material. My own unites and projects and assignments. I could put some of my own stuff out there. But I’ll have to do some thinking about what that means. I’ve shared material with colleagues. But not ALL of my material. But really, what’s the harm in some teacher down the block or across the country trying out one of projects. Perhaps the fact I ask “what’s the harm” suggests the necessary mental shift. Shouldn’t I be asking, “What’s the benefit?” And if we all think that way…wow, I suppose we might be further along the path to the Siddhartha moment. You know, when Govinda looks into his old friend’s face and sees…everyone and everything?
