Technology+Report

Copyrights: What to Know Technology has become an educational essential. However, in its meteoric rise, there has been a failure to educate administrators, teachers, parents, and students on proper use of the internet and the information that has become accessible. A copyright allows someone to own material such as literary, artistic, or musical works. With this ownership, creators are endowed with specific rights guaranteed to them through copyright laws. Educators must be aware of copyright rules and regulations as the use of technology increases in the field of education. Administrators bear the responsibility of seeing that copyright laws are obeyed within the school district. Policies must be made and enforced if the school district is to use resources legally. Davidson (2005) offers “Five steps to avoiding copyright problems: 1. Create and implement a technology policy that includes a code of ethics and set of procedures. 2. Review the entire policy with your educational community: students, teachers, and parents. 3. Appoint a technology manager to conduct audits and maintain a log of licenses and registration materials. 4. Teach ethical and legal behavior for technology use. 5. Thank employees and students for supporting these steps.” These steps can aid administrators in creating an effective technology plan and monitoring educators and students to ensure that the plan is being followed. Copyright regulations must be taught within the educational system. As students search the internet for information, they must understand how to use that information legally. Copyright knowledge needs to be embedded into the curriculum. “Work cyber ethics into assignments and discussion.” (Kruger, 2003). Teachers can develop lessons that include different aspects of copyrights such as cost to developers, consequences that can occur, and ethical use of information. Hall states that “most copyright abuses in education are a sign of weakness in the instructional program”. Teaching of copyright illegalities is a necessity in today’s schools. Copyright knowledge can be beneficial to teachers and students. It gives rights such as the use of movies in classes, pre-made lesson plans, research, and even music. This is available to educators, but there are still rules to follow. Use of movies and videos must always be involved in the lesson plan. Licenses for software must be maintained and followed. Due credit must be given in acceptable form when information is used in presentations or works that are used for research. “The Copyright Act sets out the four factors for determining whether a given use of a copyrightable work is a fair use: 1. the nature of the use, whether educational, personal, or commercial; 2. the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the entire work; 3. the character of the work, whether published or unpublished; 4. the effect of the use on the market for the work” (Stroder, 2006). These guidelines are to help educators determine the ability of the school system to use certain items. It is imperative that school personnel educate themselves and their students in the use of copyrighted materials. As educators it is our duty to teach students the necessary skills to assure that they have the tools to legally and successfully use technology to become life-long learners. References: Davidson, H. (2005). Copyright primer for administrators. //Technology & Learning,// 25(11), S2. Kruger, R. (2003). Discussing cyber ethics with students is critical. //Social Studies,// 94(4), 189. Stroder, R. S. (2006). What every school should know about intellectual property. //Education Digest,// 71(6), 41.