Copyright and Teaching
Since teaching is a good activity absent of bad intentions, some of us think that all that is related to
teaching should be good as well. However, this is not completely true. Teachers have to be aware of some details regarding Copyright Laws in our countries. This would regulate the kind of material we use in the classroom, otherwise we will become delinquent without knowing it.
Every piece of information written, done or published by somebody else is protected by Copyright Laws and we have to respect those rights. Nonetheless, there are many sites that allow you to use the materials published in them. However, it is my advice for you to acknowledge every author you consult and whose material you use. Another way is to use the material only for educational purposes and add the information related to the resources you use. Remember that even using songs in the classroom is considered a failure to the Copyright Law, so be careful when selecting and using other people’s material.
The following links may help you to know more about Copyright and Copyright-free material in the web:
Goldstein, P. International Copyright: principles, law, and practice
Westbrook, S. Composition & Copyright: perspectives on teaching, text-making, and fair use
Yes, teaching in the classroom, as sublime as it can be, does not escape from the long arm of the law. Of course, we will not be framed for using a song from a well-know artists but this does not mean we are not going to respect the rights, the artist/composer has got over something he/she created. So acknowledging, adding links to the artist's official webpage and/or even contacting him/her would not do any harm.
ResponderEliminarExactly Miguel :) if we acknowledge the author, we won't be framed and that also could give extra information to our students about where to find more info about that topic, among other things.
ResponderEliminar