Fair huh?

Upon reflecting on my first year teacher, I must say that although I anticipated being extremely busy, I never imagined the amount of time and work that I would spend trying to keep up with and improve upon my own pedagogy.  There are many tasks, deadlines, and obligations that I am currently responsible for that I never considered prior to beginning teaching.  With that said, and with the fact that I am a few credits short of a masters, I can honestly say that I have never even considered copyright infringement nor that my practice in the classroom could be violating federal law. Although I have emphasized the importance of using proper citation and giving credit to other's ideas in my students work, I never thought that what I was doing on an everyday basis could be doing the exact opposite.

I appreciate the articles I read this week as they were definitely eye-opening, while I simultaneously feel burdened by another obligation/consideration. I believe firmly in properly protecting the work of others.  While I immediately reflected upon my own practices over this past year with a critical eye, the concept of fair use eased my mind a bit as I feel that many of my copyright infringement could be defended under the legal defense of fair use.

What is fair use?  According to the video A Fair(y) Use Tale, as well as all three of the other reference articles, fair use allows for the use of copyright materials in small amounts when the materials are being used for educational as well as research based purposes.  With that said, it is important to note that fair use can be used as a legal defense for using a copyrighted material, but is in no way a blanket policy or a right to which every teacher in every scenario can claim.

Fair use deals with specific situations, and is usually handled on a case by case basis, according to Thompson (2005).  All three reference articles highlight the fact that fair use is in no way cut and dry, but rather comes with a certain murkiness that in some cases only can be decided on in a court room.  The basic idea is that teachers may use copyrighted materials, with the understanding that four key factors will be considered prior to using the copyrighted material.  These factors include (1) the purpose of the use, (2) the nature of the work, (3) the amount of work borrowed, and (4) the effect of the use on the market or possible income from that work (Thompson, 2005).  If the use of the work is justifiable in light of these four factors, then it would be acceptable to use the copyrighted material.

Teachers on a daily basis work with materials that are copyrighted.  As an educator, I am glad that fair use exists because it allows educators a way to effectively navigate the strict copyright laws that are currently in place.  Langran et al. (2005) acknowledge that  "we live in a paradoxical age in which copyright terms and controls are increasingly restrictive while it is physically easier than any other time in history to obtain content" (pg. 3).  Overall, I feel it is paramount as an educator to constantly considering these four factors as well as to stay current and knowledgeable on copyright legislation, even if it is confusing and constantly changing.  Johnson and Simpson (2005) point out that standard IV of the NETS says that educators should "model and teach legal and ethical practice related to technology use". Copyright infringement is  a "federal law"(Johnson and Simpson, 2005), and is certainly something that should be honored, respected, and upheld  not only to protect oneself, but also to provide an appropriate example for students.