Copyright & Fair Use... "Clear as Mud"

As educators, we are all familiar with the terms "copyright" and "fair use, " but are we? I am sure, like many of you, I have heard of "fair use" but probably not well enough to explain what it actually is. According to the video introduction to the "Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education, " the definition of fair use is as follows: "Fair use allows you to use copyrighted material without permission or payment when the benefit to society outweighs the cost to the copyright owner." Perfectly clear, right? I think not.  Fair use provides educators with some opportunities to use copyrighted materials in the realm of education. The most difficult part is knowing what is and is not accepted. There are no cut and dry rules regarding the subject. Much of it is left up to best judgement and it may vary with different situations. 

The Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education states that "fair use is flexible, not unreliable. While it does protect the owners' rights to their creative work, copyright laws do not provide specific "laws" and guidelines when it comes to fair use. Being a rule follower by nature, this is very difficult for me to handle...is what I am doing okay or is it not okay?

When determining if fair use is applicable, there are two questions that you may ask yourself. 

     1. Did I change the intended use of the work or use it for a different purpose?

     2. Was the amount of material taken reasonable?

More than likely, if the answers to both of these questions are yes, you are probably in good shape, but again, fair use is left up to interpretation. The most important thing to remember is that "economic harm" does not come to the owner through your own use of his/her material. 

Remember...clear as mud!?!

This brings me to a common myth about fair use as taken from the Code of Best Practices:

Myth: "Educators can rely on 'rules of thumb' for fair use guidance." 

The truth is, there is no "rule of thumb" to follow or relay on. You've probably heard that 30 seconds of any song, so much of a video, text, etc. are all okay to use without infringement of copyright. However, there are no real set magic number to guide you. Because copyright is a case by case basis, it is hard to limit every piece of work to such limited constraints. However, it is up to the educator to use common sense and to be reasonable when choosing materials to use, and how much. "Fair use is situational, and context is critical." There could never be a law that would include every imaginable use for a piece of work. Therefore, there is no "rule of thumb."  These are basically guidelines to help guide users in the right direction. 

Fair use is not designed to limit or "catch" educators, but rather to allow them the freedom to use copyrighted materials to enhance the education of others. We each have to determine if the use of certain copyrighted materials is fair, based on reason.

As we, as educators learn more about fair use policies, it is up to use to share this information with others. Learning about fair use does not hinder us, but empowers us. So, we "need to be leaders, not followers, in establishing best practices in fair use." 

References:

Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education (2012). From the web site: http://mediaeducationlab.com/code-best-practices-fair-use-media-literacy-education-0

What's In The News?

I am sorry for the late post, I thought this was due today!

After exploring the suggested sites, it was interesting to see how Orenco Elementary school in Hillsboro, Oregon does their Kids News Network. While I found it to be fun and innovative in their coverage, I believe it was too long at 24 minutes. They covered an extensive amount of school and community news and their graphics and transitions were nice but I think the school news should be shorter in length even if not produced daily or weekly.  I reviewed Eisenhower Middle School’s YouTube channel for their news station. It was not too long and the stories were fun but informative.

I currently work at a high school that has a full TV station. Students produce a morning news show once per day and is no more than 5-10 minutes every school day. Students audition to become anchor on the news desk. Two are selected and report school news daily. They do not use graphics during the reporting. Additional students produce feature stories that are edited to air. Students are required to follow guidelines to have their story air such as a storyboard, producer, and appropriate music. Most content is events that are upcoming, such as extracurricular activities. They do not report on community news or even report the weather. It is started by an upbeat opening, then the pledge of allegiance, and a moment of silence.  They often have an SAT word of the day. The production is managed by our Broadcasting teacher, who also teaches the for credit class. She does an excellent job teaching the students to use the equipment and how to edit and produce great content.  She has a student station manager who helps to oversee production. They have experienced problems such as students not finishing stories, but they just move on to another one. Students are required to come up with ideas for stories and complete all the tasks, such as securing the talent and editing it for air. The broadcast teacher reviews every story before air. 

There is a rotation schedule of student producers and the students must be in the class or have taken the class to participate. They also have a club for the station. The news is aired on a closed circuit channel on TVs in classrooms and lobby areas throughout the school. At one time they also aired the Channel One News, but it is no longer aired for benefit of time. I turn it on daily in the media center so I stay abreast of what is going on around the school as well as for others to view while in the media center in the morning. Additional feature stories and PSA’s are produced for a longer show that airs on Fridays. Students are allowed to produce shows such a promotional fundraiser for donuts that was produced with a James Bond theme and music. Students also produce PSA’s on topics such as domestic abuse and teen driving. The Friday show loops all day. Daily in the afternoons, announcements are aired over the intercom that reiterate the news show.

I have toured the studio and it is a first class setup with several Mac computer editing suites, a real studio with professional desk and cameras, production board, and microphones. The Broadcast teacher does an excellent job teaching the students a comprehensive overview of TV production. They leave with skills that will enable them to take them into careers. 

Myth: Fair Use Could Get Me Sued.

Truth:  According to Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education, Fair Use is the right to use copyrighted material without permission or payment under some circumstances, especially when the cultural or social benefits are predominant.  When using media, the question to ask yourself as an educator is, “Am I using this media for the purpose in which it was originally intended?” Is the material being used for instruction or entertainment?  When the material is being used as a reward, then it is being used in the way it was originally intended – for entertainment.  Then there would be a copyright infringement issue; however, when the material is being used for instructional purposes, this is not the original intention on the material, so educators are protected under the fair use laws. 

Copyright law does not exactly specify how to apply fair use and that gives the fair use doctrine a flexibility that works to the advantage of users.  Apply the “rule of reason” – “If the user of copyright materials generates social or cultural benefits that are greater than the cost it imposes to the owner” then the educator is safe in using the materials.  Most educators fear that the copyright police are out to get them, but in reality “fair use is flexible and NOT unreliable”.  It will protect educators when using materials for educational purposes. 

There are four factors that judges refer to when deciding what is fair use.  1) the nature of use, 2) nature of the work used, 3) extent of the use, 4) the economic effect .  In reviewing the history of litigation concerning fair use, the big question was – Will use cause excessive economic harm to the original source? Again, the questions to ask yourself are: 1) did the use transform the work by using it for a different purpose than it was originally intended? 2) Was the material taken appropriate in kind and amount considering the nature of the copyrighted work and of fair use?  If the answer to these questions is yes, then there is no worry about fair use being challenged by the court system or the originator of the material. 

I my school system, each school pays a licensing fee to use movies for entertainment purposes.  That way we can show movies for entertainment or their original purpose with no fear of retribution from the film maker.  So between the protection of fair use and this licensing fee, our school has little to fear from any action against our school or individual educators.  Several years ago, teachers were more fearful of using multimedia excerpts in class lessons.  I am seeing teacher move away from that fear and use materials more freely, especially in science and social studies fields.  I do think we need to take care in going to the original source and not just a YouTube excerpt from the original source.  We do want to be an example to students and not just blindly excuse the misuse of copyrighted materials, but there needs to be a healthy balance.  And as a side note, I loved how the source document has a last little except saying when using this document rely on the fair use doctrine.  Good advice!

 Sources: 

Retrieved from 2/15/15:  http://mediaeducationlab.com/sites/mediaeducationlab.com/files/CodeofBestPracticesinFairUse_0.pdf

School News

The number of schools using the media center to broadcast school newscasts are growing.  It is becoming harder and harder to find a school which has not embraced and begun utilizing this new concept.
The school newscast can be done in several formats.  The media specialist can plan a live broadcast using students from the Broadcast club or they can opt to tape these sessions, sending them to teachers via email allowing for viewing on SMARTBOARDS located in the classrooms.
In such case the school I used to gather my information on  school news is one which produces live broadcasts at least three times per week.  The broadcasts involve the media specialist and the members of the Broadcast Club along with teachers and various clubs.  The Broadcast club is open to all students in the building grades 6-8 who are interested in possibly pursuing careers in broadcasting or journalism.  The news cast is merely one aspect of the club with the other being the school newspaper and yearbook.
These students participate in a live presentation including the events happening around the building and the pledge of allegiance and national anthem.  The integration of teachers who are sponsors of other clubs in the building such as TGI Tech and 4-H to name a few helps increase student interest in these clubs.
While producing these types of live broadcasts help with decreasing the amount of time necessary for students to be outside of their scheduled classrooms the media specialist must also take into consideration the possibility of something going wrong.  One of the problems mentioned by the media specialist is the absence of sound during these live broadcasts.  Trying to make sure that all classes have equipment that is free of malfunctioning parts is virtually impossible.  In the event that this problem continues to happen the media specialist stated that she would be looking into beginning to tape all broadcasts to be shown to those classes at a later time.
The integration of school news as presented by the media specialist is quickly approaching total integration in the elementary, middle, and high schools in my district.  As we continue making strides toward increasing media presence in the daily school experience new opportunities are always opening up for adoption by teachers and students.

Social Networking! In the Media Center?

Social Networking! In the Media Center? 

         I can understand that some might be cautious when it comes to integrating social networking into a media center and classrooms. I feel that using this vast tool can be a great way that will make teachers and students want to come into the media center. Students would have to collaborate with each other to by learning how to make something creative out of normally boring or lifeless material. We can see this in one of the article when AASL’s President Sara Kelly Johns remarked that, "Group collaboration and discussion are becoming more evident in the learning process. These processes create a community of learners where a student can help lead the educational process." There are many social networking outlets out there that it is crazy what could be used in a school setting. Students should be able to use these outlets to express themselves and how their learning is impacting them.

        Allowing students to create blogs gets them to interact with their classmates, teachers and other school staff because they are expressing themselves in different ways than ever before. A way to engage the students is to have them blog, post pictures, describe how things impacted them, and even allow them to learn more about each other. We can encourage students to do this in different social networking outlets such as Blogger, Flicker, or Youtube in ways like showing what they are researching about, document a field trip they went on by connecting it to school subjects, do presentations and do reviews about books or movies. We can see this being promoted in the article by AASL (ALA, 2008) where President Sara Kelly Johns said that “teachers and students alike—vets information in wikis, discusses processes in blogs and uses online instruction and social bookmarking to make students more accountable for and active in their educational journey.” As educators I know we want our students to be able to connect with us and become outstanding members of society once they leave our ‘classroom’ of the media center because they are our future and we are the instigators to their enhanced learning.

         When students use the media center they normally just go there to mill about, work on homework or class assignments, or be there for class. By allowing students to access certain social networking domains we can permit students to be more engaged in their learning by allowing them to use the different technological tools they have at their fingertips while in school. In the article by AASL (ALA, 2008) where President Sara Kelly Johns said that, “technology and social skills are essential to the development of 21st Century students in order for them to be viable members of the working community." Students need to learn how to be learners and leaders before they go out into the real world.

         Then we come to one of the biggest problems that might make some educators not want to use social media in the school, which is the safety of the students and their information. In the article by Edudemic (2015) states that teachers and media specialist should, “Review your school’s social media policy and if necessary, have parents sign consent forms for posting their child’s work online.” The safety of our students’ personal information is always something that we have to look out for when wanting to create the different formats of social media. I have seen schools block different social media sites in their school system because they think it will distract students and disrupt the learning process. In the article by Edudemic (2015) states that teachers and media specialist should, “Please read all social media platforms’ privacy pages, and ensure that your class feeds are set to private to protect students’ work.” This is important because students might not know how public certain social networking sites can be.

         I am not currently teaching or working in the schools at the moment but I have seen while volunteering in media centers how using social networking works when it comes to students learning can work and improve how they present themselves to the world around them. As a library media student I have enjoyed all of the instruction I have gained with using different social networking domains such as Diggo, Weebly, Flicker, Prezi, Skitch, Wiki, and Blogger. I will want to help students learn how to use these In the end it is always up to the school itself in how much they allow students have access to social networking when they are in the building.

Resources

ALA. (2008). AASL’s second longitudinal survey reveals schools’ acceptance of social networking tools. ALA. Retrieved from: http://www.ala.org/ala/newspresscenter/news/pressreleases2008/june2008/AASLsurvey.cfm

Edudemic. (2015). “How to use social media as a learning tool in the classroom.” Edudemic. Retrieved from: http://www.edudemic.com/how-to-use-social-media-as-a-learning-tool-in-the-classroom/

Social Networking & the School Library Media Center

We've all heard of "Doctors Without Borders". 

What about

"Librarians Without Borders"?

   

Do you know the difference between social networking and social media?

Social networking- is an act of engagement-groups of people with common interests build relationships through a networking community

Social media-a way to transmit or share information with a broad audience.

         In examining a variety of social networking sites, I have gained a better understanding of how a school library media specialist serves as a "librarian without borders". We need to "connect, teach, share, and lead our students through new informational landscapes". We must consider branching out from the physical landscape of a library media center and into a new virtual landscape which encompasses social networking sites such as FaceBook, wikis, Instagram, blogs, Twitter, and YouTube. 

        According to the AASL's second longitudinal survey (dated 2008), elementary, middle, and high schools are treating social networking tools as an essential part of preparing students for the 21st Century.  

         Did you know?....

         *53% of schools use some sort of collaborative tool to aid in instruction

         *50% of schools use intranet within their school community 

         *41% of schools use podcasts

         *29% of schools use blogs as an instructional platform

         *20% of schools use online instruction and social bookmarking

       Texting, chatting, virtual worlds, and popular networking sites, like MySpace, are tools used the least in the school community. MySpace has definitely changed from the early 2000's and is now becoming a music based platform with a Pinterest like feel. Social networking tools are moving the educational process towards a more collaborative environment where learning is a social process. 

         After reading Social Networking and Your Library OPAC, I was very intrigued to learn how Follett's Destiny (which is the OPAC system used at my school), Mandarin Oasis, and SirsiDynix are making the move from interactive communities to our OPACS. Follett's Destiny Quest contains the capabilities where students and teachers can submit text, audio, and video reviews, recommend books, suggest items to be purchased, and request additional copies of a book. School library media specialists can upload digital objects to the MARC records. They can also receive a free 65 titled ebook collection.  SirsiDynix's Enterprise, which uses eye-tracking studies to provide optimum graphical interfaces to their general age levels. Enterprise has provided the groundwork that will support social networking capabilities, such as user reviews, rankings, building favorite authors, and types of book lists. Mandarin's Oasis provides a Window's experience in a web format. They can provide a "tag cloud" of alternative words related to a search and will assist users in narrowing and expanding searches. According to this article, media specialists are enthusiastic about the enhancement being made to their OPAC systems; however, they are very cautious. These new changes will allow teachers, school library media specialists, and students to communicate beyond the school setting. 

         If you haven't heard of TeacherLibrarianNing: A community for teacher-librarians and other educators (http://teacherlibrarian.ning.com), then you are missing out! Once I discovered this site, I felt like the heaven's opened up and I was ready to sing "Hallelujah"! This site is what I've been looking for! From the videos, blogs, book reviews, live Twitter feeds, group chats, chats, webinars, School Library Journal news, YouTube videos posted by SLMS, ALA TechSource...the list of resources are endless. I was thoroughly impressed with all of the resources and support for school library media specialists on this ONE SITE. They offer a diverse selection on group forums, such as new SLMS, high school teacher librarians, and Common Core Conversations. I am definitely going to bookmark this site and check it frequently. It seems like the best place to receive trustworthy support as a future media specialist. 

Personal Reflection: 

           After reviewing these websites, I agree that social networking does play vital role in today's education and preparing students for the 21st Century. As a elementary teacher, I send texts to my students regarding upcoming events and reminders about classroom activities. We use Remind 101 to send text as a school, grade level, or from an individual teacher. I also use online instruction via Study Island and iPad apps to help provide my students with another way of learning the curriculum. I have personal FaceBook and Twitter accounts but I do not feel comfortable sharing these with my students and their parents. My current elementary school does not allow students to have access to social networking or social media sites at school. There is a firewall on all of the accounts protecting the students from accessing these sites. As a future school library media specialist, I see the benefits of creating Twitter account and FaceBook accounts, blogs, and YouTube videos to promote and enhance the media center. There does have to be some caution when posting young students' pictures, voices, names, etc. on social media and social networking sites. It is definitely a part of the school library media specialist's role to help create an acceptable use policy that encompasses social networking/social media sites and the images, work, etc. of the students at his/her school.

Media Center Websites

     If I have learned one thing through this experience is that no two media center webpages are alike.  There are so many differences between them that I could never list them all. Some web pages are better than others. Some are obvious winners, while others, on the surface may not look all that spectacular, but once explored turn out to be really good, efficient websites. The most important thing to me about media center websites is to build one, make it great, and keep it updated. Jurkowski pretty much says it all in his description of a library website in his book “Technology and the School Library”. He says, “The library website is the point of access to electronic resources the library subscribes to or owns; the way to find print resources, and a place to share news, information, policies and other documents.” Because we live in a technological world, most people will visit a website before coming into the actual, physical facility. So, the library website has a huge responsibility to grab the attention of its users, and keep them coming back.

     When designing the website, it is important to keep the audience in mind. The same type of content and graphics that may be appropriate for an elementary school may not be the best idea for a high school. Chapter 6 of the Jurkowski book  has a very helpful checklist for building and maintaining a website at any level. One very important thing to remember is to KEEP IT UPDATED! Having links and information is always a good thing to include, but if the links are no longer active, and the information is out of date, it becomes frustrated for the user. One of my biggest pet peeves is visiting a site, and seeing that the announcements on the home page are out of date. If the home page is out of date, I rarely bother to check anything else. It is a good idea to check the links to outside sources periodically to make sure they are still active links.

     A website should be attractive, and eye catching, but without being too busy. Sometimes too much stuff is not a good thing. There is some truth to the saying “less is more.” The Milton Middle School media website was one that I especially liked. It has a very modern and cool design scheme that I think would be very suitable for middle school students.  It is colorful, uses different fonts and designs, yet is still easy to navigate and follow. Some high school websites are more uniform, and usually incorporate school colors, which again, I think for high school is perfect. The key is to again, consider the audience of the website, and go with what suits those needs. It should also be very ORGANIZED. It is a waste to have lots of valuable information, yet have it so scattered that it can’t be found and utilized. The home page should be clean, with buttons to other pages in plain sight. It should be easy to use and easy to follow.

     I was able to see some awesome websites, and some that weren’t as thorough. Some of the key things that I look for in a library website include:

·         Logistics like librarian, library hours or schedule, school information

·         Policies and procedures (for students, teachers, and parents)

·         Access to available databases

·         Links to the OPAC for searching

·         A section for books, book reviews, featured books, etc.

·         Depending on the grade levels, research information

·         Helpful links for students, teachers, and parents

With many of these items that should be included on a website, there may need to be some kind of a description too, or brief directions about accessing certain things. There are many other things that I found on websites that I thought were extremely helpful, but the ones listed above are a must. You can always add to a website, but it should have a good strong foundation to start with.

     I think that a school media center webpage should be just that…a webpage. A lot of the information included is not something that would need commenting on or editing by anyone other than the librarian. However, I definitely feel there is a place for wikis, blogs, and other type tools. For example, some of the websites I visited had wikis where students could do book reviews, and even video trailers for books. This to me is a great way to get kids involved in reading. Other sites had a library blog and blogs about various books and authors, which again, was a way to engage students. However, the website itself was an actual webpage. The downside to including blogs is that they need to stay current. Some of the blogs that I found hadn’t been updated in a couple of years, in which case should be removed from the site. Symbaloos are a new thing to me, but I am seeing are extremely helpful. It is a place to save popular websites, all in one place. Rather than teachers having to save them on their “favorites” on their computers, this is a way to store the websites, in an organized way, and can be accessed from the library website. So, the saved sites can be accessed from anywhere.

     One of my favorite features that I found of several websites, at all levels, was the inclusion of book reviews, student written summaries, and book lists. With technology, sometimes I think we lose sight of the fact that BOOKS are still our job. Students are our best resources for turning others onto various pieces of literature, so why not let them advertise it. This is something that can be done at all grade levels, and I think it would be a huge success for the students, teachers, and parents.

     Other features that I found helpful were the sites that included EXTRAS. Creekview High School’s website, “The Unquiet Library” includes a whole section of “LibGuides” which are research pathfinders. These would be wonderful resources for both middle school and high school students. You could tell a lot of time was put into them, and they were full of awesome information. Creekview also used YouTube as a way to showcase student work. This was a neat way to get the students involved, and one that is definitely up-and-coming. Milton Middle School and others included research guides and information on MLA formatting.

     The most awesome website that I came across was Lakeview Middle School. The link for this website is listed below. Not only did it include most of my typical look-fors, but the extras were amazing. One of the things that caught my attention was a wiki on Web 2.0 tools…. This will be very helpful for all of us as we are working on our technology projects. There is a section for citation assistance, copyright information, and helpful homework sites. There are teacher support links as well. The reading tab displays pictures and summaries of various titles, showcasing student projects. Another helpful feature is the video tutorial on accessing eBooks. The librarian did a screencast video on using the OPAC, conducting a search, and how to access the eBooks. Many websites have some information about eBooks, but having this tutorial really set this site apart. It was easy to understand and follow, which will result in more students actually checking out eBooks, rather than being unsure of what to do and just not doing it. The site was definitely one to look to as a great example.

http://www.lakeviewspartans.org/webpages/lmslibrary/

     There is so much that goes into a media center web page. It can be a full time job just keeping it up, but one that is worth doing. The webpage is many times, the invitation into the library. It’s the first impression of not only the library itself, but the people in it. So, take pride in the website, make it appealing for the appropriate audiences, and keep it current. Though it should be an ongoing project, this is a great place to start!

Here's Looking at Your Media Center Webpage

Ok, according to the readings for this week, we can all see that most librarians are maintaining websites – 90% to be exact.  The big question is how to organize the site and what to include.  This made me really embarrassed about my site.  Being a first year media specialist, maintaining my website, has not – as it should have been - on the top of my list. According to Jurkowski, the minimum that should be included on a media center website is:

1)      points of access to electronic sources

2)      link to find print sources

3)      shared news and updates

4)      library information and policies

But it’s a good idea to include:

1)      links to specific teacher assignments

2)      bibliographic aids

3)      catalogs

4)      databases

5)      local institutions like museums, zoo, parks, historical sites

6)      library contact information (Warlick say contact information should be on EVERYTHING multiple times – letterhead, business cards, phone messages, etc)

The primary reason for a webpage is to enable communication between students, librarians and teachers.  There are many popular tools for creating sites and after last week’s blog assignments on Wiki’s, I plan to include a Wiki link to my existing page; however, regardless of the tools, the content on the page is what is important along with getting people to view and return to the site. 

Media Center websites that are created and maintained by the media specialist tend to have a wider scope and be more rigorous.  They are more likely to include instructional materials, class resources, webmaster name, websites by subject, WebQuest, author pages, and links to government and news.  Of course the obvious is . . . the more library staff - the more frequently the page tends to be updated.  We all know in these times of budget and staff cuts, we don’t always have the help we need – especially in the elementary library; however, we can’t allow this to be an excuse to not develop and maintain this important communication tools for our schools. 

When you create your webpage keep in mind the goals for your school and for you as a media specialist.  As a media specialist you are there to assist students in becoming successful learners, support teachers in creating a meaningful learning experience while keeping up with the contemporary informational environment we face today. 

Ok – you got your audience to “click” on your site – how do you keep them coming back?  Warlick had some valuable suggestions.  Make sure your page is prominently featured on your school webpage.  Make sure your URL is on EVERYTHING you handout or present.  Include links of interest to the season and the community.  Keep your site updated and have current information relevant to students and parents at your school – like if you use Accelerated Reader, have links to aid parents and students.  Include weather, fun sites, homework help and online magazines.  Make your site interactive.  Include book reviews from students and parents. 

The media center website is the window into your library.  Use it to your benefit and keep students, teachers, and parents coming back for more.