It seems
contradictory that technology use in the classroom is widely encouraged in
today’s day and age, yet there are a myriad of laws that don’t legally allow
for use of various copyrighted media sources. According to Fadden (2012)
“Copyright is a permanently fixed original work in some form which can be seen
or heard. And only the copyright owner has the right to use their work.” For
educators that wish to use a variety of media to provide examples for students
while teaching, this presents quite the predicament. It is especially
frustrating to consider that copyright privileges apply for the life of the
author plus an additional 70 years for an individual holder, and 95 years for a
corporate holder. Not only that, but copyrights do not need to be registered or
accompanied by a symbol to be considered protected; creating original work in
an applicable medium is enough in itself to obtain a copyright (Diaz, Mitrano,
& Christoph, 2009, p. 2). I feel like it basically boils down to “if you
didn’t create it yourself, you aren’t allowed to use it.” However, fair use
limitations are set to allow for use of copyrighted material for teaching
purposes such as analyzing or criticizing (“K-12 Copyright Laws”, 2012).
Although this allows some leeway in avoiding copyright infringement, I still
worry that the rules governing what is considered “fair use” are complicated.
Much like how accidental plagiarism occurs in education, it seems that
accidental violation of copyright laws is extremely probable and most likely
occurs on a daily basis. Lessig (2010) also believes this to be true when he
states, “Ninety years later, the U.S. copyright law is even more technical,
inconsistent, and difficult to understand: more importantly, it touches
everyone and everything…” He goes on to explain that the reason why there has
been such a change in copyright law is due to the changing of a platform that
we all know and love: technology. He explains that because we cannot change the
law, we are left to change our norms with a “some rights reserved” model. With
all of the laws surrounding copyrights, I’m left wondering “what will I do to
avoid all of these limitations?” and “what does this mean for me?” As a future
early childhood educator, it will be my responsibility to understand the ins
and outs of the Technology, Education, and Copyright Harmonization (TEACH) Act
as it relates to the Web 2.0 tools that are very much present in today’s
classrooms. However, I believe that I will not need to worry too much about
copying the work of others because as a part of my personal teaching brand, my
hope is to have students create unique work of their own. My philosophy
regarding learning involves intrinsic motivation as a key concept. If students
cannot create their own work to take pride in, they may have trouble developing
a desire to learn that could potentially affect their development in the years
after early childhood. Thus, I find it important to let children make meaning
of their work, eventually developing knowledge as a result of self-discovery in
the classroom.
It is imperative for teachers of all
grade levels to keep in mind that what they may like to use in the classroom
very well could be, and probably is copyrighted. There are a number of
resources (including the aforementioned references) available for educators to
study up on to get familiar with the types of media that are legal to use in a
classroom setting for educational purposes. Although tedious, it is a matter
that must be attended to. I suppose this is an example of a limitation that is
rendered by today’s technological advancements. Educators must understand that
with the freedoms of technology also come responsibilities that are important
to take care of.
