How to Use Online Media for Educational Purposes
How to Use Online Media for Educational Purposes Published by:
Adult Learning Centres Grey-Bruce-Georgian for 2010 Transliteracy Conference 824 First Avenue West Owen Sound, ON N4K 4K4 (519) 376-6623 ext. 300 Š 2010 by ALCGBG
Published in Canada. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 Canada License. To viewa copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/bync-sa/2.5/ca/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California 94105, USA. Cover Art courtesy of Lusi at sxc.hu
Table of Contents Internet Copyright Law .......................................................................................................................................................................... 1 Educational Use ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 2 Citing Online Text from Journals, Websites, Blogs, Email, and More .................................................................................................. 3 Photos & Other Images ........................................................................................................................................................................... 4 Licensing and Permissions .................................................................................................................................................................... 6 Types of Licenses ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 6 How Creative Commons Works .............................................................................................................................................................. 8 Requesting Permission ............................................................................................................................................................................ 9 Bibliography........................................................................................................................................................................................... 10
Internet Copyright Law Educators have access to a wealth of text, image, video, and audio resources online. Depending on the type of license offered by the publisher, educators can use these materials in lesson plans, courses, or other teaching tools. Finding licensed material or permission to use photographs, drawings, videos, and other media is easier than you may think. Many publishers offer their property for use under different types of licenses; some are sold for a fee, while others are available at no charge. Graphic courtesyof Srbichara at sxc.hu.
We will discover several sources for licensed content you can use to create educational material during Transliteracy Conference 2010. This guide is designed to offer information about the types of content you can use from the internet and the permissions required.
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It is a common misconception that people are free to use any content published on the internet. In fact, music, pictures, and words published on the internet are protected in the same way as print publications. “Protection under copyright laws is automatic in Canada: as soon as an original work has been written down, recorded or entered as a computer file, it is immediately copyright-protected.� 1
Educational Use There are a number of different ways copyrighted material may be used, with different rules depending on howthe work is used, modified, and/or republished. For example, you might find an image online. If you are using the picture in a lesson in your classroom, you need to make sure the image is licensed for educational use, or that you have permission to use it (which is not difficult to obtain!). However, if you were using the image in an advertisement or on a company website, that would qualify as commercial use and different rules may apply. Educational use falls under a section of copyright law called “Fair Use,” which takes into consideration:
• the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes; • the nature of the copyrighted work; • the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and • the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.2 Graphic courtesyof Beni BB at sxc.hu.
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Citing Online Text from Journals, Websites, Blogs, Email, and More In the print world, we use APA (American Psychological Association) or Chicago Manual of Style guidelines to cite sources and reference printed material. As digital media has evolved, these entities have developed accepted practices for the reference of online material such as blog entries, web pages, and even email messages. Depending on the preferred style, there are guidelines for referencing quoted text from online sources as well as referring to online publications. The moment a piece of written work is published online on any platform, it is protected by copyright and must be properly referenced in your educational material. This includes text from: • email messages and instant messaging • databases • online journals or periodicals
• online video and audio • websites or individual web pages • weblogs (blogs) and comments
For more information on referencing text and citing online sources, see the official Chicago-Style Citation Quick Guide3 or the Concordia University Libraries APA Citation Style4 guide.
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Photos & Other Images The Canadian Copyright Act legislates the ownership, use, moral rights and other considerations for photos, video, audio files, written work, and performances. However, you may find photographs, illustrations, or other digital material online you would like to use in creating your e-learning resources. This material may have been published by a person or company anywhere in the world, so which country’s laws apply to your use of the image? Photographs also have the unique consideration of privacy rights. Toronto Intellectual Property Lawyer Gil Zvulony explains:
“A photograph is two things in one: it is on the one hand a representation of something or someone, and then again it is its own work of art, separate from what or who it represents. This raises, and has for a long time raised, some interesting issues with regard to the law. Who owns the rights in a photograph, the person who commissioned the picture or the person who took the picture? What rights does the subject of the photograph possess?”5 The answer is not cut and dried. When a person in a picture is recognizable, the photographer must have a signed release to publish the photo or sell publication rights. Err on the side of caution.
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Regardless of the country of origin or use, these simple tips help ensure you do not violate the rights of either the photographer or any person/people visible in the picture: • Never use photos or other images from the internet without checking for usage license and crediting requirements (see Licensing and Permissions). • While Google Images and other search engines can help you find photos, they display all images published anywhere on the internet, regardless of licensing or copyright. • Link back to the original source of the photo, when possible. • Check licensing and permissions, even if you use websites that charge a fee for photo publishing rights. • At Transliteracy Conference, we will learn howand where to find images available for use in educational material free of charge. Photo courtesyof Hisks at sxc.hu.
Photos, illustrations, video, and audio are incredibly valuable tools for e-learning and literacy programs. These types of media allowus to appeal to a variety of learners. As professionals, it is important that we use them, but use them properly.
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Licensing and Permissions Licensing and permissions are two interconnected issues. Photos, videos, audio, and other media are protected by copyright as soon as they are published. However, publishers may offer different types of licensing, allowing others to use the media free or for a fee. If the type of licensing is not apparent, you can ask the publisher for permission to use the material. Types of Licenses Creative Commons is a copyright licensing organization led by a board of cyberlawand intellectual property experts. Between 2001 and 2008, they licensed over 130 million works (using one of six types of licenses) for free to the public. This system allows members of the public to publish and share videos, pictures, illustrations and more, while retaining custom levels of intellectual property rights. Creative Commons licenses are easy to identify and understand. Organizations using this licensing system include Google, the Public Library of Science, Flickr, Wikipedia, and The White House. There are four license conditions: Attribution
Non-Commercial
Share Alike
No Derivative Works
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The following six licenses grant or restrict rights based on those conditions: Attribution – you can publish or remix this media, even commercially, as long as you credit the original creator. Attribution Share Alike – You can use and modify the media, provided you re-license and share under the exact same terms. Attribution No Derivatives – You can use the work for commercial or non-commercial purposes, but you cannot change it and must credit the creator. Attribution Non-Commercial – As an educator with a non-profit organization, you may use and/or modify this work, as long as you credit the creator. Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike – Same terms as above, but you must republish with the exact same license. Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives – This restrictive license allows for nonprofit use only, with no modifications and credit given to the creator.
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You might have noticed the common theme‌ each type of license, regardless of the specifics, requires that you give credit to the creator. Unless you created or bought the rights to the work, it is not only polite, but necessary, to attribute the work to the original creator or publisher. How Creative Commons Works Watch this video explanation of Creative Commons and howit works. Click here to watch the video6 belowon YouTube, then close the browser windowto return to this e-book.
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Requesting Permission You will find images or other media online that could be perfect for your e-learning program, but do not have clear licensing requirements or offer a Creative Commons license. Often, getting permission to use the material is as simple as sending a polite email request. Contact the website owner through the Contact Us page (most websites have one) or the listed owner/creator of the material on a sharing site such as Flickr or Picasa. Tell the person: • • • • • •
Who you are What company or organization you represent Where the material will be used Howthe material will be modified (if at all) and published Howyou will give them credit as the owner/creator of the material Howto contact you with any questions. Image courtesy of Hoefi at sxc.hu.
Those who post their content online, especially on sharing sites, often appreciate the exposure and credibility earned by sharing their work. Some may request a link to the republished material, or a copy of the presentation or other finished work.
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Bibliography 1
Media Awareness Network. Canadian Copyright Act – Overview. Retrieved from http://www.mediaawareness.ca/english/resources/legislation/canadian_law/federal/copyright_act/cdn_copyright_ov.cfm. 2
United States Copyright Office. (2009). Reproduction of Copyrighted Works by Educators and Librarians. The Library of Congress, United States Copyright Office.
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Chicago Manual of Style, Fifteenth Edition. (2007). Chicago-Style Citation Quick Guide. Retrieved from http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html. 4
Concordia University Libraries. (2010). Library How-To Guides, APA Citation Style. Retrieved from http://library.concordia.ca/help/howto/apa.php. 5
Zvulony, G. (2005). Rights in a Photograph. Retrieved from http://www.zvulony.com/photograph_rights.html.
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Creative Commons. Video: Get Creative. Accessed May 6, 2010, at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=io3BrAQl3so.
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