Being crazy is the new cool…

Did you know that a fact can not be a copyright but the expression of those facts can, therefore if Sally writes her own thoughts about Marxism and Steve copies her ideas- he just stole from her.  Books, movies and plays along with ideas are all things that can have a copyright. The main ideas I took from this lesson was that one must consider the nature, amount, and commercial impact of the article/image, etc being used. The less amount of work you are taking the smaller your chances are that your stealing it. Not to say that you can “steal” a small amount of work it’s just that a copyright is a free for anyone to take part in and use. It’s like borrowing someones thought and then using it for a greater good. When it comes to teaching, it appears that teachers have more freedom with these laws.  For example a teacher can use a copyright idea or video/film in class as long as it directly backs up the lesson being taught. If the teacher wanted to show a short film for recess or leisure use then it wouldn’t be allowed. An educator can also copy and print material for educational use but it has to be within a time limitation and only one copy can be made for both the teacher and students.  Also copyright last forever it doesn’t end when the copyright owner dies, it keeps going for 70 more years! That’s almost two lifetimes so people need to always be aware of what information they are using and where they are getting it from. Chances are that what your using is protected under a copyright therefore the lesson teaches us to always assume this fact, its protected. There are several ways to protect yourself from breaking this legal process law. I wont list them all out right now because I plan to do that on http://www.myteacherpages.com/webpages/ADiChristopher/ but I will say this in closing with the fast technology presented to us at home, its very easy to “steal” someones work but it’s also very easy to contact that person and simply ask for their permission to use their work. So like the lesson teaches us, when in doubt about if its protected or not just ask the person or research the work and your problem will most likely be solved!

Now that I have read over some basic elements about copyright I am wondering is copyright infringement? Is copyright plagiarism? I don’t know but okay I already did those little test and apparently almost everything “copyright” is! I suppose I am wondering exactly what this means and how crucial it is to abide by these laws. What are the consequences of infringement and plagiarism? When I am a teacher say I mess up and don’t abide by them will I be penalized as a teacher? Will I lose my certification? Will my students think I’m an uneducated guider? I guess it’s good that I’m about to learn now…

To be quit honest I really don’t know much! The only basic knowledge I have of copyright is that once you’ve claimed it ( whatever “it” may be) it’s yours. It’s a big long legal process, I assume, one where if you need to sue someone for stealing your thoughts- you can! How does this relate to me as a teacher? Well lets see… I suppose it would be a good thing to be educated on this because if I end up “stealing” someone’s thoughts or images then that wouldn’t be very professional and also I would want my students to have the proper education as well. More often then not, as students, were told not to copy and paste and that’s about it!

Collaboration!

thefreedictionary.com

intr.v. col·lab·o·rat·ed, col·lab·o·rat·ing, col·lab·o·rates

1. To work together, especially in a joint intellectual effort.

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