Journal+Articles

 Copyright rights and their use in the classroom has changed with the increased access and use of the internet and advanced technology. Go are the days of occasional plagiarized paragraph or term paper. Copyrights extend beyond student reports and now impact many areas of the classroom and school district. In fact, the reach of copyright is now so large that we probably will not be able to stop copyright infringement, but only work toward reducing the risk.
 * __[|Schools, the Internet, and Copyright Law] __**

Nancy Willard suggests the following areas of internet/technology use should raise cause for copyright concern: · Using the internet to download material which violates copyright. · Allowing students to download materials (especially Mp3 music files) from the internet through the district internet systems. · Posting material on the district’s website. · Using software in a manner that violates the licensing agreement.

To combat copyright violations, Willard provides solutions to help teachers and school districts. Teachers should tap into the vast quantity of material that is in the public domain or has been made available on educational websites for teacher use. System administrators should monitor student activity (including access and download rates) on popular music sharing sites. Districts should create policy that address website liability and copyright infringement; this includes a method for outside users to report to system administrators possible infringement. Districts should create management programs for software used in schools and by students.

It is important to note that student work is copyrighted. Students should be taught the importance of copyrighting their material, which helps to promote student respect of others’ copy right. Student work posted on the internet should include a copyright notice with a student’s name or identification number.

Nancy Willard writes, “Copyright law reflects an important balance between the rights or the creators and the benefits to society resulting from the creation and dissemination of creative works. It is important to keep this balance in mind when addressing copyright in schools.” As educators, we need to provide the best materials for our students while respecting the rights of the creators.