Introduction
Students are becoming increasingly adept at finding online multimedia for inclusion in school projects. Mixing, the process of combining elements of other people's work, is considered a creative outlet for the digital generation. Indeed, many people point to inadequacies of current copyright laws when dealing with ubiquitous digital media and mixing tools. This webquest will help participants understand the basics of current copyright laws, allowing for fair use in educational settings, and a more recent development called the Creative Commons.
Adapted from Fair Use, Richard S. Bartolowits
Task
Your task as you complete this webquest is to complete the following:
- Research basics of copyright and fair-use related to graphics, images, and other original work.
- Research public domain materials (graphics, images, and other original works
- Research Creative Commons licensing
- Research copyright violations related to trademark, symbols, length of time, and public domain.
- Create a presentation about copyright, fair use, and Creative Commons licensing
- Include examples of copyright violations related to trademark, symbols, length of time, and public domain.
- Make sure that your images, videos, and print meet copyright guidelines.
Process
Few resources- Google more resources.
- Fair Use Frequently Asked Questions: A nice web page that outlines, in easy to understand terms, the basic questions used to determine fair use.
- Copyright, What's Copyright? A music video from the Media Education Lab at Temple University.
- Simple Creative Commons image search: This video explains a simple way to find Creative Commons licensed images using an advanced Google image search. The video also discusses how attribution of images can be done.
- Create a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation:
- copyright
- fair use
- public domain
- Creative Commons.
- Give examples of copyright violations related to:
- trademark
- symbols
- ength of time
- public domain
- suggestions for finding and legally using materials in school related projects and for personal use. (Check the evaluation rubric to see how this will be evaluated.)
- Make sure that your images, videos, and print meet copyright guidelines.
Evaluation
Your presentation will be evaluated using the following rubric. Remember that the tool used for the presentation is not being dictated. Whichever tool, or media, you choose should be evaluable by the rubric. Content is king. Flashy presentations with weak content are not valuable. That said, good content coupled with an appealing presentation can be very powerful.
| 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | |
| Copyright | Shows good understanding of copyright laws | Shows some understanding of copyright laws | Shows little understanding of copyright laws | Show know understanding of copyright laws or gives bad information |
| Fair Use | Shows good understanding of fair use | Shows some understanding of fair use | Shows little understanding of fair use | Show know understanding of fair use or gives bad information |
| Creative Commons | Shows good understanding of the Creative Commons | Shows some understanding of the Creative Commons | Shows little understanding of the Creative Commons | Show know understanding of the creative commons or gives bad information |
| Examples of copyright violations | Related to trademark, symbols, length of time, and public domain. | Related to at least 3 of the areas listed under 3 points | Related to at least 2 of the areas listed under 3 points | There are no examples of copyright examples in presentation. |
| Presentation Appearance | Presentation is attractive, well organized, and makes good use of chosen tools. There are no spelling or grammar errors. | Presentation has some visual flaws. There are 1 to 3 spelling or grammar errors. | Presentation has multiple visual defects and/or is hard to read. There are 4 to 8 spelling or grammar errors. | Presentation has little or no visual appeal and is hard to read or hear. Spelling or grammar errors are common. |
Conclusion
Copyright and fair use are important concepts for teachers and students to understand. The Creative Commons was created to make it easier for creators to give limited permissions to other creators to use their materials. On this quest through the web you should have encountered enough information about copyright, fair use, and Creative Common licensing to gain a fair understanding of those topics. Armed with this information you should feel comfortable in legally using multimedia elements in your creations.
Credits
Adapted from: Richard S. Bartolowits, Fair Use Webquest