I was amazed when I read these guidelines. I had no idea that the laws were so specific and involved. I think they are extremely important to educators. They important because teachers would not want to ruin their careers over a violation, and they need to be able to teach children about this growing concern.
I was most surprised to learn that teachers could not show a movie for reward or entertainment. It makes sense to me, but I had never known it. I do not show movies for reasons other than education, but I know of other teachers who do show movies for reward. I also never copy materials out of books that do not allow copying.
If teachers violate copyright laws, students are going to see this in the classroom and it will be simply a poor role-model for them. With so much information on the internet, it's more tempting and easier to obtain the information we need and copy it. However, just because the information is more accessible doesn't mean that we should be using it without permission. By being good role models for students and explicitly teaching these laws, we are creating responsible and knowledgeable citizens. They will need this information in the future, so we should start explaining these rules and encouraging them to follow them now. The worst thing we can do as teachers is violate them and set a bad example for students who will be living in a society where I predict this will be an even bigger issue than it is now.
No comments:
Post a Comment