Copyright Law and Responsibilities as a Teacher

Well, one of the topics from this week’s learning path has certainly had an instant effect on me this week… I’m talking about Copyright Law.

As many of you will see, I am a fan of using succulent pictures to bring a little personality and interest to my blog. Out of all the pictures I have used, only 2 were properly referenced. Many of them are ones that I have found difficult to trace to an original source… and honestly, that made me a little lazy with making sure I acknowledge the authors.

So as of this post, I have gone and made sure that all pictures and feature images are properly referenced.

I feel strongly about ownership and copyright as an issue that is bound to become bigger with the issues surrounding data ownership.

As a science teacher, referencing information is a skill that I try to instill as early as possible in students. It links to the importance of recognising science as a human endeavor, and the huge contributions multiple men and women have made to contribute to the body of knowledge students draw from.

As teachers, we are role models for behaviour. When I create presentations for classes, I make sure that any data that is not mine is duly recognised in a final slide listing my references. On worksheets, documents, or any other paper resources I will be forwarding onto students, I make sure the website is at least copied under the title or diagram.

This is one way I hope to set a good example to students that information ownership is important no matter who you are.

Here is an interesting video that reminds us of the difficulties of an internet that spans countries who have different laws regarding ownership.

-ArualH

Image from http://www.roraimanursery.com.au/sales/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=38808