Thursday, May 3, 2012

MAC Week1 Comment to Cynthia's Blog

See the original post in it's entirety: http://cynthiamadanski-affectingeternity.blogspot.com/p/week-one.html

"...I found the Good Copy / Bad Copy video to be very fascinating.  I think the Nigerian filmmaker summed up how copyright laws are to be followed succinctly:

“If you don’t have permission, you can’t use it.”

I learned that it is all about getting permission, not about money at all.  I often wonder about showing movies at school. I have seen schools who host family movie nights.  They rent a DVD, and project it in the gym for families to watch together.  I am hesitant to participate; are they breaking copyright laws by showing the video in a large gathering like that, with over 100 people viewing?  Most teachers reply it is OK because they are not charging for it.  I question if they have permission.

Another quote I pondered from Good Copy / Bad Copy was “We don’t want to look at this from the negative angle…copyright is not about stopping people from using your work, but getting them to use your work legally and giving you money for what they have done with your work.”

I think that makes so much sense.  I am not opposed to sharing lessons I have created with others, in fact I believe collaboration is the most crucial tool for teachers today.  However, I do want to be recognized for the work I have done in creating these lessons.  A site like
TeachersPayTeachers.com allows for teachers to share lessons, be recognized as the creator, and make money for the intellectual work provided."

I couldn't agree with you more, Cindi! Our school shows AP Films every couple of weeks and I always think the same thing. I thought there was a limit to the number of people who could view a video at the same time or it violated copyright.  I have used other teacher's work before, found while scouring the internet, but I always try to include their name on the work somewhere.  Or, if I change it up to suit my class, I give them credit for the original.  I didn't think that was such a big deal when I first started teaching.  Then I went to a county-wide science teachers meeting once, and a former co-worker was there passing off one of my worksheets as her own.  After that, I put my name on all of my work!

No comments:

Post a Comment